Tomato Soup

I haven't always been a tomato soup fan.  In fact, I tried tomato soup for the very first time about two years ago.  Seriously.  But in my defense I only acquired a taste for tomatoes in the past five years or so, had I tried tomato soup earlier I probably wouldn't have liked it.

Over the past year I've tried a couple of different recipes for tomato soup.  I liked some more than others, but honestly I always preferred good old Campbell's made with milk.  My husband scoffed at me.  I'm a child in the tomato soup world.

But yesterday I found a winner.  The texture is nice.  The flavor is nice.  And, most importantly, it's pretty easy and quick.  The original recipe came from this blog, but I made some changes.

(Once again, I apologize for the poor picture quality.  
I was so excited to eat that I only gave myself a moment to snap a shot with my Ipod.)

Tomato Soup

3 cloves garlic, minced
2 T olive oil
2-14 oz. cans crushed tomatoes
1-14 oz. can diced tomatoes
1-14 oz. can chicken broth
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp pepper
3 oz. cream (3/8 cup)
basil to taste
Parmesan cheese (optional)

Saute garlic in oil over medium heat for about 1 minute.  Be careful not to let it burn!  Add tomatoes, broth, salt, sugar, and pepper.  Bring it to a simmer, then simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Next throw it in the blender (about a third of the soup at a time) until it's fairly smooth.  Stir in the cream and basil, then serve topped with some Parmesan cheese.

Notes:

• You can use 3/8 tsp of garlic powder if you don't have garlic on hand.
•  I used the 28 oz. can of Kroger Value crushed tomatoes and it turned out awesome, so don't feel like you have to get fancy with the canned tomatoes.
• The original recipe called for a can of whole tomatoes instead of diced, but I decided to try diced instead.  You might could use whole or just more crushed tomatoes instead, but I'm not sure what it does to the texture.  I'll experiment and report back.
• I read somewhere that simmer is when it bubbles only every couple of seconds.  If it starts to bubble too much (boil), turn down the heat.
• When I blended the soup I ladled about a third of the soup in the blender, and the rest in a big bowl.  After I blended, I poured the soup back in the pot.
• The original called for 1/4 cup of cream, but I wanted it to be a little extra creamy so I increased it to 3 oz.
• We all know grilled cheese is the only thing to eat with tomato soup.