Quick Wintry Tomato Soup
few tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 big/2 medium cloves garlic, minced
~1 tbs dried basil, oregano, or whatever else you got
~1 tbs brown sugar
1 big can crushed, diced, or pureed tomatoes
~1/2 tiny can tomato paste
1 - 2 cups vegetable broth
1/4 - 1/2 cup whole milk/half & half/cream
Heat up your olive oil on medium and toss in the onions, plus some salt. Saute, stirring frequently, until browned and carmelly (even burnt in places is good). Add the garlic, spices, and sugar, stir, and saute another minute or two. Then dump in all of the tomatoes, paste, and broth and simmer on medium for ~20 minutes (or until it loses that raw tomato taste). If it's still too acidic after cooking for good amount of time, you can add a TINY bit of baking soda to neutralize the acid (if you add too much it will be totally flavorless and scary). You can also try adding more sugar to balance it out. Puree the whole deal, then adjust salt & pepper and add your dairy to taste. Enjoy with crackers, bread, grilled cheese, etc!
