I am in tomato soup heaven these days after making this Classic Tomato Soup recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. I've made it twice in one week, it's that good. The 'secret' ingredient (baking soda!) takes the edge out of the tomatoes and therefore it is not overly acidic. My husband usually has a hard time with tomato soup for this reason, and he was so pleasantly surprised with this recipe. If you want a classic, basic, creamy tomato soup to dip a grilled cheese in, please think twice before you open that can-o-Campbell's and give this one a try. I promise you'll be eating it within 30 minutes.

Classic Tomato Soup

-from melskitchencafe.com

INGREDIENTS:

2 (28-ounces each) cans diced tomatoes
3/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth
3 tablespoons butter
1 onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream--this only translates to a tablespoon or two per serving, add it. It's divine.

In a colander set over a large bowl or a liquid measuring cup, drain the canned tomatoes well. I set mine over my 8 cup batter bowl from Pampered Chef, add the broth to the tomato juice. The mixture should measure about 3 1/2 cups. Set the liquid and the tomatoes aside.

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until it is softened, about 3-5 minutes. Add 2/3 of the drained tomatoes, the bay leaf and the brown sugar. Cook for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the tomato paste and the flour. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to darken, 1-2 minutes. Slowly stir in the reserved tomato juice/broth mixture, the remaining tomatoes, baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from the heat. Discard the bay leaf. Puree the soup in batches (in a blender) or use an immersion blender to puree the soup. Stir in the cream and season with salt and pepper.