Tasty tomato soup

It rained hard all weekend and several inches fell on Sunday alone, setting a new record.  We really need the rain, but on the weekend it makes for long, soggy afternoons. Instead of doing something useful like cleaning out a closet, you tend to laze around eating salty snacks, reading books and magazines. Throw in a nap or two. Soon you feel as heavy and dull as the weather.

So it was good yesterday afternoon to get out of the house for a bit. John bought some last minute tickets for a chamber music concert at Benaroya Hall and we went hydroplaning downtown.

After these afternoon concerts it's too early to go out to dinner, and too late by the time we get home to start a meal from scratch. So I always try to make something ahead of time to heat up. Yesterday I was pretty rushed, but I remembered a Tom Douglas recipe for tomato soup that I tore out of the Alaska Airlines magazine. 

I love tomato soup, even the horribly salty canned kind. This soup is restaurant quality (well, it is Tom Douglas :-) but also economical and fast to make.

Except for heavy cream (I used half and half instead) any kitchen with a cook probably has these ingredients on hand:

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed with the side of a knife and peeled
• 5 cups canned whole tomatoes in juice
• 1 cup water
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano or
• 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh oregano
• 1 tablespoon sugar

1. Heat the butter and olive oil in a large saucepan and saute the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, water, cream, salt, red pepper flakes, celery seed, oregano, and sugar. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and simmer for 15 minutes.

2. Remove from the heat and puree in batches in the container of a blender. Return the soup to the pot and reheat to a simmer, seasoning to taste with more salt and pepper.  Or, use an immersion blender right in the soup pot.  A wonderful invention, I don't know how I lived so long without one.  

With grilled cheese on rye, a pretty good supper for a rainy night.