This is one of those soups that once we discovered it, we made it over and over again. It’s good served with bread or biscuits, as a main dish, or in small bowls as a first course. (It’s hard not to go back for more, though!)  Alice and Grandmama are big fans of this soup – in other words, it’s yummy enough for kids and sophisticated enough for grown-ups.

INGREDIENTS
2 28-oz cans whole tomatoes
1 T beef or vegetable based “Better than Bouillon”
1 T raw honey or sugar1 t salt
pepper
1 bay leaf
1/4 t dried basil
1/2 c butter or earth balance
1/3 c cornstarch/tapioca/coconut flour mix or regular flour
1 quart milk or almond milk

DIRECTIONS
Place tomatoes in a soup pot. Heat to a simmer and stir in the bouillon, honey or sugar, basil, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Simmer 30 minutes. Cool slightly, then blend until smooth.
Make a roux: melt the butter, stir in flours, then whisk in milk. Stir into the tomato mixture.  Heat gently, and serve.

I often make this using a mix of milk and almond milk, and butter and earth balance, but you can go full-on dairy or completely vegan, and it’s still yummy.