Tomato-Basil Soup

In general, I am not very enthusiastic about cooking-- my attitude is that, basically, it's time-consuming (the planning and shopping more so than the cooking; I feel I'd be more enthusiastic if someone would grocery shop for me!) and not that enjoyable, but someone's gotta do it (and it's way cheaper than eating out). I have been better about my motivation for cooking since getting married, especially getting into using the crockpot (GREAT, especially with working full days, as long as I remember to turn it on!), trying to shop regularly and smartly (with coupons and club card deals), and experimenting with new dishes (which Kelvin, sweetly, tries despite how good/not good they appear); however, I still wouldn't say that cooking is an activity that I enjoy nor at which I excel.

This week, however, I did try a soup recipe from Cooking Light magazine that I thought was delicious and which I had to share.

In honor of our upcoming trip to Italy (where I'm sure we'll have a lot of delectable tomato- and basil-containing dishes), here is my newest favorite recipe:

Tomato-Basil Soup
1 tbsp olive oil
1 - 1/2 cups chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3/4 cup chopped fresh basil
28 oz can of diced tomatoes, undrained (purists may say that one should only use fresh tomatoes for a real soup; I'm sure that would be good, but the canned tomatoes worked really well)
1/2 cup cream cheese, cut into cubes (the recipe calls for reduced-fat cream cheese)
2 cups milk (the recipe calls for 1%)*
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
cooking spray
(garlic bread on the side, if desired)

Directions:
1. Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat
2. Add onion, saute for 3 minutes
3. Stir in garlic; cook for 1 minute
4. Add basil and tomatoes, bring to a boil
5. Stir in cream cheese, until melted
6. Place mixture in blender and blend until smooth
7. Return mix to pan; stir in milk*, salt, and pepper, and then cook on med-high for 2 minutes
8. Serve with garlic bread (if desired) and ENJOY!

* Speaking of milk, our friend Alyssa told us about this wonderful organic milk from a California (Marin)-based family-run company, Straus Family Creamery.



I finally bought a half-gallon this past week at Wildberries, one of the (several) local natural foods markets. Despite paying a bit more for the product, we were not disappointed and it is worth it to support a small, California-based business! The milk, which tastes great, comes in reusable glass bottles (seemingly so old-fashioned! If only they were delivered...), which you return for a deposit and which are sterilized and reused by the company (even better than recycling!). All of their milk is cream-topped (yum!) and tastes a bit different (fresher) because it is pasteurized for a longer time (19 seconds vs 2-4 seconds) at a lower temperature (170 vs 280F) than most milks. If you live in Humboldt County or anywhere in northern California that sells it, you have to try this milk. Why don't you try it in your tomato-basil soup?! :)