Some days you just need comfort.  When the skies are dark and gray day after day, I need lots of comfort and one of the ways I get that is with this easy go-to Cream of Tomato Basil Soup.  Now, I do have a slightly more complicated version that is very similar to La Madeleine’s, Mary Lynn’s Tomato Basil Soup,  but this one can be made from ingredients that I usually always have in the frig and pantry.  Plus, it comes together in just about 10 minutes.  And that, my friends, is also comforting.

 Besides being quick and warm, you get an extra boost of “sunshine” from the tomatoes and vegetable juice that it contains.  Canned tomatoes are one of the few vegetables (aka fruits) that I find fully acceptable.  Otherwise, I typically want my veggies fresh or frozen.  

All of that pesto that you made last summer when your basil was overtaking the garden?  Now’s the time to pull that out of the freezer and put it to good use.  It’s summer in a cube!  This soup is one of the reasons you’ll always want to have that on hand.  But don’t despair if you never got around to making that easy pesto, you can find quality pesto in the market these days.  You’ll want a heaping tablespoon or two in this soup.  

 
So give yourself a treat.  Make this soup.  If you don’t have or want the cream, and I’m not sure why you wouldn’t indulge yourself on a gray day, then leave it out.  The soup is delicious without it.  I think I’m safe in saying that you’ll never open a canned version again.  It’s that good.

 Pair it with a grilled cheese sandwich and you have yourself a classic comfort meal.