Homemade Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

If you know me, you know soup isn't my thing. Sure, I can appreciate a good soup but I like my foods to FEEL substantial and like I'm really getting something good. With that said and the understanding that I am trying to eat foods that are more clean and homemade, I decided to try making a soup. My inspiration came from a recipe I'd seen online but I didn't follow that recipe... I made up my own... so, yup, this is all me! I've included approximate measurements ( since it's just me, it's a small recipe but I got about 4 servings out of it)... and like all cooks will tell you, use your own judgement and tastebuds to tell you if you need more or less of something.

You will need:

1 small can of tomatoes
1 white onion (finely diced)
1 carrot (finely diced)
2 cloves of garlic (finely minced)
1 glug of olive oil (just enough to saute the onion etc in)
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp fresh basil finely chopped
1/3 cup of cream (this is optional of course)
700 ml of chicken stock (use veggie stock if you want)
salt and pepper to taste
1 pinch of oregano
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

So I started off by heating up the oil in my soup pot (yup... made it all in one pot because I hate to do unnecessary dishes)

Once the oil was hot, I dropped in the onion and garlic, turning down the heat and letting them sweat a little. Then I added my oregano, vinegar and carrot. I let those saute together for a little while before adding the can of tomatoes which I also allowed to cook (soaking up those yummy garlic and onion flavours into the tomato).
Next came the chicken stock. I brought that to a boil and then let it simmer for about 30 minutes before adding the basil (basil can be a little delicate and I wanted that flavour to shine through). I brought it back to a boil and then broguht the heat down low to stir in my cream and cheese.

And that's it! It was so easy... and it tasted better (of course) the next day (if you know me, you know I HATE leftovers... but this soup... well, I ate it for 3 days and could have eaten it for 3 more days!).

Happy Eating!