Cream of Tomato Soup

I'm trying to think of lighter foods this week because my partner is back to work now and that means dinner doesn't take place until around 9:00 pm. So I have the time to make slow roasted Sunday dinners, but who wants to eat a big heavy meal so close to bedtime? Most of the meals I cook are off the top of my head, but once in a while, I hit one out of the ball park. So I try to write my recipe down for the really good stuff I make. The problem is that I'm such a disorganized person and I usually jot it down on a scrap of paper or the envelope of a hydro bill or something and I have a habit of stuffing it all into the space between the fridge and the microwave.
So today I went to find my tomato soup recipe and I've come to realize that I don't put titles to these heavenly edibles. I seem to just write down my grocery shopping list and leave it at that. And I'm not exaggerating when I say there are literally hundreds of these odd scraps of paper. The one thing I do know as I sort through the mess are the meals I cooked on Sundays, and only during NFL season because I wrote down my betting picks on the other side of the shopping list. I've been pretty lucky with my football bets in the past, so I might just save these lists and bet the same teams again this year! And I see I even wrote out 12 team selections on a visa bill. I hope I at least remembered to make a payment that month!
So, as best I can remember, here is my tomato soup recipe. Pair it up with a grilled cheese or a panini and you have a hearty and delicious meal! And just a tip, use smoked gouda and sourdough bread for that grilled cheese just to let people know there is a new sheriff in town!
1 onion finely chopped
1 large carrot peeled and finely chopped
3 cloves of chopped garlic
5 large chopped tomatoes
2 teaspoons of sugar
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
a handful of chopped fresh basil - and keep some extra for the garnish
3 cups of chicken stock. Homemade if you have it!
salt & freshly ground pepper
1 cup of cream or half and half
In a soup pot, saute the onions and carrot in about 3 tablespoons of olive oil until they're soft and after about 10 minutes, add the chopped garlic and saute for another couple of minutes. Add the tomatoes, sugar, tomato paste, basil and the chicken stock and about a tablespoon of salt and the pepper and simmer it without the cover on for about half an hour or until everything is very soft and tender. Puree it with an immersion blender and then push it through a fine sieve to get rid of the pulp and seeds. Put it back to the heat on Med and whisk in the cream. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve it garnished with some fresh basil or croutons.
I'm pretty sure that's how it goes. You can tinker with this one easily by adding a bit of other herbs you like too. Tomatoes love to be tickled with herbs!