Nummy Tomato Soup

I had a pint of tomatoes in my fridge and it was driving me nuts. You just can't let home canned tomatoes go to waste. Everyone is sick and nothing sounds good to them, so I let them fend for themselves. As for me, homemade tomato soup was just the ticket. I tossed the pint of tomatoes into a sauce pan and gave them a quick blend with my hand blender (how did I live without it?). I tossed in about 1/4 teaspoon of minced garlic and let it simmer about 10 minutes. When I tasted it, I found it very acidic, so I took it off the heat and tossed in about 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda. The soda takes the acid taste away, but it causes it to foam up, so watch out. When the foam died down I added about 1/2 cup of half and half and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese. I got some of that basil in the tube a while back and I love it! I added a couple teaspoons and called it dinner. Nummy! If you like the Italian twist on tomato soup you can just add basil to regular canned tomato soup. My mom makes a version of this soup with leftover pasta sauce. She waters it down a bit and adds half and half or milk.