The Impatient Chef Makes Quick Tomato Soup

So, this happened: We were tired, and really didn't want to cook. We weren't very hungry, either. What to do? I'll start by saying that I didn't take pictures, but I do have the recipe. 

This recipe is the epitome of The Impatient Chef: a delicious meal that does not take long to make. It is not what I would call gourmet, or even fine dining, but as Alton Brown says, it's good eats. First, the set up. I binge listened to Milk Street Radio (Christopher Kimball's new empire) over the past few weekends, and one of the things that stuck with me was the use of sugar in tomato sauce. I have avoided that for years, but I decided to be open to it after hearing it. 

 My wife and I were tired, and not very hungry, so I opted for a simple supper of store-bought tomato soup. I pulled a carton of soup down from the cupboard, and shook it up before pouring it into the pan. It was chicken stock, not tomato soup. Oy. Time to change gears. How to make a quick soup? I put together the following: 

• 1/2 cup chicken broth 
• 1 24.5 oz jar strained tomatoes 
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder 
• 1/2 tsp berberé 
• salt and pepper to taste 
• 2 tbsp honey 

 First taste was a little disappointing. It was on the bitter side despite the honey. Tomato soup usually gets mellowed out by some dairy, but we had only half and half, which needed to be saved for tomorrow's coffee. That's when inspiration struck. We had some leftover whipped cream in the "Whip It" dispenser. I served the soup in two bowls, and added a generous helping of the whipped cream, covering the entire top of the soup by about an inch or more. That made the difference. It was a decent soup for a total prep and cooking time of about 15 minutes. 

 Thanks for looking! 

 --The Impatient Chef.