guest blogger: The TOTT!

Hi this is Tott. Kaytie has generously allowed me to "guest blog" so that I can rave about my all- time favorite food...soup. Seriously, I could eat soup for every meal, every single one. And tops on my list of soups is Tomato Basil Soup.

Kaytie and I did this ridiculous "cleanse" where we didn't eat anything for ten days and only drank a water/lemon/cayenne pepper/molasses mixture. Needless to say, it was hell. The entire time all I craved was tomato basil soup, so Kaytie was nice enough to create this fabulous recipe for me when it was all over. It puts all the tomato basil soup in this town to shame. And as an added bonus, it is easy enough that even I can make it, and I am not the world's best cook...best eater in the world, maybe. Especially when it comes to this soup. So make and enjoy!

Tomato Basil Soup

1 onion, diced
3 slices of bacon, diced
1 really big can of diced tomatoes (not drained)
1 ½ cups of cream
½ can beef broth
¼ cup basil, chopped
1 bay leaf
½ cup shredded parmesan

Melt a small amount of butter or olive oil in a large stock pot. Add onion and salt. Add bacon. Saute onion and bacon until bacon gets crispy and onion is golden. Add can of tomatoes, beef broth, ½ of the basil, and the bay leaf. Stir until everything gets hot. Add cream and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes or so. Fish out the bay leaf. Using a stick blender, blend until smooth. (This step is optional—if you don’t blend it, it will just be more rustic). Add parmesan and stir. Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with remaining basil or green onions and serve.