Creamy Tomato-Balsamic Soup

'Creamy', of course, does not necessitate animal cream in the slightest. Serve this alongside a sandwich or salad on a cool fall night.

In a small bowl, combine half a cup vegetable broth with a tablespoon of organic brown sugar, 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, and a tablespoon of soy sauce. Stir well with a whisk.

Drain two (28-ounce) cans of whole tomatoes. Place the tomatoes in a 13x9 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray, along with a cup of coarsely chopped onion and 5 garlic cloves. Pour the broth mixture over the vegetables. Bake in the oven at 500 degrees for 50 minutes, so the vegetables caramelize - your kitchen is going to smell delicious!

Let cool slightly, then place the tomato mixture in a blender along with another 1/2 cup of broth and 3/4 cup of soy cream (instead of half +half; I like the plain creamer from Silk). Puree until smooth.

Strain the mixture through a very fine sieve over a large bowl, and discard the solids (of which you'll actually have quite a lot), leaving about 2 cups of soup behind.

1/2 a cup of the soup is 120 calories. Garnish with fresh black pepper if you like.

Cost:
onion $0.40
canned whole tomatoes $3.58
"half and half" $1.99

p.s. if you have a bowl of this for lunch, have some Fritos chips on the side - no I'm not kidding! My boyfriend just brought home a bag of them, and a quick perusal of the ingredients (an ingrained habit ever since becoming vegan) led me to exclaim, "Oh my god these are vegan!" I checked on PETA's website to be sure, under their link to "I can't believe it's vegan!" but yes ladies and gentleman, Fritos are. Now, as a health nut and mostly organic-eater on top of being vegan for animal rights reasons, eating Fritos feels a little bit antithetical, but for one day, have a serving of Fritos with your vegan tomato soup and enjoy.