Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

Melt butter with olive oil in a 3 to 4 quart stock pot over medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Sautee until onions are translucent. About 5 - 7 minutes.

Transfer onion and garlic to blender. Add drained cans of whole tomatoes. Cover and pulse until you have a coarse puree. Note: You may want to vent the lid slightly so steam doesn't pop the lid off.

Transfer puree back to stockpot over medium high heat. Add tomato juice, soup base and 3 tbs of the sugar. Taste and add up to 1 more tbs sugar at this time. Note: The sugar is used to help cut the acidity of the tomatoes. The acidity of tomatoes can vary from batch to batch so always start low when adding the sugar.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer uncovered for 20 - 25 minutes to reduce slightly (about the consistency of a thin gravy). Taste soup after it has reduced. Add pepper, salt to taste, and up to 2 tbs more sugar as needed/desired (I normally use the full 6 tbs).

Reduce heat to low. Once soup has stopped bubbling stir in evaporated milk until well incorporated. Then stir in chopped basil. Cover and let sit about 5 minutes for flavors to blend.

Dish up and garnish with any combination of suggested garnishes above.

Alternate version: For a smoother consistency, before adding evaporated milk carefully run soup through a fine mesh sieve to remove all the solids. Return to pot, then add evaporated milk and basil as in step 5.