Tonight I made the most amazing tomato soup, and it was from scratch! I've always wanted to make a tomato soup from scratch and have always pushed it off, thinking it would take a long time or be difficult to get the right texture. Well, the right texture, I got, and difficult, it was not! This soup is so perfect and goes along well with my no-fake-all-fresh approach. It even got a 9 on the Hub-O-Meter, (though I think he was being stingy and holding back a 10, 'cause he really loved it...and he dislikes tomatoes!) I made a ton of changes to a recipe I found online and the only ingredient in this soup that was not fresh was some canned fat-free, reduced sodium chicken stock. The recipe makes just about 3 big bowlfuls (though I sorta, maybe filled only 2 bowls with it, it was so good!) so next time I will at least double it. This soup will stay with us forever, an instant favorite!

I am all about using fresh ingredients, no preservatives, no fake junk....just fresh, pure food. Though I will admit, I do usually make things easier on myself my using canned tomatoes, and that sort of thing, but I will only choose those that have nothing in them but just that: tomatoes. And since this recipe is chock full of fresh ingredients, I figured it would be great for a post-holiday winter meal.

Even though this turned out delicious last night, I think next time I will us a bit more broth/wine, at least another cup. The broth of this soup was simply incredible, there just wasn't enough of it. Though I would normally use a red wine for a soup base, I did not have any on-hand, so I went with what was left of our white Zin, and it worked great. I might also use a bit less tortellini, as I discovered that they really do almost "double in size" haha. I did not use fresh tortellini for this either. Though I have made fresh pasta before, I just decided it was a little more labor than my mood called for at the time. :) This soup can also be made without the sausage and/or tortellini as a vegetarian or simpler soup. It would be mouthwatering either way.

Italian Sausage Soup with Tortellini
Makes about 6 servings

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 4 links mild Italian sausage, casing removed
• 1/2 an onion, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 5 1/2 cups of beef broth
• 1/2 cup white Zinfandel wine
• 3 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced
• 3/4 cup carrots, sliced
• 3-4 basil leaves, chopped
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 can of tomato sauce (8 0z.)
• 8 ounces uncooked tortellini
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat oil in a large pot or dutch oven; brown sausage in oil until no longer pink, crumbling into medium sized pieces as it cooks. Once cooked, remove from pot, reserving oil and drippings. Set aside.
2. Saute onion and garlic in drippings until tender. Add broth, wine and tomatoes, mixing well. Add carrots, basil, oregano, tomato sauce and sausage and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 30-35 minutes.
3. At this point, add the tortellini and return to a boil for about 10 minutes or until tortellini are tender and cooked through. Add salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat. Serve with cheese on top or with Italian bread.

Photos by The Chocolate Cookie.