One of the many reasons I love summer is ...Basil. The husband said I was "weird" when I brought a big bunch from farmer's market, buried my nose into it and smelled it forever. "Smell it, baby! Its smells so fresh." His response was, "It smells like grass." OK then :)
Yes, I love fresh basil. The dry kind just doesn't do justice. I love how it flavors food, how it makes my kitchen smell, how pretty it is and now I am patiently waiting for it to grow in my "garden."

Some moons ago, husband and I visited Chicago and stopped for some pizza at one of the local joints, Lou Malnati's I believe it was. And that was the first time I tried Creamy Basil-Tomato Soup. Oh heavens!!
After reading and trying different recipes, I sort of made my own recipe of this wonderfully creamy basily soup.
Creamy Tomato Soup
Ingredients:

1/4 cup of butter
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 big onion, chopped
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes (ideally you want about 3 to 4 lb of fresh juicy tomatoes)
1 14 oz can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 cups of chicken broth (or stock. Will make it even more flavorful)
basil - about a cup - rolled the leaves up into a cigar/tube and thinly slice
salt
pepper
some sugar
1 cup of heavy cream

Saute onion in olive oil and butter until tender. Add tomatoes, chicken broth, basil, salt, pepper, and some sugar, bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and cover. Simmer for 35-40 min. Take off the heat, pour it into blender and blend until smooth (but NOT baby food smooth! you want some texture). I used immersion blender, which worked fine as well. Pour it back in the soup pot and keep it on low. Gradually whisk in a cup of heavy cream, let warm thru for 5-8 minutes. Voila! Garnish with fresh basil if you like. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese for some salty action.
*** you may also add garlic when you saute the onion but be careful not to add too much. Too strong of garlicky flavor will "kill" the soup flavor.

One the side I served fresh mozzarella grilled cheese sandwiches.
For 3 servings:
6 slices of crusty Italian bread
3 thick slices of fresh mozzarella cheese
3 slices of deli's provolone cheese (package one will work too!)
Smeared some butter on each side and grilled them in a pan. If you have panini grill - it will work perfect!
I added some Balsamic Vinegar reduction onto mine - YUMMY! (just boil 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar and then reduce to simmer for 15 min -  sweet and tangy and super delicious on this kind of bread)
The husband asked for another sandwich, had to tell him no! (saving fresh mozzarella for Eggplant Parmesan tomorrow) So instead he ate our daughter portion of the soup. Alrighty. All this talk about basil smelling like grass :)

I also think it would be pretty amazing to add some fresh garden tomato slice and basil leaves into this sandwich. Next time.

Perfect dinner for a rainy summer Sunday!

Pryatnogo appetita, dryz'ya!