Tomato Cream Soup for the College Soul

The stew is barely bubbling, the chicken half-cooked, when you look up at the clock. It’s just a habitual motion, but your following reaction is anything but temperate.

“I’ve been here for an hour already?! This still needs cooking…I have homework to do! F—k!”

Now you’re in trouble. Do you scrap all of your hard work in order to finish your assignments, then resolve to the cottonmouth-inducing sodium bombs of freezer food and canned soups? Do you soldier it out and pray for some deity to magically rearrange natural science, therefore shortening your cooking times? Do you get some Wendy’s and call it a day? Do you just starve?

The biggest caveat to dorm cooking — other than the fact that YOU have to cook and clean (some can’t handle it) — is undoubtedly time consumption. Just as you sweat your mirepoix for sumptuous stocks and sauces, so you sweat the clock, and with good reason — UNC’s academics are challenging, and no one wants to miss out on our gamut of groups and events because they have cleanup to do or a dish to watch.

So how do you enjoy the reward of a good homemade meal while keeping efficient with time? Cleverly cut corners, duh, and turn gruel to gourmet.

Take canned tomato soup; it’s okay elementary-style with Goldfish in it, or fairly decent alongside some grilled cheese. Alone, however, it tends to be lacking. That, however, can easily be solved.

Using garlic, onion powder, olive oil, basil, red pepper flakes and a bit of milk, that stone’s throw from salty ketchup can be transformed into a tasty tomato cream soup sure to impress anyone. And, best of all, it only takes about 20 minutes and barely any skill to make. It proves that you can do your work, make your food — damn good food, at that— and eat it, too.

Tomato Cream Soup

1 can of tomato soup (low-sodium is better, but either will work)
1 cup of 1% milk
2 T. of olive oil
4 minced garlic cloves
¼ tsp. of onion powder
½ tsp. red pepper flakes
¼ tsp. of dried basil
¼ tsp. of black pepper

Using a medium saucepot over medium heat, begin to sweat the garlic in the olive oil. After the garlic begins to release strong aromas, add the red pepper flakes, onion powder and basil. Sweat briefly until the garlic begins to darken, roughly 20-30 seconds.

Add the entire can of soup to the pot, then the black pepper. Stir the mixture to incorporate the olive oil and sweated herbs evenly throughout. Bring to a slow simmer.

Add the milk and black pepper, then bring the soup to a low simmer while stirring occasionally. Simmer for 1-2 minutes, then remove from heat.

Makes 2-3 servings, depending on who’s eating (or one, really, but I won’t own up to that).

Best served hot with a toasted baguette for dipping.