Last week, another New England snow and ice storm had me housebound. Looking out the window at the snow pouring down, my mind wandered back to snow days off from school and Mom fixing that ultimate comfort food combo—tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches—for lunch. And that reminded me of one of my all-time favorite recipes from the Fine Cooking archives: Perla Meyers’ Classic Tomato Soup. I’ve made this recipe probably a dozen times. Its intense tomato flavor and light, silky texture that’s somehow creamy without containing a lick of dairy never fail to send me into a swoon. I hustled into the kitchen to check the cabinets, and, oh joy, I had most of the pantry items I needed to make it: a can of whole peeled tomatoes, some chicken broth (okay, I used organic chicken base), a big onion, garlic, flour and sugar. No fresh thyme sprig, but a pinch of dried was the obvious substitution. An hour later, I was spooning into tomato nirvana. Granted, it takes a lot longer to make than it does to open a can of Campbell’s, but it’s so worth it.