Instructions: Place the tomatoes, with juice, in a buttered oven-proof baking dish. Add the celery, garlic and red pepper and cover and bake in a 325 degree oven for 25 minutes. Saute the mushrooms and onion in the second batch of butter in a large stock pot for about 8 minutes. While stirring, slowly add the flour and sugar, blending until mixture is very smooth. Add the stock, basil, rosemary and thyme, stirring until soup comes to a boil. Add the contents of the baked tomato pan from the oven and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer the soup for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a food processor, blend the cream cheese, salt and pepper until smooth. Slowly stir the cream cheese into the soup. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Yield:12 hearty portions.

If you would like to email yourself the recipe for later use, or share the recipe with your friends or family, enter the email addresses below and this recipe will be emailed to you and others as well.