Tomato Soup (Canning Quantities) Makes 7 Quarts or 14 pints

1/2 Bushel of Tomatoes (We used 2/3 Slicers and 1/3 Paste Type)
1/4 C Olive Oil
1 C Celery, cut in large chunks
1 lb Carrots, washed and cut in large chunks (Peal only if nasty)
2 C Yellow Onion, peeled and cut into large chunks
6 cloves garlic, peeled and cut into chunks
½ C sugar
¼ C salt
Cornstarch Slurry (Optional)
Wash tomatoes and process thru a food strainer.
Saute celery, carrots, onions and garlic in olive oil until translucent and carrots start to lightly brown.
Bring tomatoes and sauteed vegetables to a boil and simmer for 1 hour.
Process entire pot of soup in batches in a Vita-mix then strain puree thru a screen sieve, to remove strings.
Stir in sugar and salt.
If soup is too thin, return it to a boil and thicken to desired thickness with cornstarch made into a slurry with cold water.
Pour into hot canning jars, wipe rims and process in a pressure canner. Start timing 20 minutes for pints and 30 minutes for quarts after the canner has reached pressure.
To Serve: Add 1/2 - 1 cup of milk or cream per pint of soup. Heat and serve.