Fresh thyme leaves are so tiny, they don't need to be minced. I just throw in whole stems. The tiny leaves fall off during cooking, then you can easily pick out the stem. I love thyme!
AG, sorry I must have missed your asking about the soup. Of course--- no recipe. But I roughly chopped about (maybe) 6 cups of tomatoes (with skin) and set aside. In a 5 qt pot in a little oil I sauteed a small amount of diced onion (about 1/4 of an onion), one tiny carrot (chopped), one stalk of chopped celery, a small piece of red pepper, and a small clove of garlic. When soft I added the tomatoes and 2 cups low sodium veggie broth, fresh basil leaves, a little dried oregano, a pinch of ground clove and cayenne. Added about 1 tsp Splenda. Cooked that for about 40 minutes then used an immersion blender. I left some texture to it with tiny pieces of skin, seeds, veggies, etc. Served it topped with shaved Parmesan. We loved it.
Karen
