Provencal Tomato Soup with Rice

Great soup. So good I didn't get around to taking a picture before it was all gone ;-)

INGREDIENTS (serves 4):

2 lb tomatoes
1 onion, halved and then then sliced thinly
2 medium carrots, coarsely grated
1 celery rib, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, finely chopped
2 bay leaves
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons tomato paste
5 cups of liquid (combination of chicken broth, water...)
pinch of crumbled saffron threads
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup long-grain white rice

PREPARATION:

Blanch tomatoes (with a shallow X cut into skin using sharp paring knife) in boiling water for 10 seconds, transferring with a slotted spoon to a owl of ice and cold water to stop cooking. Peel tomatoes, then halve crosswise. Squeeze halves gently, cut sides down, over a sieve set over a bowl to extract seeds and juices, then press on seeds and discard them. Reserve juice and tomatoes.

Cook onions, carrot, celery, garlic, thyme and bay leaf in oil in a heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes with reserved juice, tomato paste, water and broth, salt and pepper, saffron and sugar, then simmer, uncovered, stirring and breaking up tomatoes with a spoon occasionally, 20 minutes. Stir in rice and simmer, uncovered, until rice is tender, 10 to 20 minutes. Discard bay leaf and add salt and sugar to taste.