To a large Dutch oven or stockpot, add the oil, carrots, onions, and cook over medium-high heat for about 7 minutes, or until vegetables have softened and are lightly caramelized; stir intermittently.

Add the garlic, oregano, and cook for about 1 minute, or until fragrant; stir frequently.

Add the tomatoes, water or broth (for a thicker soup use 1.5 cups), basil, salt, pepper, stir to combine, bring to a boil (should only take a minute or two), and then shut off the heat.

Transfer about half the mixture to the canister of a high-speed blender, cover, and blend on high power until smooth. Caution: Stop every 10 to 15 seconds to let the steam out. If you don’t know if your blender is capable of blending hot liquids, I recommend waiting until the mixture has cooled down a bit. If you have a Vita-Mix, it fits perfectly in 2 batches. Or, use an immersion blender.

Pour the smooth mixture that’s in the blender into a large bowl and repeat with the remaining chunky mixture that’s in the stockpot.

Transfer the smooth mixtures back into stockpot, add the bay leaves, and simmer over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes; stir intermittently.

Taste the soup and optionally add granulated sugar (helps balance the acid of the tomatoes), cayenne pepper (does not make the soup spicy but gives it flavor), and more salt or pepper (I added 2 additional teaspoons salt and 0.5 teaspoon additional pepper).

Add the Almondmilk as desired (I added about 0.67 cup; add to taste based on desired soup consistency) and stir to combine.

Recheck seasoning balance, remove bay leaves, ladle soup into bowls, optionally garnish with croutons and/or basil, and serve immediately.