He roasts everything in the oven (tomatoes, red peppers, onion, garlic, etc.) then puts it all in a blender with salt. He'll add cream sometimes to make it creamier.
Here are a few things people like in or with tomato soup that may help: popcorn, tortilla chips, fried bread (like grilled cheese, but just buttered bread grilled on both sides) or grilled cheese, croutons.
If I use Campbell's soup from a can, I'll use milk instead of water - much better, but still not as good as homemade.