1 In a medium saucepan, combine the tomatoes and their juice, the chicken broth, half the garlic, the sugar and pepper. Break the tomatoes up with a spoon. Bring the mixture to a boil, covered, over medium-high heat.
2 Meanwhile, peel and cube the potatoes. Add the potatoes to the boiling tomato-broth mixture. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
3 Meanwhile, coarsely chop the scallions. In a small bowl, blend the clam juice with the cornstarch.
4 Preheat the oven to 400°. Line a baking sheet with foil.
5 In a small skillet, warm the oil over medium heat. Add the remaining garlic and cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.
6 Brush both sides of the bread with the garlic oil and place them on the foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes, or until golden.
7 Bring the soup back to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir the clam juice-cornstarch mixture to reblend and add it to the boiling broth. Cook, stirring, until the liquid has thickened slightly, 1 to 2 minutes.
8 Add the scallions and clams.