Broccoli Soup

You may have noticed by now that one of the cooks in this house is a Vegetarian, and other one is most definitely NOT. 


Many people in my extended family are not only Vegetarian, but Vegan. This gives me many resources for ideas when I am trying to come up with something new to eat.


The impressive thing about many of these recipes is that the Non-Vegetarian in the house often enjoys them VERY much. (From time to time he will prepare some meat if he feels he needs more protein, but many times he is happy with the meal as served.)


Dinner tonight was a soup from a recipe book written by my great-aunt, Heather Leno. 


I didn't have any marjoram or fresh celery, so I substituted dried oregano and about 2 teaspoons of celery salt.  I also added some freshly ground black pepper towards the end.


Following is the version I made tonight.


Cream of Broccoli Soup


In a saucepan on medium heat, add the following ingredients. 

• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp celery salt
• 2 stalks fresh broccoli, cut into chunks (approximately 4 1/2 cups)
• 1/2 a medium onion, cut into chunks

Cook covered while preparing the next set of ingredients. (You are basically steaming the vegetables. Do not overcook.)

Combine the following ingredients in a blender:

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/8 tsp dried dill
• 1/8 tsp dried oregano

Whiz until smooth and creamy.  Add the cooked vegetables and blend until smooth. (Vegetables are hot, you may need to vent the lid a little to ensure that it does not pop off in older style blenders.)  I added the veggies in two parts so the blender would not be too full to blend.

Add another 1/2 to 1 cup of hot water, a few grinds of pepper, and another tsp of celery salt. Blend again to combine, and serve. (Return to pot to re-heat if it has cooled to much in the blending process)