Some Nice Brrrocc-o-li Cheez Soup!

Whenever I think broccoli, I think of my favorite line from An American Tale where Fievel the mouse is befriended by Tiger, the big "bad" cat...

Tiger: "Listen, I like mice."
[Fievel cries]
Tiger: "Oh, no. Not like that. You see, I don't eat red meat at all. I'm a vegetarian. Oh, a little fish now and then, but what I really like is a nice piece of... shh... brrrocc-o-li!"



My best friend made a broccoli cheese soup last month for our holiday get-together's soup night, and my oldest daughter loved it. So, I got thinking about how to go about veganizing it without a lot of processed cheese substitute. Soon after a blog I follow ("Oh She Glows") popped up with just such a recipe. I've made it a couple times now, and I don't think I've changed too much from the original recipe. So...man your battle stations! Er...grab your knife!? Because there's a lot of chopping to do!

Chop and set aside:
1 cup of celery (about 3 stalks)
3 potatoes, peeled (if organic, I wouldn't bother, just give a good scrub)
4-5 cups broccoli florets

In a soup pot:
2 tsp evoo
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced

Saute for about 5 minutes, then add the previously chopped veggies and cook another 5 minutes.

Add, and simmer til the potatoes are tender - about 15 minutes:
3 cups vegetable broth
2 Tbsp "nooch" (nutritional yeast)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper



Ladle about 3/4 of the veggie mixture into the blender or food processor til relatively smooth. I like some texture in my soup, but it's up to you how far you take it. Pour back into the soup pot and stir. Now we'll move on to the cheesy component.

Cheez Sauce:
1 Tbsp Earth Balance butter
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups unsweetened, unflavored almond milk
3/4 cup nooch
1-1/2 Tbsp dijon mustard (or cheap yellow mustard if the contents of your fridge are like mine)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Melt the butter in the saucepan. In a measuring cup, mix milk and flour til dissolved and add slowly to butter, and whisk. When it gets nice and hot, whisk in the remainder of the ingredients.



Mix cheez sauce into the soup pot. Add salt, pepper, and paprika to taste.



This soup, IMO, calls for some nice, salty, buttery crackers! But since I didn't have any in the pantry, I made some "toast croutons" (ok...I really just wanted to use my new toaster oven...)



Oh, and my daughter loves this veganized version just as much! Score!

I made another dish tonight too, so that we'll have something to warm up tomorrow night after two basketball games...but I'll share that one with you another time. Stay tuned!