Back To Soup

Dennis says he remembers snow on April 20 once when he was a boy. I, personally, don’t recall any April snow until today. The dragon of the north has lashed its tail for what we hope is the last time before its summer hibernation.

The snow doesn't amount to much, but today’s temperature won’t get above the low thirties and tonight will bring a hard freeze. While broccoli and cauliflower plants slumber under a blanket of straw in the garden, I’ve been making soup.

This time I’m using the last frozen broccoli from last year’s garden to make a recipe I tinkered with for years until it reached what I consider to be perfection. (I posted the recipe two years ago, but it has changed since then.)

Broccoli Soup*

2 tablespoons butter or olive oil

½ cup diced onion

3 cups chicken broth or 3 cups water and 3 teaspoons chicken base

2 medium-size Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and diced

1 quart-sized bag home frozen broccoli or 4 cups fresh broccoli

½ cup half and half or milk

¼ to ½ teaspoon nutmeg

Melt butter in a 2-quart saucepan. Stir in chopped onion and cook over low heat until the onion is translucent. Increase heat to medium-high. Add the diced potato and broth. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat, cover, and cook until potato is fork-tender.

Increase heat, add the broccoli, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes, until broccoli is fork-tender.

Puree the soup in the pan using an immersion blender. Stir in the half and half or milk and nutmeg and heat to desired temperature. Do not allow the soup to boil.

Yesterday I harvested a beautiful head of lettuce from the cold frame.

Along with the soup we’re having a salad made from that lettuce, feta cheese and dried cranberries.

Let the north wind blow. We’re toasty with a fire in the woodstove and a pot of soup on the stove.

• It isn’t necessary to use the exact amounts of ingredients so long as their ratio remains about the same. Today I used the equivalent of two 10-ounce packages of commercial frozen broccoli and increased the other ingredients proportionately.

Copyright 2013 by Shirley Domer