Two Soups!

The past two days out here were rainy and gray. I feel like rainy days are made for a steamy bowl of soup!

These two bowls hit the spot and were both easy to make.

Broccoli Soup
Adapted from Martha Stewart, Great Food Fast

I know, broccoli soup, really? Yes, I love broccoli, (I was a weird kid who ate broccoli but not blueberries), but I thought it sounded funny too, but it was quite tasty!

Olive Oil
1 medium yellow onion
3 cloves garlic
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/3 C rolled oats
1/4 C Quinoa
1.5 lbs broccoli, I just used one huge head. Cut up into smaller pieces and stems sliced thinly
Salt and Pepper to taste
4-6 C chicken broth

Heat your onion and pressed garlic in a large soup pot or dutch oven with a good bit of olive oil until onions are tender. Add the nutmeg, cook another minute. Add broccoli, oats, quinoa, and broth. You should have enough broth to almost or just about cover the broccoli. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat. Simmer until broccoli is tender, 8-12 minutes. Use an immersion blender or in small batches transfer to a regular blender and blend until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste, and you should certainly add some, this soup needed a bit of salt, and I'm not usually a salt person. Next time I might add a few more herbs or some garlic salt in the cooking process. But otherwise, great with some nice fresh bread!



Potato Leek Soup

I'd seen a couple recipes for this here and on Erin's blog. I used these as a reference and went with what I had in the kitchen. This was super tasty and perfect for a chilly fall night!

1 TBS Butter with some olive oil
1 medium yellow onion
2-3 large cloves garlic (the garlic from the farmers market has HUGE cloves)
3 Leeks, sliced length wise then in thin slices, just the white and light green parts
3 Potatoes, (one smaller, two larger, about 4-5 Cups) Sliced in cubes
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1-2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 C celery, finely chopped
1 tsp oregano
1/4 - 1/3 C Quinoa
4-5 C Chicken Broth
3/4 C water (optional, my pot just needed more liquids to cover the veggies)
1/3 - 1/2 C heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste


Saute your onions and garlic in butter/olive oil until fragrant and tender. Add leeks, celery, thyme, oregano and oregano. Cook a bit more. Add potatoes, broth, quinoa. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer about 12-15 minutes until potatoes are tender. Blend with immersion blender or blender until about half of the mixture is smooth. Add your cream, salt and pepper, stir until blended. Enjoy!