Soup of the Week – First Summer Edition
I know what you’re thinking.
Who makes soup in the summer? Aside from the rather obvious choice of gazpacho, does anyone really think soup in the summer?
Apparently, I do.
I wasn’t actually thinking soup when I found this one. I was thinking “what the heck am I going to do with all of this broccoli?” That bunch you see in the upper left corner of the picture looking all unobtrusive is more plentiful than it appears.
I love broccoli. Kidzilla loves broccoli. We’ve certainly had our way with the broccoli over the last few weeks – raw in salads, roasted, sautéed. We were ready for something different.
I poked around the Internet in search of a broccoli slaw recipe. Summer goes with slaw and broccoli slaw is a nice alternative to standard cabbage. But it doesn’t really get rid of the top part of the broccoli. Then there’s the traditional broccoli salad recipe – mayo, vinegar, dried cranberries, bacon. It’s good, but it doesn’t really get rid of the bottoms.
I passed over about nineteen different versions of broccoli cheddar and cream of broccoli soup. That’s just too heavy when the heat indexes are hovering around 100 degrees. Blah.
One soup caught my attention because it said it was summer broccoli soup. But how summery could broccoli soup possibly be? Broccoli soup is the stuff of cold autumn evenings. I needed to know.
This soup is now on my list of favorite Pinterest finds, but it comes to us from a nice little spot in blog land called Lovely Food. The recipe for Broccoli and Cashew Summer Soup had me at “summer” but I was really sold when I saw the words “cashews” and “VitaMix” in the post. I have been dying to put something nasty in my newest kitchen toy to see it in action. OK, cashews aren’t exactly steel railroad ties, but you get the picture.
All you need for this soup is broccoli, some of its cooking water, cashews, tamari, sea salt, pepper, and yeast flakes. I had all of that in my kitchen except the yeast flakes so I decided to go for it. The recipe on Lovely Food says this makes one generous serving and I was the only one eating (Kidzilla and Fab Dad were having a mac and cheese date.) Perfect.
This was as easy as blanching the broccoli a little, tossing everything into the VitaMix, and deciding which bowl to use. It is delicious the first time and warmed up again a day later.
I’ve made this twice already this week – once as written on Lovely Food and again doubled the next day. The first effort did indeed yield a very generous serving. I topped it with a light sprinkle of Romano cheese and flax seeds. Why that combo? Sounded good at the time. It was delicious.
I made it again yesterday with the intent of exhausting the broccoli reserves and stashing some leftovers in the refrigerator, Soup of the Week style. I had a nice cup of it for lunch and the rest went into my new favorite storage system – good old fashioned glass jars. I just love them. 
My intent here was to show off the jar more than the soup, so please go visit Lovely Food to see what this soup looks like properly plated. Charlotte’s photos over at Lovely Food are, well, lovely, so please click over there, take a good look at them, and grab the recipe for this soup. It’s healthy, it’s fast and easy, and the whole VitaMix thing? Awesome.
Kidzilla and I had a girls’ night in tonight while Fab Hub was playing a gig. Neither of us felt much like eating after Zilla got two big bad shots today at her pediatrician appointment so some fruit and this summer broccoli happiness made an appearance. It reheats beautifully. This time, I topped it with a little dollop of non-fat Greek yogurt and some flax seeds. Yes, again. They are awesome. And I may or may not also have added some shredded Colby Jack cheese, just for good measure. This soup really tastes perfect all by itself, though. It does not need anything extra. Zilla asked to have it for lunch tomorrow. If my little gourmet likes it, you know you have a winner.
I’m still trying to decide how I feel about the nutritional yeast idea. I’ve never used it. I have done some reading so I know what it is and what it does, but somehow I can’t get the idea that it’s yeast out of my head. If you have any experience with nutritional yeast, tell me what you know. It is now on my list of “weird things I never thought I’d eat” to try next…right above this week’s least appealing offering, okra.
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Coincidently my dinner tonight will be cold cauliflower soup, with a bit of spicy chorizo and a generous wedge of whole wheat bread.
I adore cold soup…
Hm, that sounds good – did you post it somewhere?
Last night I needed to find an idea for the bumper crop of yellow squash we have, so I wondered about soup. Sure enough, I found a couple. Going to try that later today.
That soup sounds good!
I have used nutritional yeast. It adds great flavor when I make homemade seitan. Normally it isn’t used in huge quantities, so think of it more as a seasoning.
I came to love okra as an adult. It is all in how it is prepared. As a kid, my grandma boiled it into this slimy mess and I ran from the room. Now I eat it in stir fries and in a vegetarian jambalaya, and it is excellent.
Your take on the yeast is pretty much what I’ve seen – great flavor. It may be silly, but my big question is whether it throws off the body’s natural balance and would be a concern for yeast infection. From what I’ve read, it seems that it shouldn’t because it’s deactivated and not the same as other sources that might be problematic.
My only experience with okra was the slimy, mushy variety so I am not to keen on this one. I initially refused the baggie of it, but all the CSA interns were like “no, fried okra is awesome” and so I decided not to be a baby about it and try. I figured I’d find some way to make it and try just a tiny bit. If we hate it, there must be someone who will take a bag of okra. How would you suggest preparing it to avoid the slime factor?
If you bread okra and fry it like the intern suggested, it is really good and not slimy at all!
Thanks for the suggestion – I’m going to try it.
If you’re looking for a new way to eat that broccoli, I have a suggestion. It’s nutritious too. I started getting hummus and using it as a dip for broccoli. It’s cheap and easy to do. I was uncertain of it at first because I’ve never eaten hummus that way, but it’s tasty and addictive. Before I know it, I’ve eaten a handful of broccoli that way.
Oh, I’ve done that! We use hummus on just about everything. We also do little veggie pizzas (sort of) by putting hummus on a flatbread or pita as the “sauce” and topping with whatever veggies we have around. Kidzilla loves it – it’s fun.
And hummus goes with just about anything, at least as far as I’m concerned. Have you used hummus in sandwiches? Awesome. And different varieties? One of the most interesting ones I’ve done is roasted beet hummus – so different.
Broccoli soup is always a winner in our house, even though everyone says they *hate* it. I will have to try this one!
And thank you for reminding me that glass jars are perfect for storage. Who knew that they have another use other than sitting on my pantry shelf?
I have to admit that I am slow to learn on the glass jar thing. I picked up a couple and I can’t even remember why and now I’m using them for everything. My only other storage stuff is twenty year old Anchor Hocking plastic – pretty sure they aren’t BPA free. So I’m trying to switch that stuff out.
This is the fastest and tastiest broccoli soup ever and not heavy, either. Perfect.
What are those long windy things on the picture?
Those would be garlic scapes from our CSA deliveries. Think scallions that taste like garlic…or garlic that looks like a curly scallion. You can use them (at least as far as I can tell) in much the same way you would use garlic, but I think the taste is a bit different. My sister thinks they are not as strong as bulb garlic. Someone else I know thinks they are way too strong. I can take them or leave them – they work fine enough. Kind of cool chopped up in a salad like you would use scallions.
Ha! The nutritional yeast thing – once you’ve tried it you won’t look back. Ideal for seasoning things that aren’t heavily cooked. So glad you came across the soup recipe – and I’m so glad you like it!!
Hi, Charlotte! I love the soup and I love your blog – just added it to my follow list. I think I am now sold on the yeast thing. Going to try some next time we go to the store.
We just chatted about your okra. My husband likes it. Mom said ewww its slimy. He reaponded not if you cook it right. So there you go. Plus if you still don’t like it he will take it off your hands.
Well, please ask Captain Okra what he believes is the “right” way to cook it. If I try it and it’s slimy, it’s all his.
Sounds delish but I don’t have a vita mix (want one but can’t justify spending the $$). What is a girl to do?
In a million years, I would never have thought about spending that much on a kitchen item. However. I’ve been crazy with smoothies of all kinds and the more I get into healthier things, the more I find a few ingredients in there that really took a toll on my blender. I considered a juicer, but that has limited options and I don’t always want just juice. After reading a TON of stuff about VitaMix vs. blender vs. juicer vs. nine other things, this seemed like the way to go. I’m making smoothies, juices, soups, homemade almond milk, nut butters, sauces…it’s amazing. It’s my Mother’s Day and birthday gifts for like the next five years, I think. 😉 I bet there’s a way to modify that soup, though, without that kind of turbo machine. I’ll have to think on that one or ask Charlotte since it’s her recipe.
I once made soup in the summer and it was the only time my husband looked at me incredulously at the dinner table. “Soup? In Summer?” he said. I was confused. What was the big deal? “It’s hot out,” was his answer. Okkkaaayyyy. I never made soup in summer again. By the way, I know this makes him sound a bit jerky, but he really isn’t. It was the one and only time during our marriage he had ever made a negative comment about one of my dinners, and believe me, not everything I make turns out super delicious all the time.
By the way, Broccoli soup is one of my favorite things. I’d even eat it in the summer 🙂
Funny story. So you couldn’t sell him on summer soup? Not even cold soups?
I just made some again tonight – had a huge squash that needed to be dealt with so we have summer squash soup. Surprisingly, on this ridiculously hot day, it was exactly right.
Actually, I have been dreaming of soup….craving it in fact. I have resisted thinking my family would balk, but I may whip up a batch of this for my own lunches.
For the past year I have gone nuts for the jars as well. Feels cleaner and healthier than the oddball assortment of tupperware I had been using.
You continue to teach me new things…nutritional yeast and garlic scales?!?!?!?! News to me!
I had to put away leftovers last night and I found myself sort of cringing at the prospect of using plastic. I think it’s more about how old mine are than anything else. Let me tell you how cool soup looks in the jars, though! I have a second summer soup I’m just about finished with and one ready to go.
Not sold on the nutritional yeast – I took Tammy and Charlotte’s input on the yeast and had the Fab Hub grab some at the store the other day. By itself? Not so much. Haven’t tried it in anything yet.