Went back through some of my older posts and decided to make this recipe for Indianish Broccoli and Spinach Soup. I am going to serve it with Baked Potatoes, a good winter meal. Yum!

This is a yummy recipe that comes from a great soup cookbook called Sensational Soups by Jeni Wright.

Cream of Broccoli Soup with Crostini

1 lb broccoli

4 canned anchovies, chopped (you’ll use the others for the crostini)

5-5.5 cups of broth (veggie or chicken)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

pepper

1/2-3/4 cup cream

Separate the stems from the florets, chop stems. Bring broth to a boil and add stems and anchovies, cover and simmer 15 minutes. Add florets, 1/4 cup Parmesan and pepper. Cover and simmer another 10 minutes. (Here I let mine cool while I picked up the kids) Puree in a blender until smooth. Add cream and reheat without boiling. Serve hot with more cheese and crostini (below)

Anchovy Crostini

remaining anchovies

1 finely chopped garlic clove

1 Tbs olive oil

1 tsp vinegar

pepper

loaf of bread (I used my favorite Olive Oil Ciabatta)

grind into a paste with a mortar and pestle. Slice bread into thick slices (I did 8 and left a few plain for my little ones) and put under a broiler for 2 minutes. Spread with anchovy paste and serve as is or heat in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.

I bought a beautiful and very large head of broccoli at the farmers market on Tuesday. I used part of it to make a delicious Tofu Stir Fry (I fried tofu in peanut oil, then scrambled three eggs, then steamed the broccoli, then added ginger, garlic and scallions along with Lee Kum Kee Vegetarian Stir Fry Sauce and voila, dinner!). Then tonight I used the rest (including all the stems) to make a great Broccoli and Cheddar soup.

For the soup I took the broccoli, one onion, three cloves of garlic and 6 cups of broth and brought it to a boil. Added salt and pepper and simmered till soft and then pureed with the immersion blender. Before serving I added about 1/3 cup milk and 1 cup of grated cheddar.

Served the soup with potato skins (with veggie bacon and cheddar) and sugar snap peas.

I opened the fridge today to make dinner with no clear inspiration. The veggie drawer was full of this and that and so I turned to my old standby, soup! I seasoned this one with Indian flavors and I think it came out great.

Indian-ish Broccoli and Spinach Soup

I large onion, chopped

4 stalks celery, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced

1 Tbs olive oil

6 cups broth (or water with bullion)

1 head broccoli (mine was a medium size)

1/2 bag of baby spinach

salt, pepper

1/2 tsp ground corriander

1/2 tsp cumin

In a large pot (I like using my Dutch Oven) heat olive oil. Saute onions and celery until softened adding garlic and ginger after a few minutes. Sprinkle with a bit of salt. Add broth then broccoli. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Cook about 10 minutes then add the spinach as well as pepper and the spices. Simmer an additional 10-15 minutes.

Puree if desired or leave chunky. Adjust salt and pepper if needed.

This is so easy, and a yummy way to eat broccoli for dinner!

Broccoli Bake

1 large head broccoli (or two smaller crowns)

1 onion

4 slices crusty bread (or any going stale bread), pulverized into crumbs in a food processor

2 Tbs butter

salt, pepper

4 eggs

1/2 cup cream

3/4 cup milk

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 Tbs breadcrumbs (store-bought)

2 Tbs grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350F. Steam the broccoli until tender (about 7-8 minutes). Let cool slightly, then chop into small pieces.

In a frying pan, melt butter. Saute onion and a sprinkle of salt until onion is soft. Add fresh bread crumbs and stir. Remove from heat.

Spray a 11x7 baking dish with pan spray. Cover the bottom with crumb-onion mixture.

In a large bowl mix eggs, cream, milk, cheddar cheese and chopped broccoli. Season with salt and pepper. Pour over crumb mixture. Top with dried breadcrumbs and Parmesan. Bake 30-35 minutes or until golden on the sides and bubbling. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.

This is like a more sophisticated mac and cheese, or a bit like an alfredo for kids. Either way I think it was delicious! And easy! If your kids prefer you could substitute peas for the broccoli.

Creamy Shells with Broccoli and Garlic

2 small crowns or 1 med head of broccoli

3/4 lb small pasta shells

3 Tbs butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbs flour

1 1/2 cups milk or half and half

1/4 tsp salt

pepper

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

Put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. Use it to steam the broccoli until just al dente (about 7 minutes). Chop the broccoli into very small pieces.

Put pasta on to boil and cook until al dente.

In a large skillet or saucepan heat the butter. When foaming add the garlic and stir until fragrant. Add the flour and stir until just golden. Add the milk and stir well. Season with salt and pepper. Add parmesan cheese and cooked broccoli. Stir well then add the cooked pasta. Stir to coat. Serve hot.

This is a yummy but easy recipe to whip up on a busy weeknight. Adjust the spicy-ness to your own taste. You can also vary the veggies however you like. Broiling the tofu gives it great texture and so much less fat than frying!

Peanut Noodles

1 block of extra firm tofu, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

3/4 lb thin spaghetti or fresh chinese noodles (I used Nasoya brand fresh noodles, 2 9ox pkgs)

4 Tbs soy sauce

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 Tbs olive oil

broccoli

napa cabbage

1/3 cup peanut butter

2 Tbs maple syrup

2 Tbs rice vinegar

1 Tbs water

1 Tbs sesame seeds

1 clove garlic, pressed

1/8-1/2 tsp chili paste

2 scallions, thinly sliced

In a small bowl mix together 3 Tbs soy sauce, peanut butter, maple syrup, vinegar, water, sesame seeds, garlic, and chili paste. Stir until smooth.

Preheat broiler. In a bowl, mix 1 Tbs soy sauce with ground ginger. Add tofu and toss gently to coat. Spray a pan with pan spray and spread out the tofu. Broil for 5 minutes, stir/flip and broil for an additional 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the oil and saute the vegetables (I used broccoli and napa cabbage, use whatever your family likes).

Heat a pot of water to boiling and cook noodles/spaghetti. Drain noodles and return to pot with peanut sauce. Toss to coat. Fill bowls with noodles and top with cooked veggies and tofu. Sprinkle with scallions.

I have several cookbooks that go in and out of rotation. Recently I pulled one out that I have not used in a while and found this recipe for Broccoli Soup. If you hadn’t noticed yet, I really like soup (and so do my kids!). This one is really easy and I got my son involved to make awesome croutons (they like to call them Kryptons after watching Superman!).

Broccoli and Garlic Soup

(from Perla Meyers’ Spur of the Moment Cook)

12 large cloves of garlic, double poached (see below)

1 1/2 pounds broccoli

4 Tbs butter

1 large onion, finely minced

2 Tbs flour

5 cups stock or bullion (I used a veggie bullion cube)

1/3 cup cream (optional)

Garlic Kyrptons (croutons, recipe below)

1. To double poach garlic: Peel cloves and place in a small sauce pan with water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook one minute. Drain and discard water. Return garlic to saucepan with fresh water and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until tender.

2. Chop broccoli. Peel stems and chop them as well. (Meyers suggested reserving some for a more chunky soup, I cooked mine all together for a smoother soup). Melt butter in a large pot. Add onions and cook until soft. Add flour and stir for one minute. Add broth/bullion and stir well. Add diced broccoli and simmer for 20 minutes.

3. Add poached garlic and salt and pepper. Puree soup with an immersion blender (Meyers suggested straining soup and pureeing in the food processor, I choose to use the immersion blender for less mess). Add optional cream (I used less than 1/3 cup and it still was nice and creamy). Serve with Kryptons.

Kryptons

6-8 slices of French Bread

1 clove garlic, pressed or finely minced

1-2 Tbs olive oil

Cut bread into cubes. heat olive oil in a small pan and add garlic. Stir briefly then add bread. Stir over med high heat until bread and garlic are golden brown. (my son made these to perfection, they are so yummy!)