Cream of Broccoli and Potato Soup

I've spent the last week with a really miserable cold/flu-like virus that gave me a sore throat and a bunch of other weird symptoms with which I will refrain from boring the gentle reader. Anyway, this was a sad state of affairs for several reasons: 1. it sucks to be sick. 2. This was the first time in history that my partner's and my spring break coincided, and all the "fun" he's had is making me cups of tea and listening to me whine. And 3. I had grand plans to get a ton of work done, but since the medicine I've been taking basically puts me in a coma, that wasn't happening either. So it was pretty much a fail all the way around: blech.

Anyway, at times like these, there's only one thing to do: eat soup, right? But since there was no pre-existing soup in the house, it had to be made, and since there was no way I was going shopping (which would require the unthinkable, to wit: getting out of my pajamas), I had to use what was already in the pantry. Fortunately, I had a huge head of broccoli and some potatoes, which is all anyone needs to make a big pot of yummy, comforting green soup. True, there's a fair amount of chopping involved, but that's a mindless activity requiring minimal mental acuity, and after that it's easy peasy. This soup is loaded with nutritious veggies, and the end result is perfect for curling up on the sofa with your blanket, your dog, and the TV remote. *Sniff*


Cream of Broccoli and Potato Soup

Ingredients:
~ 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
~ 1 tbsp. minced garlic
~ 2 cups chopped onions
~ 1/2 cup each: diced celery, carrots
~ 1 tsp. each: thyme, tarragon, parsley, dill, rosemary, paprika, kosher salt
~ Fresh black pepper
~ 2 tbsp. mellow white miso
~ 2 cups vegetable broth
~ 4 cups yellow potatoes, cut into small dice
~ 1 head broccoli, chopped (about 5 cups)
~ 2 cups lite coconut milk
~ 1/2 cup chopped, fresh parsley
Also:
~ 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
~ 3 scallions, thinly sliced

Directions:
~ In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, heat the oil and saute the onions, garlic and celery over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
~ Add the carrots, potatoes and dry seasonings; stir to coat and cook another 2-3 minutes.
~ Add the miso and vegetable broth, cover, raise heat and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and simmer 15 minutes.
~ Add the chopped broccoli, fresh parsley and 1 cup of the coconut milk, stir to combine and return ever so briefly to boiling.
~ Turn the heat back to simmer and cook another 10-15 minutes, until the vegetables are soft.
~ Meanwhile, heat the 1 tbsp. of olive oil in a small pan and saute the scallions for 2-3 minutes.
~ Remove the soup from the heat, add the remaining cup of coconut milk, and use an immersion blender (or transfer by batches to a food processor) to blend until smooth.
~ Adjust the seasonings, stir in the sauteed scallions, return to almost boiling and serve with a big hunk of crusty bread for dunking.