Recipe: Broccoli-Cheese Soup

This recipe warrants posting because Ella, our resident Very Light Eater, ate an entire bowl -- and asked for more! (She didn't eat the 'more', but we will not quibble. An entire 1/2 cup bowl of a fairly hearty soup was devoured in very short order.

Now, I tend to assist with soup. Even nice, thick soup like this is hard for toddlers to manage. It could be that the sound effects I employed -- and the riotous glee with which Dominic responded to the sound effects -- had a largish impact in her willingness to "Ooooopennnnn... GLOM!"

And many thanks to Nora for teaching Dominic, by her most excellent example, to open WIDE. Nora does the baby-bird-mouth, you know, the one where their face about splits in two, very well indeed. Whereas, prior to this morning, Dominic tended more to a teeny sliver of open mouth, which sliver, moreover, tended to close on the spoon before it was entirely in there.

Not today! WIDE open mouth, held open for long enough to get the ENTIRE spoonful in there. Woot!

Okay... the recipe:

Ingredients:

2 T butter or margarine
1 kg broccoli (two largish bunches), cut into smallish chunks, including the stems. (Peel the larger stems; the small ones can go in as is.)
1 onion, chopped rough
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 1/2 teaspoons mustard powder
pinch cayenne
salt to taste

3 - 4 cups water
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups vegetable broth
2 loosely packed cups of spinach
3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar
3/4 cup Parmesan

Black pepper

Method:

1. Saute, stirring often, first group of ingredients in large pot or dutch oven until fragrant, about 6 minutes.

2. Mix baking soda into a cup of water and add to pot. Cover and simmer 20 minutes, stirring once.

3. Add broth and 2 cups of water. When simmering again, add spinach and cook till well wilted.

4. Remove from heat. Puree with immersion blender. Add cheeses, and stir till melted. Serve hot.

Season with fresh ground pepper and Parmesan to taste.