Broccoli Soup

After much discussion with Megan and Jessica about this broccoli soup, I just had to try it.  I've made recipes from Oh She Glows before, so I knew it would be good.  I also knew it would be heavy on the nutritional yeast, which is fine, but as much as I love nutritional yeast it can get to be a bit much sometimes.  I followed the recipe exactly, but maybe next time I would cut back on the nutritional yeast a bit.   Otherwise it was delicious and exactly what I wanted on this not-so-cold December day.  (It's 75 outside right now.)

Here is the recipe from ohsheglows.com:

Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:

• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium sweet onion, chopped
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 4-4.5 cups chopped broccoli florets (2 heads, stems removed)
• 1.5 cups peeled & chopped potatoes (about 3)
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast 
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or crushed red pepper flakes)
• Low-fat vegan cheeze sauce, divided (see below for recipe)
• 1/2 tbsp lemon juice (optional)
• herbamare & onion powder, to taste
• Kosher salt & black pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup fresh minced parsley, plus more to garnish
• Daiya cheese, to garnish
• Smoked Paprika, to garnish (optional)

1. In a large skillet, heat the oil, onion, and garlic over medium-low heat, stirring frequently. Cook for about 5-6 mins.
2. Add in the celery, broccoli, and potatoes and cook for about 5 minutes. Now, add the broth, nutritional yeast, and cayenne pepper and simmer for another 15 mins or so until the potatoes are just fork tender.
3. Meanwhile, prepare your cheeze sauce (see below) while the soup simmers.
4. Carefully transfer the soup (in two batches) into a blender. Blend until almost smooth (I left it a bit chunky, but you can blend as much as you wish) and place back into the pot. Stir in the cheeze sauce, reserving 1/3 cup for later.
5. Stir in optional lemon juice, salt, pepper, and optional herbamare all to taste. Finally, stir in the minced parsley and spoon into bowls.
6. Top the soup with croutons, Daiya cheese, remaining cheeze sauce, and smoked paprika.

Read more: http://ohsheglows.com/2011/12/20/broccoli-cheeze-soup/#ixzz2oPo8Z5Zv