A Shot of Green

I sometimes make soup to have for lunch.  I started with a recipe for Broccoli soup that I got from a book by two Canadian doctors about food that fights cancer.  I do not have cancer, but a lot of people around me do and I was intrigued by the title.  This was many years ago and I have since been mindful to include some or all of the super healthy stuff in my diet, one way or another.

I have also experimented with this recipe, trying different kinds of vegetables, depending on what I had handy in the fridge.  One can really use pretty much any vegetables and adjust the seasoning to taste.

Cauliflower would be nice and light with its delicate flavor.  Beetroot would be a bright pinkish red, carrots for an orange soup and rutabaga for a yellow one.  An addition of linseed could be interesting.  My mom used to make a really good linseed soup.

But anyway, the other day I made this soup, and it's just really, really good.  It oozes healthiness and my mouth waters when I think of it's thoroughly green taste.

Start with sautéing one onion, preferably in butter.  If garlic is added, it should go in at the last stages, it doesn't take as much heat as the onions.  Add to the onions a tablespoon of turmeric (I am a firm believer in the health benefits of herbs and spices, turmeric is wonderful stuff and this soup is one way to get it naturally and in a form that makes is easy for the body to absorb.  So do not skip sautéing the turmeric and do include black pepper to get all the benefits.), half a tablespoon of freshly ground pepper and the same of crushed coriander seeds and mustard seeds.  Let the spices fry a bit in the butter.

Add a quart/liter of chicken stock to the pot (it's great to have homemade for this, but use the best quality store bought if that isn't available. Chop up one head of broccoli and add to the stock as well as one cup each, spinach and kale (in winter all I have is frozen and I use 4 balls each).  Let this simmer for 10-15 minutes. Take a stickblender to this a whizz it smooth.  Salt to taste and snip a lot of fresh parsley over the soup if it's available.

I store the soup in a large mason jar and keep it for a week in the fridge, it lasts me 5 days ( I guess the soup is 4-5 servings) which makes it perfect for weekday lunch, with two soft boiled eggs.  I have been changing my diet somewhat and feel much better for it. I avoid grains, sugar and starches.  For someone who isn't doing that, an addition of one potato will make the soup thicker, but I find that I don't really notice much difference.