Broccoli Soup

H has many strengths, but choosing a broccoli is not one of them. He can spot a good bargain (1 floret for just under 4 usd, as opposed normal price of 10 usd) but seems to always fail choosing the good ones. Or maybe there isn't anything good, hence it's so darn cheap. Hmm..

Anyway, I don't have many ideas of eating broccoli besides broccoli salad, steamed broccoli or stir-fry with garlic. So I welcome the idea of broccoli soup :) Especially when I can use the entire floret while it's still in good condition.

Heat up butter and OO, add in the chopped onion. Stir fry till translucent. Add in a heaping tbsp of flour, mix/ whisk well.

Add in water, little by little while continue whisking. Don't worry about quantity of water, you can always adjust later on. But make sure you have enough to cover 3/4 of your chopped broccoli.

You can always opt for vegetable/ chicken broth, instead of water. You can substitute some water with cream or even milk. But if you use milk, make sure you turn to the lowest heat (you don't want your milk to start breaking). I also added in some mushroom at this stage.

Cover and let the broccoli cook till soft.

Once it's boiled, I start seasoning by adding 1 cube of chicken bouillon, grated cheddar, black pepper, a dash of clove and 2 drops of tabasco. 

Cover and let the cheddar & chicken bouillon mix with the rest of ingredients.

Taste & adjust, add more salt or pepper or more tabasco if needed.

Voila. You have a hearty broccoli soup.
H and I, we had 2 servings each, in another words: we finished the entire pot.
Followed by ginger cookie dessert. Hmm.. life's not too bad ;)

n.b. You can tell that I am not bothered with exact measurement. I am not. I can be anal when I want to (read: most of the time) but I let myself free when I cook. And so should you. 

Trust your taste bud, don't be bogged down with the details or precise measurement.
If you don't have all the ingredients, use what you have.
If we can eat well in Angola, with the wallet in tact, so can you!

Good luck

n.b. 2: You do know that when you bake, you need to follow the recipe to the T, to the exact gram, don't you? Just sayin'..