TravelingMel

I clearly have a lot of broccoli to use up. The ever-generous Big H bought me a whole lot from the farmers market last week. I am thrilled to have all this local, organic broccoli to remind me of summer when the days grow short and cold.

This soup is vegan (no meat, no dairy, no animal products, whatsoever) but it sure tastes creamy.

I based it on a recipe that was based on a recipe, so take this as a starting point and create your own version. But, don't leave out the miso!

Since I am freezing, this is a double recipe.

2 onions, chopped small
5 red onions, chopped small
8 c veggie broth
dill, thyme, parsley or whatever you like
big splash of soy sauce
tsp or so of sea salt
9 c chopped broccoli
1 c cashew
2 Tbl miso

Vegan cream of broccoli soup

Saute the onions until transparent.

Add the potatoes, broth, herbs, salt and soy sauce. Bring to a boil and then simmer until potatoes are cooked.

Put cashews in the blender with as much stock (from pot) as needed and blend until smooth. This is your "cream." Add to soup.

Add broccoli and continue to simmer until broccoli is cooked. You could add kale or other green veggie in addition.

Stir in miso. (Do this at the end since boiling miso could kill some of the beneficial critters in it.)

A soup that is neither vegan nor low calorie, but oh so delicious...

3 Tbl unsalted butter
1 carrot finely chopped
.5 c finely chopped onion
.5 c red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbl flour
2 c veggie stock
1.5 c small broccoli florets
1 c russet potato, peeled and cut into .5-inch cubes
.25 tsp celery seed
2 c milk
2 c coarsely shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
.25 tsp dry mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Broccoli cheddar cheese soup

Since I made a double batch of this to freeze, I threw the carrot, onion, pepper and garlic in the food processor. Way easier than chopping.

Melt the butter in a dutch over over medium heat. Add carrot, onion, pepper and garlic. Cook; stirring occasionally, until the veggies are tender--about 10 minutes.

Add the flour. Stir constantly over low heat for about 2 minutes. Gradually add veggie stock, whisking until mixture is smooth.

Add the broccoli, potato, celery seed. Increase to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until veggies are tender.

Stir in the milk. When the soup is warm, add the cheese, stirring gently until melted. Stir in the mustard and season to taste.

Sprinkle each serving with pepper and bread crumbs.

This recipe is from "A Beautiful Bowl of Soup" by Paulette Mitchell and everything in this cookbook is scrumptious.

This really shouldn't be titled "Glacier" since we left Whitefish and drove home this day--without going into the park at all. But, it is part of a series and so the name must remain constant. I'm a stickler like that.

I wish there was day 7, 8, 9....30 to report. I could have stayed a lot longer. We had a lot of fun exploring the Big Sky State on the way home, though.

We started the morning by going out to breakfast in Whitefish at the Green Tea House. H had spotted it a couple nights back as he tried to drive Finn to sleep and thought I might like it. I did.

Then some fun at the city park and we were on our way.

Henry suggested we go to "Green Tea". It's a vegan/glutan-free/modern hippie/all natural restaurant. Isn't he sweet?

Fun on the phallic slide in Whitefish.

Henry is having a ball.

Our first stop was at Seeley Lake. We look for places where we can eat outside and the boys can get some energy out. This campground on the shores of Seeley Lake was perfect. Anders and Finn loved playing in the water. H and I wished we had gotten our swimsuits out. I could have spent a week here (or more) if it weren't for the skeeters.

Running like a boy who has been strapped into a seat for a couple hours.

Splish splash, Finn and dad were having a blast.

We definitely want to spend more time at Seeley Lake.

We drove some more and when dinner time hit, we stopped at Fairmont Hot Springs. It fit our criteria--food and fun. H, Finn and I LOVED the four story waterslide and Anders tolerated it once. If we had a little more moola, we could have spent a couple days here.

More fun in the water.

Half boy, half fish.

Fortunately, we needed gas as we neared my all time favorite truck stop--the Flying J just west of Butte. I was a little disappointed to discover there were no "Our Ladies of the Rockies" postcards. (Jen, you know why.)

Rainbow over the Flying J.

We arrived home at 10pm with two sleeping boys. It couldn't have worked out better if we had planned it.

In addition to watching birds, we are:

Drying oregano from the garden.

Blowing bubbles with grandma.

Making pineapple/banana/kale pops.

This morning Finn woke at 3am, as he is wont to do. After a couple hours of squirming around in our bed, Finn was whisked into the living room by Henry. I rolled out of bed around 8, so that H and Finn could have three hours of quality time together. Then H went back to bed and I took over corralling the monkeys for a bit.

We painted.

Finn gets his creative juices flowing.

Anders enjoys monochromatic work.

We went for a hike up the Pine Creek Falls trail. It was supposed to be a family outing, but Finn was so tired that he fell asleep moments after getting into the truck. He slept and H hung out with him while Anders and I hiked.

And they're off.

Heading up the trail.

Over and ...

...under. That's how we roll.

Throwing snow into Pine Creek.

I know I look really tired in this picture, but that's just because I haven't slept in three years.

Climbing down to the creek.

So excited about the stick, D-dog starts licking his chops.

Everyone is in the creek now, even though the water is barely over 32 degrees.

After the hike, we drove down the hill to the Pine Creek Cafe, one of my favorite restaurants in the area.

Yum.

Finally awake.

Afternoon rolled around and it was time to get some projects done. H built a table (I'll have to get a photo of that). I moved dirt from the yard to the alley in anticipation of the yard waste pick-up tomorrow.

There's no free lunch around here. Everyone pulls their own weight.

What?