recipes

Broccoli cheese soup

Modifications from http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/almost-famous-broccoli-cheddar-soup-recipe/index.html

Ingredients

• 1 medium-sized yellow onion
• 4 broccoli crowns (adjust as needed)
• Half a bag of spinach
• 1 grated carrot
• Medium cheddar cheese (or sharp cheddar for more flavor)
• Chili powder
• Cayenne pepper
• Fresh ground pepper
• Nutmeg
• Bay leaves
• Salt
• 2 cloves of garlic

Instructions

1. Grate the carrot instead of chopping.
2. Add half a bag of spinach about 10 minutes after adding the broccoli.
3. Season with chili powder, cayenne, fresh ground pepper, nutmeg, and bay leaves.
4. Use medium cheddar cheese, or sharp cheddar for a stronger flavor.
5. Optionally, add a couple of cloves of garlic for extra flavor.
6. Adjust salt to taste.

Notes

Try 1

• Used medium cheddar because it was on sale.
• Used too much broccoli (4 crowns were too much).
• The soup was good but lacked the full, balanced flavor of the original.
• Suspected that less spinach and medium cheddar affected the flavor.
• Nutmeg, chili powder, cayenne, and ground pepper flavors were not prominent.
• Consider adding spices into the butter at the start.
• Bay leaves flavor was weak.

Try 2

• Came out much better with added garlic and more seasoning.
• Salt was important for flavor balance.
• Still not as good as the original; possibly due to weak bay leaves or insufficient simmering time.
• Consider using fresher bay leaves or longer simmering.