An immersion blender — a nice one because I did buy a rinky-dink one that was was first on the donation list when I packed up for my move to Philly. You do not want something with a fast moving blade on it to feel rickety. — is really one of those things I should have bought sooner, but didn’t because I suspected it would be one of those things I’d bought that would eat up precious cabinet space while gathering dust and going unused.
I was wrong, y’all.
See one night, several weeks ago, I cracked the pitcher on my blender by pouring blisteringly hot soup into it. I didn’t know the plastic pitcher was not designed to withstand high temps — oops! Also, it feels like real risky business pouring hot soup into a blender when you’re 5’3” and don’t got good aerial on your pours. So I was like no never again — and to buy myself time until I can afford the Vitamix of my dreams — I sprung for a high-end hand held immersion blender, so I can mix up my soup right in the pot.
And now that I have my Le Creuset? I might go whatever the pro leagues equivalent for soup making is. (I was gonna slide in a Soup Plantation joke here but it’s a regional restaurant chain with a bizarrely uncomfortable name that I think doesn’t even exist anymore so likely the joke wouldn’t land for like 93.7% of you.)
I should mention that getting into soup making feels like a real mid-life hobby to me (don’t let tradwifes co-op the entire homemade activities arena!).
It started with this roasted cauliflower and garlic soup recipe from the NYTimes (this is a gift link, you’re welcome). I have made this recipe so many times and made so many modifications, that I feel like I can claim it as my own now.
Wait actually, let me back up. It actually started with focusing on reducing my sugar intake and being frustrated with how many pre-prepared soups have dairy snuck into them and how pricey the ones with the real ingredients can be. Often times, I’d be looking at the ingredients list like, “I could make that!” And finally, I decided I would.
The cauliflower soup recipe seemed like an easy one to begin with. And although it’s recently come to my attention that a lot of you find cauliflower offensive, I actually find it fairly benign and often times pretty tasty when it’s not trying to masquerade as rice or pizza crust or mashed potatoes or whatever — know your lane, cauliflower!
The recipe turned out great. I now make the following substitutions when I do this soup:
Two large heads of cauliflower, less fussy and the additional veggies will be appreciated because cauliflower doesn’t really stick to the ribs…
Which brings me to my next sub: at the blending step, I drop in a block of silken tofu. It ups the protein factor and gives it some creaminess without adding any dairy.
Swap the water for stock — obvs. And I often just use Better Than Bouillon so I don’t have to worry about having stock on hand.
I triple the garlic.
I don’t bother with reserving whole cauliflower bits for the soup, they don’t really add anything
Liberally add nutritional yeast
Fried sage, if you’re fancy like that
Having a large, hot homemade bowl of soup to eat throughout the week for lunch feels like love. Feels like I’m taking real good care of myself. It is with great self-regard that I package up the leftover soup for Work Week Minda’s nourishment. And soup-based self-care is far less expensive than a spa visit.
Sometimes it backfires though because you’re one person trying to get through six servings of a not-so-great soup. I will never make vegan broccoli soup again. The broccoli is gritty and goes funky FAST.
This Lemony Pearl Barley soup worked great with alt-dairy yogurt and this Any Vegetable soup recipe is just as versatile as it promises to be. Even though the recipe doesn’t call for it, I recommend roasting the vegetables first for more flavor. Getting into soups has also had the added benefit of eating more vegetables and enjoying more meatless meals. I added meatballs to my barley soup, but typically I just have the soup sans meat.
The next step in my soup journey is freezing soups, so I don’t have to have six bowls of the same soup in a row and I can also enjoy soup on weeks I don’t have time to make it. The thing is, not every soup freezes well! I’m still doing my research.
Sunday became my soup day because it’s when I tend to do my grocery shopping, which is because my trash pick up day is on Monday mornings and I like to get rid of as much package waste and recycling as possible so I can start the week off with clean bins.
I promised y’all some reflections in this post but I don’t got much. I guess through the long, cold night of the next four years, we really have to lean into the simple pleasures to warm ourselves and fortify us.
Anyways, share you favorite soup recipes with me in the comments plsssss.
Did you buy me a book?
I want to thank folks who gifted me a book for my birthday, but Bookshop.org didn’t include names. If you gifted me one of the books pictured here, please let me know.
