There is nothing like a warm bowl of soup during the winter months.  It’s a feeling of comfort and warmth all found in one dish.  You can’t find this kind of love in a can, and if you have, let me know!   I try my hardest to make soup several times a month, especially when it’s cold out.  Between my daily fruit shake and soup, I’m covered in the nutrients department.  I’ve also been extra motivated with this horrible flu season, anything to boost my immune system.  I’m already washing my hands 50x a day and walking around with napkins to open doors, and any other germy surface I come in contact with.

I will never forget sitting with a group of co-workers during lunch and one of them being so amazed that I made soup myself.  I kept telling him that soup involves little cooking and more chopping and blending than anything else.  This concept was hard for him to understand.  He thought that soup required hours of cooking time in the kitchen.  If you are one of those people, let me be the first to say this isn’t the case.

This dish includes leeks, an ingredient you may not be too familiar with.  It’s a member of the onion family, and looks like an overgrown green onion.  The white half and pale green parts are better to use because the green top is tough but can be used in soups.  Leeks are grown in sandy soil, so they need a good cleaning.  It’s recommended to slice them similar to the size shown below, and soak them in water to remove the dirt and then drain. Using a colander to clean them can also work just as well.

To save time, you don’t have to cut the vegetables in small pieces as I have.  A rough chop is all you really need, because the veggies will be put into a blender.  If you want to explore and be a little more adventurous, you can add spices like cinnamon, ginger or curry.  The possibilities are endless…

Ingredients

• 1  1/2 lb carrots
• 3 celery
• 1 medium onion
• 2 cups of leeks (sliced, loosely packed)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3 1/2 cups of vegetable broth
• salt & pepper to taste

Heat olive oil and butter in a large pot, add all vegetables with salt/pepper, and cook on low to medium heat with the top on for 10 minutes.

Next stir in the broth and bring this to the boil, then cover and cook to a gentle simmer for 15 minutes.  Use a blender to puree the mixture until smooth. Return to pot and rewarm over medium heat if needed.

I highly recommend you place a kitchen towel over the top of the blender before blending and hold down.  This will prevent any steam from burning your hand and the possibility of the soup spilling.