A friend of mine said her husband enjoys the soup recipes I’ve posted in the last few months. So before spring and summer take over, here’s one more easy soup recipe that’s easy to modify.
A dear friend, Johnny Darling, gave me the recipe during the summer of 1982. We were staying with her and her husband in Bellevue, Nebraska while our son was in the University of Nebraska Hospital in Omaha. If you’re read A Different Dream for My Child: Meditations for Parents of Critically or Chronically Ill Children, she’s the woman who tries to get back at the squirrels in her yard by firing apricot pits at them with her slingshot. If you haven’t read the book, that tidbit of story should make you want to buy a copy, don’t you think?
Johnny was one of the most joyful, creative, free-spirited people I’ve known. She died of a fast-moving cancer about five years after Allen was born. Every time I make this soup, I see her smile and resolve to emulate her zest for living and her refusal to be bound by the expectations of others. I’m not always successful in those departments, but her soup recipe always turns out right. So without further ado, here it is.
Cream of Broccoli Soup
1 sixteen ounce can of chicken broth
2 cups milk
1 cup of chopped broccoli, cauliflower or celery
2 – 3 tablespoons butter
3 – 4 tablespoons flour
Melt butter in a saucepan and add vegetables. Saute for a minute or two over medium high heat, then add flour and stir until mixture is goopy. Turn down heat to medium and gradually add chicken broth, a couple tablespoons at a time. Stir well after each addition. Fill the empty can with milk and slowly add it. Heat until mixture just begins to boil, stirring constantly.
Options: You can add chopped ham or fried, crumbled bacon along with the vegetables. (There is ham in the soup pictured above.) Or add a 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese when the mixture begins to boil. Stir until cheese melts and serve immediately.
