"I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something." ~Neil Gaiman
I shared this quote in my newsletter this week, and I think it’s going to be my guide for 2017. Heck, I might even frame it for my office! I tend to shy away from things if I don’t think I can do them well, and this quote reminds me to take more risks in the year to come. My goal list tends to be pretty lofty at the start of each year, but I’m also not too hard on myself if I only complete a portion of them, which is usually the case. Seeing as it’s the new year, I thought it might be fun to update you on what we’ve been up to so far and what some of our goals are.
As you may have seen, we launched the Android version of the Oh She Glows Recipe App Monday after months of preparation. We can’t thank you enough for your support, excitement, and kind words!
On Monday we sent out the latest issue (#11) of In the Glow, sharing healthy recipe ideas for the new year, as well as exciting OSG news tidbits. Starting (and growing) a newsletter was one of our goals for 2016. We sent out our first one on February 9, 2016, followed by 9 more issues over the course of the year. We’re now over 40,000 subscribers and growing! THANK YOU. I’m hoping to send out a survey at some point this year so you can let me know what you want to see more (or less) of.
You may have seen that we’re looking to expand our team. Right now our small-but-fierce team consists of myself, Eric, Shari (Content Editor), and Nicole (Recipe Tester). This year we’d like to hire a Video Content Creator (details on the position here), and potentially, a Social Media Specialist and RD or Holistic Nutritionist intern. (As you may know, the latter two were hiring goals for 2016, but ones that didn’t end up happening due to how busy things were. Thank you to everyone who applied for those positions, and rest assured we haven’t forgotten!)
On the personal side of things, I’m hoping to make progress with my anxiety this year. It’s a never-ending struggle, and tends to be on my goal list each year, but I’m going to keep on with it. I’ve found that postpartum hormones have been making my anxiety a bit worse than usual, and I’m going to take some active steps in 2017 to, hopefully, improve how I feel.
Let’s see, what else? I’ve been hard at work developing recipes for the app. Last week I added 3 new recipes—Brownie Breakfast Bake, Easy Nut-Free Taco Salad, and Dill Pickle Smoothie—to the app. We launched the new Get Glowing Bundle last week, too, which contains 5 “reset button” recipes to kick off the new year. The app bundle is 99 cents, and for the month of January all of our revenue from this bundle will be donated to Blessings in a Backpack Canada. This charity ensures children in need receive backpacks filled with food every Friday throughout the school year, so they can return to class on Monday well fed and ready to learn. It’s awesome to be working with BIB again!
On the blog front, I’m starting to bookmark old recipes that are in desperate need of some updating—such as my Broccoli and Cheese Soup. The original recipe was posted back in 2011, and I took one look at the recipe and its photos and knew I had to breathe some life back into it with a fresh new approach. Last year I also started adding metric conversions to my recipes, and I’ll continue to share these calculations for each new recipe in the future. It’s tedious (mainly because I weigh each solid ingredient), but I love hearing from those of you in the UK and elsewhere who find it incredibly helpful! I want you to have similar results, ya know?! If there are any other old blog recipes that you’d like to see revamped in 2017, please drop me a comment below. I’d love to hear your ideas!
There are some other goals on our radar this year, but this feels long-winded enough for now.
Cheers to making mistakes, trying new things, and learning as we go in 2017!
Vegan Broccoli and Cheese Soup
Yield
8 cups (2 litres)
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Like a big, cozy sweater, this soothing soup will help you get through the long winter. It combines my love for broccoli and cheese sauce, while doing without the dairy-based cream or cheese. This is a bit of a fussy soup (think weekend, not weeknight) as it involves a few homemade components (cheese sauce, soup, and homemade croutons), so you’ll need an hour start to finish. If you can make the cheese sauce the day before, that’ll help streamline things!
This soup is adapted from my 2011 version. The cheese sauce is lightly adapted from my cheese sauce in Oh She Glows Every Day.
Ingredients
For the cheese sauce:
- 1 1/4 cups (190 g) diced peeled yellow or red potatoes*
- Heaping 1/3 cup (55 g) diced peeled carrots*
- 2 tablespoons (6 g) nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) refined coconut or grapeseed oil**
- 2 1/2 tablespoons (37.5 mL) water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5 mL) fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 medium (4 g) garlic clove
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) white wine vinegar
For the soup:
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium (350 g) onion, diced (2 heaping cups)
- 3 medium (13 g) garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup (120 g) chopped celery
- 5 to 6 cups (350 g) chopped broccoli florets
- 1 1/2 cups (225 g) chopped Yukon Gold potatoes (about 2 medium)
- 3 cups (750 mL) low-sodium vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons (6 g) nutritional yeast
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5 mL) fresh lemon juice, or to taste
- Fine sea salt, to taste (I use 1/2 teaspoon)
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 1/2 teaspoons to 3 teaspoons (7.5 to 15 mL) chickpea miso, to taste***
For topping:
- Pan-Fried Garlic Croutons (use gluten-free bread if necessary)****
- Smoked or sweet paprika
- Fresh minced parsley
Directions
- For the cheese sauce: Place the potatoes and carrots in a medium pot and add water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes, until fork-tender. Drain.
- While the potatoes and carrots are simmering, add the nutritional yeast, oil, water, lemon juice, salt, garlic, and vinegar into a high-speed blender and set aside.
- Chop the onions, garlic, celery, broccoli, and potatoes for the soup and set aside.
- When the simmering potatoes and carrots are fork-tender, drain them and add to the blender. Blend the cheese sauce until smooth, then transfer to a bowl.
- For the soup: In a large pot, sauté the oil, onion, and garlic over medium heat, stirring frequently. Cook for about 3 to 5 minutes.
- To the pot, add the celery, broccoli, and potatoes and sauté for a few minutes more. Now, add the broth, nutritional yeast, cayenne pepper, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer over medium heat for about 13 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes are fork-tender. Turn off the heat and let the soup sit for a few minutes. Add the chickpea miso.
- Carefully transfer the soup into a blender (you might have to do this in two batches). Blend until smooth and place back into the pot.
- Set aside 1/4 cup (60 mL) of cheese sauce for garnish. Add the rest of the cheese sauce into the soup and stir to combine. Adjust seasonings to taste if desired.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and swirl in a tablespoon of the reserved cheese sauce into each bowl. Top with Pan-Fried Garlic Croutons, paprika, and parsley, if desired.
Tip:
* To cut down on cooking time, be sure to dice the potatoes and carrots very small.
** Refined coconut oil doesn’t have a coconut flavour, which is why I love it in the cheese sauce. Grapeseed oil also has a neutral flavour, but if you don’t have either you can probably get away with a light-tasting olive oil.
*** I love chickpea miso, it’s light in flavour and often soy-free (be sure to check the label, though). If you can’t find chickpea miso, any light or white miso should do the trick! I like a full 3 teaspoons of chickpea miso in this soup, but depending on the flavour of your miso you might prefer a bit less.
**** Instead of bread-based croutons, you can top this soup with my Roasted Chickpea Croutons.
Hi there,
the recipe looks wonderful. I tried your vegan chocolate chips cookies, absolutely fabulous!.
I am new to your blog, I did not realize that you had a newsletter going out. I signed up today, but is there anyway to get the issues I missed?
I would so much appreciate it!
Hi Susana, I’m so happy you’ve been enjoying that cookie recipe! I’m sorry but currently there isn’t a way to view the old newsletters. If we do end up putting them online I will be sure to let you all know! Thank you so much for signing up to In the Glow. :) I hope you enjoy the issues to come.
This looks great, Angela – as I live in Europe, I am so pleased you are using metric measurements as well – it can be really helpful! I don’t have an Android or iPhone so I’m trying to persuade my husband to download your app for me. I do miss the times of this blog where you wrote about such fun day to day life stories… (around 2010, 2011 ish) they were such a joy to read! I know how busy you are now compared to then but sometimes I go back and just read your archives because they are so enjoyable… the real life stories combined with recipes :)
This looks delicious! Can’t wait to make it, and as an Australian fan I appreciate your metric conversions very much! :)
Angela, I cannot tell you how much you have inspired me. Your story is very similar to mine. Anxiety sucks! I struggle almost ever day. Thank you so much for all of your recipes and inspiration.
I am going to make this soup tonight, can I use an immersion blender for the soup or do I have to transfer it to the blender? I think the broccoli might be a challenge for the immersion blender.
Like an above poster I am also not receiving the newsletter in any of my mailbox folders.
Hey Tania, I tried this soup using my immersion blender as I was curious too, and I found it was quite grainy in texture as opposed to smooth and creamy like the blender gets it. (Maybe I didn’t blend is long enough though?) If you don’t mind the potential graininess issue, then feel free to try it out! I was aiming for a really smooth texture which is why I loved the blender here. I hope you enjoy it if you try it out! Let us know how it goes.
Angela, I just ended up using my blender. In my head, I thought it would be a pain to transfer the soup to my blender, but it was easy. I called it vegetable cheese soup in hopes my son who hate broccoli would eat it. He did eat a half of bowl. The rest of the family loved it. I liked it better the second day. Thanks again for a great recipe
Thank you for another wonderful “comfort” recipe that is nutritious, healthy and hearty! This seemed like quite a bit of work, but when I made it, It was quick and easy! My family loved it and was actually full after! I did want you to know that I was anxiously awaiting the android edition of your new app since I have Kindle Fire. I was greatly disappointed to find it on Google Play which no longer allows downloads to Kindle Fire! Will you be selling the app on Amazon at all fore those of us that rely on our Kindle Fires or tablets? Take care! My anxiety ALWAYS acts up worse in the winter!! You are not alone!
Hi Brenda, Oh, I’m so happy you loved the soup! Thanks for letting me know. =) That is such a bummer about Google Play not allowing downloads to Kindle Fire. I spoke to Eric about it and he said we can look into it as we’re not sure what the process is and what costs there would be if we need further development. Thanks so much for your interest!
Omg this looks so delicious! Definitely making it soon :) as for recipes to revamp, the Pumpkin Maple Cornbread Baked Bean Casserole and some sort of pumpkin pie overnight oats would be amazing!!
Simply yum!
PS – Candida can be a cause of anxiety and it doesn’t always manifest in the obvious visible
locations. May be worth testing just to rule it out, it’s not that uncommon after pregnancy.
PS2- Just wanted to say again how much I love your blog. I came across your “Crazy woman” (pms) chocolate dessert the other day and laughed out loud. You are hilarious and a joyful presence in my kitchen!
PS3 – I have tried about 1/2 dozen unsuccessful raw almond pulp cracker recipes after making almond milk, and I keep wishing there was a foolproof (ie Angela Liddon) recipe for that. Hint hint :)
Thanks so much for your comments, Sharon! I’ll definitely keep that cracker suggestion in mind. ;)
I cannot wait to try your broccoli and cheese soup! The “real thing” is a guilty pleasure of mine, and I have been without it for years since my boyfriend cannot have cheese. Finally an alternative we can both enjoy! :D
This looks delish. I might try avocado oil as I have this on hand as an alternative. Thanks!
Hi Angela,
I’ve signed up in the past for the newsletter but I haven’t received the last few. My email address is the same, in fact when I tried to re-register I got a message that I was already registered. Not sure what the issue is, since I’ve received the newletters in the past.Kinda weird.Thoughts??
Hi Joanna, I’m sorry to hear you haven’t been receiving the newsletter. Thanks for letting us know! We’ll look into the status of your subscription at our end; it might also help if you could try adding newsletter [at] ohsheglows [dot] com to your contacts. Doing so should help ensure that it gets delivered to your inbox!
Hey Angela!
Doesn’t need a revamp AT ALL but maybe a nice reblog of it for your newer followers…your Wedded Bliss Ginger Cookies…STILL MY FAVOURITE AND MY GO-TO!
LOVE them!
I just made this cheese sauce. SO GOOD! I have never found any vegan cheese that makes me think of cheese– and this sauce– omg. I want to feed it to my friends and not tell them it’s not really cheese.
The soup part is yet to come! Can’t wait!
I haven’t even read the recipe but wanted to tell you how thrilled I am that you’re including metric conversions in your recipes now! I’m in the US and, after writing for a food magazine for several years now—one that insisted I include metric—I can’t stand cooking without them! I SO wish American recipes included them more often. OK, rant over, now back to this divine looking soup! :-) Thanks for all you do, and best of luck in the battle against anxiety. You’re not alone—which I realize isn’t a helpful statement AT ALL, but the struggle is real and I feel it too. I wish you calm and productive thoughts from here until next year, and then some.
Thanks so much for the kind words, Mara! They’re so appreciated. :)
I’ve wanted to try your Broccoli Cheddar Soup for a long time! Thanks for the reminder. I am not vegan, but I am lactose intolerant, and I love broccoli cheddar soup.
Hope you love it when you finally give it a try, Michelle!
Thanks for this beautiful recipe.
Have you tried to freeze it?
And if yes does it freeze well?
Sunita
Hi there Sunita, This is a question I was pondering myself just the other day! I find that potato is hit and miss when it comes to freezing and thawing. For example, I tried freezing and thawing my cheese sauce (which has potato in it) and I noticed the texture changed a bit and it wasn’t as smooth and creamy. For this reason, I’m not sure how the soup would be impacted, but if you try it out please let us know. :)
thanks and yes that’s what I thought too.
I am not willing to risk the left over of my good soup to freezer!ah ah!
Made this tonight and we loved it. It’s definitely a “weekend” soup, but totally worth the time. The non-vegans liked it too, so don’t think twice about serving it to company. Yummy! Thanks for the updated recipe!
Great post once again! I will definitely be adding the cheese soup recipe to my meal plan next week! I’m always looking for more ideas to add since I only can get so much good food in without ruining my calorie count haha. I’ve been doing lots of yoga and following a diet plan that has made me lose a lot of weight recently. This person made a pretty good review about it, feel free to check it out (:
http://honesthealthreview.com/2017/01/20/the-3-week-diet-does-it-work/
“Vegan Broccoli”, really?? !! :-D
Hello! Love ur blog and cookbooks! They are my go to for home cooking inspiration! I can’t help but notice you mention your anxiety a few times in your blog, may I suggest cutting down on the garlic and onions in your food? As an avid yoga/meditation practitioner, one of the disciplines I follow is no garlic/onions or any foods in that family (leeks, spring onions, chives etc), as well as cooking my food in a meditative state (stress free) and of course, eating plant based. Let me know if you’d like more info. You have given so much, would love to return your kindness. PS. Substitutes for garlic/onions can be fennel, celery and an indian spice, Asofeteida but you really won’t miss them at all =)
Thank you Mercedes! So happy you enjoy the blog and books. I have never heard that about onions and garlic before, but that’s interesting. I really don’t know if I could do without them long-term but I might have to try it for a few days just to see if I notice any difference. ;)
It’s worth a try! Maybe doing it for a week, if possible, and getting rid of them from your fridge as their smell is really strong. It is believed that out of all the plant foods, those in this family resonate at a different frequency and have subtle effects on the energy of the mind – something we can measure just from their smell. Just as the smell of freshly baked goods can give warmth to the home, the smell of onions and garlic also have a distinctive smell that affects every corner of the house too. How do you react when you smell meat or fish on someone? It’s not very pleasant once you’re vegetarian. Same with picking up the smell of onions/garlic. I wish I could cook for you so you can try that foods are just as yummy without them. Recently I learned that green peppers are a great substitute in slow cooked marinara sauce – so many ways to substitute them really!
This was absolutely fantastic! What a perfect soup for a chilly rainy day! Here is the problem. I made A LOT!!! Would this soup freeze well ? I have company coming in on Thursday and it is Sunday. I would love to pull it out of the freezer and warm it up
Hey Jeannie, I’m so happy you enjoyed the soup! Hope it helped keep you warm in this dreary weather. :) About freezing the soup, I find that potato is hit and miss when it comes to freezing and thawing. (For example, I tried freezing and thawing my cheese sauce (which has potato in it) and I noticed the texture changed a bit and it wasn’t as smooth and creamy.) For this reason, I’m not sure how the soup would be impacted, but if you try freezing it, please let us know how it goes!. :)