My very favorite thing to whip up in the kitchen is a soothing pot of soup.  Soup is a great culinary canvas for people with any level of skill in the kitchen, from teens just learning to cook from scratch to professional chefs that want to impress their customers. Best of all, soups and stews provide a large amount of satisfying food without crazy amounts of effort or money. Once you master the basic rules of soup, it’s easy to create your own concoctions from whatever ingredients in your fridge are calling out to be used.

I value simplicity, and am guessing that my readers do, too. Hence, I am starting up a series of posts on my blog titled “Soup-er Simple” (pun-tacular!). I’ll post some basic tips for readers who are interested in becoming soup aficionados, and easy recipes for those who just want a quick meal idea. My goal is to create and post recipes that are very much no-fuss – not too many ingredients, no precise measurements, minimal clean-up, etc.

First up – a recipe that I came up with last weekend when I was in need of a quick, filling, and healthy lunch. I had a bag of cut broccoli and cauliflower florets that I did not feel like steaming. So I made them into an incredibly simple soup! An immersion blender makes this one extra easy.

Smooth curried broccoli-cauliflower soup

Vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free. Recipe makes about 4 servings; just double it for more!

Ingredients
1 small or medium onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 bag of pre-washed broccoli and cauliflower
1 small potato, chopped/diced
handful of cashews (raw or roasted)
curry powder
olive oil (~2 tbsp)
salt

Cook time: 20 minutes

In a large stainless steel soup pot, sautee the onion and carrot with some olive oil and a solid pinch of salt until tender. Add about 1 tablespoon of curry powder and stir for about 30 seconds until it’s “toasted.” Next, toss in the chopped potato, broccoli/cauliflower florets, and cashews. Add water until the ingredients are just covered. Bring the pot to a boil, then cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until all ingredients are tender. Use an immersion blender or regular blender to blend the soup to a moderately smooth consistency. Add salt, pepper, and additional curry powder to taste.

This makes a great lunch or appetizer for a dinner party!