Roasted Garlic & Broccoli Soup

i've been frustrated with my lack of free time for food blogging lately... i've promised myself that i will get back into the swing of it this spring, when i'm done with my yoga teacher training certification program. but this weekend i'm staying in with nothing on my schedule but sleeping and recovering from a cold. but of course, this gal's gotta make a pot of soup for herself when she's got a runny nose and sore throat!

this was a recipe i created while on a liver/colon cleanse last month... it is gluten, soy and dairy free but delicious!

vegan creamed broccoli soup:

1/2 onion

2 carrots

2 celery stalks

1 large head of broccoli - about 4-5 cups

3-4 cups of vegetable broth

10 cloves of roasted garlic - or to taste

3 tablespoons grapeseed oil

1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes

super simple: dice up your onions, carrots and celery and sautee together in oil until soft. in the mean time, cut the head of broccoli into small florets. toss in all of your cut broccoli and cover with 3 or 4 cups of broth. cover and simmer for about 7 minutes or until broccoli stalks are fork tender. remove from heat, stir in the 1/2 cup nutritional yeast and let cool. use an immersion blender or transfer soup to blender in batches - puree until very smooth. you may need to add a bit of broth if it looks too think. add salt and pepper to taste, or even some red chili flakes.

if you've never tried nutritional yeast before - holly cow, get on it! "nooch" (as vegans will call it) is packed with Vitamin B... which most of us vegetarians desperately lack... dietary fiber and even protein! it is fabulous in salad dressings, mixed in with fluffy scrambled eggs, dusted on popcorn, or on my favorite: kale chips. you can find it both in a powder or flakes - they dissolve easily either way, so it doesn't really matter which form you buy.