Comfort Food Solves Everything

This Sunday night, I was exhausted from a weekend of stress - of course worried about my grandma. I wanted to enjoy some comfort food on the couch with Jake & Mabel and hit the hay early. I have this recipe for Broccoli Chowder sitting on my counter for weeks now, waiting for a night to make it. This seemed like the perfect night. (Note: recipe is from LifeScript.com...want to give them credit!)

It's all very healthy ingredients - and for those who are not vegan, you can use regular sour cream and cheddar cheese, but I'm telling you, the soy stuff tastes just as good in this recipe and I find a little less animal-suffering-flavoring when the real stuff is left out. :) And I had a second helping for lunch today -- trust me, this only gets better the longer it sits in your fridge. Although, I can't make promises after TOO many days of sitting.

I thought I'd add a picture, too! I've taken pics of some of my other recipes, but they usually don't turn out looking so appealing. I'm moderately happy with this set of photos, so I'll stick one in. I just always feel like things taste better than they look for me!

Broccoli Chowder

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• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion , chopped (1 1/2 cups)
• 1 large carrot , diced (1/2 cup)
• 2 stalks celery , diced (1/2 cup)
• 1 large potato , peeled and diced (1 1/2 cups)
• 2 cloves garlic , minced
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (definitely don't do more than this...I was surprised at what a kick 1/8 tsp can have!)
  
• 3 1/2 cups vegetable broth (two 14-ounce cans)(<--I used 3 1/2 c. of water and mixed in 3 tbsp of veggie broth powder...the same stuff I use in my kale soup recipe!)
  
• 8 ounces broccoli crowns, cut into 1-inch pieces, stems and florets separated (I used 4 medium-sized stalks of celery...I really think you can be generous with the broccoli and be OK with this recipe!)
  
• 1 cup grated soy cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup soy sour cream
• 1/8 teaspoon salt , or to taste

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot and celery; cook, stirring often, until the onion and celery soften, 5 to 6 minutes. Add potato and garlic; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in flour, dry mustard and cayenne; cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes.
2. Add broth and broccoli stems; bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Stir in florets; simmer, covered, until the broccoli is tender, about 10 minutes more. Transfer 2 cups of the chowder to a bowl and mash; return to the pan.
3. Stir in cheddar and sour cream; cook over medium heat, stirring, until the cheese is melted and the chowder is heated through. Season with salt.