Meatless Monday with Mindy #25 - Cream of Vegetable Soup

Welcome to the 25th installment of Meatless Monday with Mindy.

This week my recipe creation was born out of desperation...sort of.  I've been having jaw pain for a little while now and finally decided to go get it checked out. The doctor I saw said he thinks I might have TMJ (Temporomandibular joint disorders are problems with the chewing muscles and joints that connect your lower jaw to your skull).  Not fun. With this diagnosis, the doctors "prescription" was a liquid diet for a week to rest the injured area, which means ... no chewing. 

So, smoothies and soups have been on my menu for the past 4 days.  I have drank smoothies for breakfast almost every day since the new year, and I ADORE soups, but to eat this way 3 meals a day has challenged me, to say the least, to come up with something new and creative to eat each meal. 

This Cream of Vegetable soup was the result of my wanting a creamy soup for dinner one night, but needing more nutrients than most of the "cream of" soups allotted. I am so glad I decided to play with my very old and favorite potato soup recipe into this yummy Cream of Vegetable soup.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

The ingredients I used make this soup vegan, but use whatever dairy or non-dairy products and broth you desire. This soup is very versatile. The vegetable and herb choices may be changed as long as you keep the potato as the main vegetable. Changing these out will make the soup taste different, but I'm sure your new creation will taste good with whatever you choose. 

Cream of Vegetable Soup

Serves 4-6

Soup

3 cups Vegetable Broth

1 cup chopped onion

2 cups sliced red potato (keep the peel on!)

1 cup chopped cauliflower

1 Tb fresh parsley (OR 1 tsp dried)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp Mrs Dash original seasonal blend or other no-salt herb blend

2 cups chopped spinach

Bechamel Sauce

4 TB vegan butter spread (I used Earth Balance)

4 TB flour (I use a blend of flours with rice, wheat and chickpea flour)

2 cups of milk (I used Silk Almond milk, original)

1/4 tsp pepper

In a large saucepan or dutch oven, combine the broth, chopped onion, potato, cauliflower, parsley, salt and Mrs Dash.  Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.

While the veggies are cooking, make the Béchamel sauce.

In a saucepan melt the butter. Blend in the flour and pepper. Add the milk and mix well. Cook and stir until the mixture is thickened and bubbly.

Once the veggies are tender, add the chopped spinach and cook another 2 minutes.

With an immersion blender, blend all the vegetables until smooth. (If you don't have an immersion blender, cool the soup slightly and, in batches blend or use a processor for 30-60 seconds per batch until smooth. Return to pan).

Add the Béchamel sauce to the vegetable mixture and blend again, or stir well. Season with salt and pepper as needed to taste.

This is a perfect soup to take you into the cooler months that are coming too soon. I'd love it if you stop back by and let me know how you liked it.

I'll be joining Stephanie over at The Recipe Renovator who is hosting the Meatless Monday blog hop.  Check it out for more Meatless Monday recipes from other MM Bloggers!

Thanks once again to my Honey for taking pictures for me.  Check out more of what he loves to do at Photography Musings by Dave.