Sunday's Soup

Last weekend, I was in Springfield helping my friend prepare for her son's first communion party. Once we had everything under control, I made soup! I had intended to post this last week, but the day got away from me, so I decided to just save it for today. My friend loves to make her food from scratch, in other words, as little processed food as she can get away with, so I knew she would enjoy my little gift of soup. This soup is wonderful to have for lunch, but it freezes well and is perfect for use in casseroles that call for the addition of a cream soup. 

Cream of Celery Soup

The ingredients;

1 head of celery, chopped

2 medium white onions, chopped

2 cups of water

1 cup of chopped chives

1/2 cup of chopped parsley

1 heaping teaspoon of celery seed

2 tablespoons of corn starch

2 tablespoons of butter

1 cup of milk

2 cups of chicken stock(you can always make this a vegetarian soup by using vegetable stock)

salt and white pepper to taste

Place chopped onions and chopped celery in a large pot with the 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until celery and onions are tender.

Add chives, but reserve some for garnish. Add the parsley as well. Stir well. Using an immersible hand blender, Blend mixture until smooth. I just had to include a picture of the chives. My friend has a little green house where she grows her herbs, fresh from from the garden. Lovely.

Place corn starch in a separate heavy pan. While stirring with a whisk, slowly add milk. Add butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until sauce begins to thicken. Pour into vegetable puree and stir well.

Add the 2 cups of chicken stock and the celery seed. Heat thoroughly over medium heat being careful not to boil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Such a pretty soup. At this point the soup is ready to be eaten if you like. The soup is much healthier, a lot less fat and salt than the purchased soup. I also like to make a double portion of this soup, just double all of the ingredients, as I really enjoy having this soup for lunch, so I can eat some and freeze some. After a day or so, the flavors really begin to mix and come to life.

I wish all of the mother's a very Happy Mother's Day!
Rhonda