Creamy Goodness Soup

In case you've never read any of my posts before, I'm really into eating for my mitochondria.  Wha-wha-what???  The mitochondria.  It's known as "the powerhouse" of the cell.  When these guys are operating at their peak performance, I know that I will be at my best.  I mean, if this gal can CURE her MS by minding her mitochondria, I get really excited about what it means for me, an average healthy gal.  Will I gain superpowers?  Maybe not. (I really wanna fly!)  But I can tell you that I haven't gotten any of the crud that went around and laid everybody up (think:pukey flu).  And let me tell you, anytime I can avoid a good puke, I'm all for it!

Well, our mitochondria LOVE sulfur containing veggies.  Sulfur can be found in the cruciferous family, as well as in mushrooms, onions, garlic and the like.  If you make this creamy, outrageously delicious soup, you will satisfy your body's need for this food.  Pair it with a healthy green salad, with some red and yellow things like peppers and tomatoes, and you will cause your mitochondria to sing with joy!  This soup reminds me of a once favorite: baked potato soup.  But instead of filling my body with starchy starch and overloading my sugars, I'm feeding my mitochondria, preventing disease, dysfunction, and giving myself untold power!  (Flying lessons later.)

*note: I call this Creamy Goodness Soup for those of you with a fear of cauliflower.  Just ignore the fact that you're using a scary veggies and try it!  I double dog dare you.

Creamy Goodness Soup

Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower, cut up
1/4 head broccoli, cut up
1 large onion, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large carrot, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 package Trader Joe's pancetta (it's about 6-8oz of pancetta, cut in cute little cubes)
32 oz chicken (bone) broth  (if you don't have any, just use regular broth.  but you should! it's so good for you! and it's mmm-mmm good!
1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped up
2 T butter
2 T coconut milk
salt and pepper to taste

Optional Garnishes:
bacon bits
chopped green onion
goat cheese or cheddar cheese
a spoonful of homemade plain yogurt

Directions:

In a large soup pot, melt butter on medium heat.  Add onions, garlic and shallot and sauté until translucent (about 3 minutes).  Toss in the pancetta and let it all cook up a bit.  While this is happening, chop up your rosemary and throw it in the pot.  Give everything a stir and then add your carrot and celery.  Let that all cook a little, while you cut up your broccoli and cauliflower.  You don't have to cut it too much, because you will end up blending it.  So just cut out the tough centers and roughly chop the rest.  (Or buy the pre-cut stuff and do a happy dance in place of the chopping.) Add it to the pot, along with salt and pepper, and if you like a dash of red pepper flakes.  Pour in enough broth to just cover the veggies, turn up to high and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, turn down to medium and let simmer about 20 minutes, until veggies are soft.  Remove from heat and blend either using an immersion blender or a regular stand up blender.  Make it to your desired consistency.  Some people love it completely creamy.  Me, I like some chunky bits here and there.  Stir in coconut milk (you can add more if you want it creamier).  Top it with your yummy stuff and watch it disappear!  (My favorite is green onion, goat cheese and BACON!)