Zucchini Soup: My Childhood Comfort Food

Yes!

When I’m down, I like to eat mac n’ cheese, Klondike bars, and chocolate chip cookies, but the coziest comfort food I can think of is warm, creamy soup. I love soup. So when I started feeling kind of down last week, I decided to make the soup that takes me way back to early childhood in my mom’s house: zucchini soup. I think the reason I loved this soup so much as a kid is that it had a really simple, savory flavor. And it went well with cheese. And I love cheese.

Anyway, I called my mom to get the recipe, and she wasn’t near her phone. Seeing as I needed comfort food ASAP, I decided to go for it on my own, and ended up with a successful reinvention of one of my favorite soups.

Zucchini Soup:

• 3 medium zucchinis
• 1 cup yogurt or sour cream
• 1/2 cup whole milk (skim or lowfat milk may be substituted)
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded white sharp cheddar, divided (or more adventurous cheeses, if you like)
• salt to taste
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 1 medium onion
• cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil or butter

Chop your garlic coarsely and dice the onion. Throw it into a wok/large iron skillet with a splash of olive oil (or a hunk of butter) and sauté over medium heat until the onions start becoming translucent (3-5 minutes).

Wash your zucchinis and slice them into quarters longways, like so.

what a color, eh?!

Chop them into cubes (rectangular prisms?…) and throw them in with the onion and garlic, stirring occasionally.

I love my wok...

Add about 1tspn salt and cook until the zucchini darkens a little and is tender, but not floppy (I know there’s a better word…but you know what I mean. Who likes flaccid vegetables?).

Put vegetables into a blender along with yogurt or sour cream, milk, 3/4 cup cheddar, and a dash of cayenne, if you want some heat to your soup. Blend on a high setting until the soup is smooth and creamy. If it seems to need more liquid, add more milk. From here, adjust salt and cayenne to taste, and even add more cheese, if you wish.

And voila!

But don’t forget to put more cheese on top! That’s the best part!

Mmmmm.....

Note: Feel free to substitute milk, buttermilk, or anything else creamy and awesome instead of the yogurt or sour cream