By Halloween. I sat on the porch with a bowl of candy and a folding table and a sign that said "Take Two — Miss Dot" and the trick-or-treaters came. Fewer than normal — the virus has thinned the crowds — but they came. Little superheroes and princesses and ghosts. One child dressed as a chef, complete with a tiny hat and an apron, and I said, "Are you a cook?" and the child said, "I'm going to be when I grow up," and I said, "What are you going to cook?" and the child said, "Spaghetti." Start small. Dream big. Spaghetti is a fine beginning.
Miss Corrine did not come to the door this year. Her porch light was off. I checked on her Sunday — brought soup, as always — and she was in bed. Not sick, she said. Just tired. "I'm tired, Dot." She's eighty-five. She's earned tired. But tired at eighty-five is a different thing than tired at sixty-five, and I watch her the way Kayla watches her patients — looking for the signs, counting the silences, noting what she eats and what she pushes away.
I brought her chicken soup with extra noodles because noodles are what you give people who need to feel held, and Miss Corrine needs to feel held. She ate half the bowl and talked about Henry for twenty minutes — the stories I've heard a hundred times, told with the same love and the same confusion about the details, and I listened the same way I always listen: like it's the first time. Because for her, it might be.
Made caramel apples for the porch kids and candied pecans for the grown-ups. The smell of caramel in October is the bridge between fall and winter, between the living and the dead, between the children on the porch and the children who used to be on the porch and are now grown and gone. Everything is a bridge, baby. The food is always a bridge.
Now go on and feed somebody.
Miss Corrine only ate half her chicken noodle that Sunday, and I kept thinking about it all week — what it means when someone who used to clean a bowl starts pushing food away. So I’ve been keeping a second pot going lately, this broccoli cheese soup, thick and golden and impossible to ignore, because sometimes a different kind of warm is what gets through. It’s done in thirty minutes and it tastes like the kind of soup a restaurant makes you pay good money for, except you made it yourself, which means you can bring it to the people who need it most.
Copycat 30-Minute Broccoli Cheese Soup
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 3 cups fresh broccoli florets, roughly chopped (about 1 medium head)
- 1 large carrot, peeled and shredded or julienned
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, freshly shredded
- 1/2 cup cream cheese, softened and cut into pieces
Instructions
- Sauté the aromatics. In a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4–5 minutes until softened and translucent. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
- Build the roux. Sprinkle the flour over the onion mixture and stir well to coat. Cook for 1–2 minutes, stirring constantly, to cook out the raw flour taste.
- Add the liquids. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth, then the milk, a little at a time, whisking continuously to prevent lumps. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer over medium heat.
- Add the vegetables. Stir in the broccoli florets, shredded carrot, dry mustard, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Simmer uncovered for 10–12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the broccoli is very tender.
- Blend partially (optional). For a creamier texture, use an immersion blender to blend about one-third of the soup directly in the pot, leaving plenty of chunky pieces. Alternatively, transfer 2 cups to a blender, blend smooth, and stir back in.
- Melt in the cheese. Reduce heat to low. Add the cream cheese pieces and stir until fully melted and incorporated. Add the shredded cheddar one handful at a time, stirring after each addition until completely smooth. Do not boil after adding the cheese.
- Taste and serve. Adjust salt and pepper as needed. Ladle into bowls and serve hot. Top with a little extra shredded cheddar if you like.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 360 | Protein: 15g | Fat: 26g | Carbs: 16g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 520mg