Rawdorably Raw Cream of Broccoli Soup

Here it is, what you've all been waiting for: my cream of broccoli soup.

My mom used to make it for me growing up, and while "rawifying" my favorite childhood food memories, this non-raw, but still vegan, soup recipe showed up in my inbox (what a coinkydink; the world works in mysterious ways).

The easiest recipes to "rawify" are those that start off with raw ingredients; you just skip the cooking part. So, I lucked out when I checked this recipe's list, which included the following:

Ingredients for C.O.K.'s
(Compassion Over Killing)
Cheesy Broccoli Soup

• 2 cups cashew pieces
• 1 Tbsp. sea salt
• 1 cup nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 Tbsp. onion powder
• 1 Tbsp. garlic
• 1 tsp dill
• 1/2 cup pimentos
• 7 cups water
• 8 cups chopped broccoli

My first thought was, "wow, they used cashews instead of some pureed tofu base." Then I thought, "so why not just make it raw?"

Now, I had made raw cream of broccoli soup in the past, but it didn't exactly resemble C.O.K.'s picture of its final product nor my mom's version. It tasted good, but it had a different texture.

You see, I used to just add a bunch of ingredients to my food processor, and process them until creamy, yet still a little chunky (if you can envision it). The whole soup was green and lacked definition between the usual cream-colored base and green broccoli.

This time, I decided to start with the base, and then add the broccoli and the noodles (I'll get to that in a minute). The result looks a lot more like the real deal (I know I've said it before, but I am a firm believer in the fact that we eat with our eyes first).

I made a few adjustments (like making a smaller amount to feed one or two people; hey, it's just me), so here's my version:

Rawdorably Raw Cream of Broccoli Soup

• 1/2 cup raw cashews (sometimes questionable, I know), soaked for at least 1 hour
• sea salt and/or Bragg's liquid aminos to taste (I used both)
• 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 large chunk of onion (other recipe used powder)
• 1 clove garlic (still trying to freshen it up a bit)
• 1/2 tsp. dill
• cayenne pepper and lemon pepper to taste (I added these for more "heat" and flavor, and eliminated the pimentos)
• 1 Tbsp lecithin (to thicken the base without heating it)
• 2 cups warm (this is soup) water
  
• 1 zucchini, peeled, cut into thin noodle-like strips, reserving a few chunks to puree in base
• 2-3 cups chopped broccoli, marinated in a little lemon juice, olive oil, sea salt and pepper

I know it is the last ingredient on the list, but the first thing I did was toss the broccoli in some lemon juice, EVOO, sea salt and pepper. Then, I put it in the dehydrator until it softened a bit and resembled a "cooked" texture, since I would be skipping the actual cooking part.

Next, I sliced the zucchini into thin noodle-like strips, reserving a handful of chunks to add to the base to lighten it up a bit. The decision to add the noodles was based on my mom's recipe, which included egg noodles.

For the base, I added all the other ingredients (everything except the broccoli and zucchini strips, but don't forget the handful of reserved zucchini chunks) to my blender and ran it until completely smooth. Then, I added a couple chunks of the "cooked" broccoli and hit the "pulse" button a couple of times to incorporate it, but not change the color of the soup base (I just wanted to create another texture).

I divided the broccoli and zucchini noodles up between two bowls, and poured the soup base over top. In the future, I plan on scrapping the foam off the top first, which explains the bubbles in the pic, but hey, I was hungry.

All that was left to do was stir and eat. I topped one bowl off with some nutritional yeast/sesame seed topping (it's a little like Parmesan cheese sprinkles; I add my favorite Italian seasonings to it and keep it in a shaker in the refrigerator) from "The Thrive Diet Book," and put the rest away in the fridge for last night's dinner (even better the next go-round). I'm definitely having this one again.

So, there's your first lesson in "rawifying," for those of you who asked. Let me know how your raw versions of cooked favorites turn out.