Broccoli Soup

This soup was REALLY good and really quick to make. There is only one problem. It looked like crap. Literally. It was brown and had pieces of broccoli and feta floating in it. Hopefully my explanations will resolve that if you want to try it. (Please do, it's healthy and delicious, not to mention has a Greek style flavor scheme!!!)

So I read a while ago that when you're cutting up veggies, especially for a larger meal, you should save your trimmings and throw them in a pot of boiling water to make veggie stock. WHAT a good idea! Totally never thought of this!! (Am I stupid?) Anyway, when I was doing prep work for thanksgiving I was trimming brussels sprouts, cutting onions, peeling potatoes, etc. So all the things I was going to throw away went into a big pot of boiling water that I simmered for about 2-3 hours and then strained. I threw some cloves and a bay leaf there as well to make it interesting.

When I was done, it was a dark brown color but smelled absolutely fabulous and was quite good too. While making my broccoli soup, I decided to use the veggie stock I had created, thus making it a dark brown. I suppose if you used regular water or a mixture of water or milk, this soup would be more green or red (if you add the tomatoes) So here goes:

Broccoli Soup that Looked like Poop
400 g (about 15 oz) broccoli. I used about 200 g florets and 200 g stalk
2 small onions, sliced
2-3 minced garlic cloves
2 small sliced tomatoes (optional)
1 HEAPING tablespoon oregano
2 teaspoons marjoram
60 g (3 oz) chopped feta cheese (yes, I used balkansky syr...)
1.5 - 2 liters stock or a combination of water and milk

Method:
Peel and very finely chop the broccoli stalk, onion, and garlic
Sautee in a bit of oil on medium heat until onions have softened a bit
Add the tomatoes if using and cook until soft

Side note: I love thick soups and am obsessed with my immersion blender. Hopefully this explains the rest of the recipe.

Add the water, stock, milk, what have you, oregano, marjoram, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper
Take an immersion blender and puree everything until it is thoroughly combined (this is when my soup turned its very ugly shade of brown...)
Add in the florets and the feta cheese and stir for a bit until feta disintegrates and broccoli is cooked.

You will have a nice thick soup with bits of feta and broccoli bobbing in it.

YUM.

Picture time! I didn't take a picture of the prep because it's pretty self explanatory, but here it is simmering right before I ate it: