I made this one up the other day, as I wanted a broccoli soup that wasn't a "cream of". Hope you like it! - debbie

Broccoli soup -- no cream!
makes about 4 bowlfuls

2 med. potatoes, chopped
1 bunch of broccoli
1/2 an onion, peeled and chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
6 large cloves of garlic, peeled (or 1 to 2 heads of green garlic, chopped)
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp. white pepper (a few shakes)
12 or so  mushrooms, cleaned & diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded & diced
3 to 4 tbsp. soy sauce
juice of half a lemon

Cut broccoli florettes from stems, set aside. Peel & coarsely chop the stems. Put chopped stems, potatoes, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf & white pepper in a pan and add water to cover, plus a little salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook, covered, about 20 min. Allow mixture to cool a bit, then remove bay leaf & puree (in batches, if needed) in a blender until smooth. Transfer this back into the pan, and add the lemon juice and soy sauce. Meanwhile, in a separate skillet, saute mushrooms and red bell pepper in a little olive oil or butter over medium-low heat (covered) until the mushrooms have darkened and 'given up their juice' (5 to 10 min.). Now take the florettes you set aside (cutting them into tidbit size pieces, compatibly sized to the diced peppers and mushrooms) and steam them just until tender (about 3 min.), then add them, along with the peppers and mushrooms and their pan juices, to the broccoli potato puree. Heat through and serve.

Accompany this soup with some cheese quesadillas and you've got a meal!  (To make a quesadilla, simply melt a little butter in a skillet, put in a tortilla, grate some cheese on top, then fold the tortilla in half and cook on both sides until lightly browned and crispy, & the cheese is melted. Cut in wedges.)