When I lived in Portland all by my little old self after college I used to make this very soup in a hand me down pot that I acquired from my mom. Speaking of the old neighborhood, some crazy fool tried to burn it down last week. I’m trying to comfort myself with the fact that my building was at least made out of brick so perhaps he was discouraged in his malicious endeavors by that fact, because as far as I know it’s still standing.

But back to soup. I love this soup! When I first made it I felt like the Queen of the Kitchen. The company I worked for had these Panera Bake sales all of the time so I’d purchase a loaf of slightly stale onion focaccia, heat it up in my rinky dink oven, and happily dip hastily torn pieces into my steaming hot bowl of veggie and cheddar goodness. Then, I’d curl up on my cold cream leather couch (also “borrowed” from my mother) pop in some netflixed Gilmore Girls episodes and suddenly life seemed pretty good for living paycheck to paycheck and charging my blonde highlights, and mental health trips to the mall on my “emergency” Visa.

Vegetable Cheddar Soup (Based on the recipe originally published in Betty Crocker’s Easy Entertaining)

4 tablespoons butter
1 onion chopped
4 carrots sliced
4 celery stalks sliced
3 cups of broccoli florets
1/2 cup flour
10 ounces of sharp white cheddar grated
2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock
1 1/2 cups light cream
Salt & Freshly Ground Pepper to taste
Seeduction Croutons - optional. See below for how I made them.

Heat butter in large dutch oven over medium heat until melted. Cook carrot, onion, celery, and broccoli in butter until softened. Stir flour into the vegetable and butter mixture. Gradually stir in the chicken broth and cream. Continue cooking over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture boils; boil 1 minute. Slowly stir in cheese until melted. Top with homemade “Seeduction” croutons and serve.

Seeduction Croutons

4 small slices of Whole Foods Seeduction bread
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt & Freshly Ground Pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.
Slice the bread into bite sized squares.
Toss with olive olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Bake until toasted and browned.

My Boston Organics order was waiting for me when I got home from work.  I was looking forward to it all day.  When I opened the bright green box I found the following items inside: Bananas, Green Bartlett Pears, Honey Tangerines, a Kent Mango, Pink Lady Apples, Plums, Valencia Oranges, Fingerling Potatoes, Romaine Lettuce, Snow Peas, Sweet Onions, and Zucchini.  So far I’ve used one zucchini to make a pasta dish for dinner.  What should I do with the rest of my bounty?  Suggestions are welcome.  I’m really looking forward to eating that Mango tomorrow evening. I can’t wait to see what I’ll get next week!

I just found out about the most amazing thing (thanks Anna and Kristen)! Did you know that there’s an organic produce delivery service in Boston?! Well there is! It’s called Boston Organics and I’ve just signed up to receive their weekly half fruit and half veggie $27 box of assorted awesomeness as well as some fabulous sounding freshly baked bread.

My order will be dropped off on Wednesday so I’ll have more to report then. To find out if this great service is available in your part of the city you should review their delivery schedule. There are lots of delicious add-ons that you can arrange to have in your box too including cheeses, coffee, and chocolate for a small additional fee. They also allow you to create a list of produce that you definitely don’t want to have in your box. So I promptly exiled the honey dew melons to the “do not deliver” list.

Do any of you have a program like this in your area? If so, how has your experience been?