Soup and Fall Weather…

Today’s post is about a date day adventure and another one of Nelson’s favourite soups, cream of broccoli.

First of all, can I just say how incredibly amazing October has been. We’ve had so many warm days (even warmer than warm), and so much sunshine. It made yesterday’s drive to a country farm all that much more inspiring and relaxing.

Baking skills at the farm…

Nelson and I had signed up for a bread-making workshop at South Pond Farms. We had learned about this farm while watching a series called A Taste of the Country on Netflix. So yesterday, we made our way there for a morning of bread-making with 12 other energetic and friendly folks from around Ontario. It was a lot of fun to learn from a chef while we got our hands ‘dirty’ making dough. We even got to enjoy the farm grounds and trails while they transformed our bread-making space into a dining room. Then while our kettle bread was in the oven, we enjoyed a fantastic chef-created and locally-sourced lunch, topped off by a scrumptious fruit crumble dessert.

It smells so good… do we wait?

Nelson and I happily headed home with four warm and delicious-smelling loaves of bread in the back seat of the car. I’m not gonna lie… I was ‘this’ close to tearing off a piece of bread and enjoying it before we got home… but I restrained myself. Instead, we enjoyed the bread with the kids when we got home. Delicious!

How much soup can this guy eat?

Nelson kept saying how good the bread would be with the cream of broccoli soup he was going to make when we returned home. The man loves his bread…and soup. Seriously… if there’s such a thing as too much soup, then Nelson needs to find a support group. Well, I don’t mind. Soup is not an addiction to worry about.

Creamy soup and our friends at Breville Canada

So here’s the soup that even sold me on broccoli. You see, I eat very little broccoli and when I do, it’s more because I should rather than because I want it. It’s a texture thing with me. Nelson insisted this wouldn’t be a problem since he was going to puree the soup with his amazing new Control Grip™ from our friends at Breville Canada. I was still sceptical because I didn’t think a hand blender would do a good enough job of making broccoli smooth, but I stand corrected. OMG… this is one tasty creamy soup.

We’ve been so impressed with the quality of Breville’s products. We were already in love with our Breville Smart Fryer and our Breville Barista Express, and now this magical tool, the Control Grip™ , is in our lives. Nelson’s like a proud papa.

This hand blender (and more) is seriously sturdy and powerful. Nelson loves the length of the handle because it makes it easier to use in our tall pots. Nelson’s thrilled to have a hand blender that’s comparable to restaurant-grade. With all the cooking he does, so am I. It makes his life so much easier.

Picky Eaters?

This kitchen tool is especially good for our household. You see, it’s not just me who’s texture-sensitive. Our little guy is even more finicky about his food. It makes getting vegetables into him rather challenging. We have proof that the right tool can make all the difference. This Breville hand blender did such an amazing job that even our pickiest eater didn’t know he was eating broccoli.

They liked it!

You should have seen the look on Nelson’s face when I told him I actually liked the soup. It was a mic drop moment (or would this be a blender drop moment). The truth is… he really is content when he makes meals we all enjoy–and in this case, a new soup we enjoy. After all, it means he’s got one more to add to his list of family meals. And soup makes Nelson so happy–any season.

Surprise someone by transforming a food they ‘think’ they don’t like into a meal they’ll love. That might mean playing with flavours, or, as it was for us and this soup, that might mean changing the texture. With the right tool, it’s easy peasy. However you eat your broccoli, eat well, friends.

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