It’s that time of the year where the garden is thriving and starting to produce yummy veggies. I have an endless supply of kale, and have been patiently waiting for the other goodies to start growing bigger. I was able to get ahead of the curve by planting some of my plants under a low tunnel. Living at an elevation of 3,000 ft, you need all the help you can get! The low tunnels are able to extend your growing season about 2 weeks on the start and end of the season. Low tunnels are also REALLY good for trapping in that extra heat, which helps the plants grow and get bigger. At 3,000 ft of elevation temperatures continue to drop at night even on those hot summer days, so trapping in that extra heat is needed!

The broccoli under my low tunnel grew so fast, I was left with 4 HUGE heads of broccoli at once. I know, what a problem- ha! I didn’t want to see any of it go to waste so I decided to make Cream of Broccoli Soup. A good ole soup and salad combo with that endless supply of kale I have growing. I like to experiment in the kitchen with ingredients so I got creative with the recipe I found on Pinterest. I didn’t want to go through all the directions they had listed, so I took the shortcut and used my crockpot. Which I highly recommend because it made this recipe so much easier, plus it makes your house smell amazing!

I just followed the ingredients they had listed, and added my own little touch to the recipe.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter

1 onion chopped- Grown from the garden 🙂 

1 clove of garlic chopped- Grown from the garden 🙂 

1 stalk celery, chopped- I didn’t have any celery, so I just skipped over that part! 

2 (14 ½ ounce) cans of chicken broth

4 cups fresh broccoli- Grown from the garden 🙂 

3 tablespoons butter— Not sure why they have butter listed on here twice, but I just added 5 tablespoons. 

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups whole milk (or 1 1/2 cups milk and 1/2 cup evaporated milk)

Ground pepper- I used a peppercorn medley and a little bit of himalayan salt  

½ to 1 cup mild cheddar cheese

I did add bacon and scallions to the soup at the end! 

I took all of those ingredients and dumped them into a crockpot and turned it on high for about 4-6 hours. And wa-lah, dinner is ready! I hope you enjoy this combo if you decide to experiment with your garden goodies. 🙂

-Eryn Neyer