When my husband and I got engaged in the summer of 1997, we honestly didn’t think twice about setting our wedding date for Late September, six days before my 24th birthday. We wanted a fall wedding and we were so excited to get married! Funnily enough, September 26, 1998 was a record breaking 96 degrees in Virginia, for which I sincerely apologize to my bridesmaids given the velvet tops on their dark navy Laura Ashley dresses! Twenty-two years after that day, I admit it does seem it may have been advisable to chose a different time of year to spread out the celebrations. While two weekends in a row of celebrating is fun, it can be a bit decadent, and to all those Christmas week babies out there, I feel your pain with the combined gift. 😉 (Sorry, Dad!) In our house, though, we must press on and keep celebrating since our daughter was born 10 days after my birthday in October as well! By mid October, we are definitely all a few pounds heavier and ready for a lot of salad eating until Thanksgiving…
This week’s post is not my own recipe since in addition to it being my birthday, it was also a four day weekend here in Hong Kong and I did my best to enjoy it! We had some delicious meals out, and while I did test a few new recipes this week, none are quite ready for prime time. But my original goal with Mangia Monday was to share other bloggers’ recipes, and I will continue to do that frequently.
If you have followed me for awhile on Facebook, you know that broccoli cheese soup is one of my all time favorites, being pretty much the first meal I get when I arrive in the US and head directly to Panera! (Always paired with the Greek salad.) Dan is NOT a fan, but fortunately I passed on my love of this delicious creation to my daughter, so we make it on nights that we know Dan will be out and enjoy it for lunch for the next couple of days.
This Broccoli Cheese Soup recipe from Cookie + Kate is very close to one I posted from Bon Appetit back in May. I love it most because it is somehow prettier than many versions of broccoli cheese soup I have tried. I think that is from all the fresh broccoli! I also like that there is no cream and it is made with water instead of vegetable or chicken broth. This is obviously not dairy free due to the cheese, but I feel less guilty about it and it is easier to control the amount if anyone is cheese sensitive.
I know that it is getting cold in many parts of the US now so soup may be coming back on the menu again. Yay! We are enjoying the cooler “fall” temperatures here in Hong Kong as well, with it even dipping down to 79 degrees as I write this. 😂 (Really. That does feel chilly to us, especially with the bucketing rain!)
Have a great week and happy cooking!