Broccoli & Cheeze Soup with Homemade Bread

One of my brother's favourite foods is broccoli and cheese soup. No matter where we go to eat, if it's on the menu, he will order it. Well, since I'm usually the one making dinner (because I love doing it and have a lot of time on my hands), and because my mom & brother know I won't cook with meat or dairy, they asked me to try making vegan broccoli and cheeze soup. I've honestly never made the real version, so it was kind of fun making this one. I'll be honest, though, I used a recipe. Had I made a soup like this before, it would have been easy enough to figure out on my own, but like I said, I hadn't.
Soooo, the recipe I used was from Skinny Bitch in the Kitch.  It was reeeaaally yummy! It actually tasted just like the real thing (which I honestly wasn't expecting). My brother said it tasted the same as the one he was pretty much addicted to in Disneyland. Sweeeeeeeeeet :) Love compliments like that. However, the recipe said to puree it all, and I followed the recipe...mom and brother both said it would probably be a little better with a few chunks of broccoli in it. Totally up to you, but pretty sure I agree; It would be yummier.
Also, it says to puree in a blender. I thought "mwahaha, I have an immersion blender!!" Ummmm, no. FYI, immersion blenders hate broccoli. Soooo if you have one, and you like it, and you don't want it to die, use your blender.
As for the bread, I'll post the recipe, but it's for a breadmaker. If you have one, I highly recommend this bread. I used to make it once a week (but I'm pretty sensitive to gluten, so I rarely eat it now). I'm sure you can figure it out, though, if you need to bake it in the oven. Just be sure to knead it, and let it rise, and bake for probably 50minutes to an hour.
Have fun! :)

Broccoli & Cheeze Soup
Ingredients:
1 tbs coconut oil
1 onion, diced
4 cups broccoli, chopped
sea salt & pepper, to taste
1 1/2 cups water, + 1 veggie bouillon cube (or 1 1/2 cups broth)
4 cups soy milk
1/4 cup arrowroot (or 5tbs cornstarch) dissolved in 1/4 cup cold water
6 ounces vegan cheddar cheese

Directions:
1) Heat oil in a stockpot over medium heat. Add onion, and let cook until fragrant.
2) Add broccoli, sea salt, & pepper, and saute until broccoli is crisp/tender, and onions are golden.
3) Stir in the stock and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and let cook for 10 minutes.
4) Remove soup from heat and stir in 1 cup of the soy milk.
5) Pour mixture into blender and puree until smooth (you may remove a few broccoli florets from the soup first with a slotted spoon, if you want a chunkier soup). Pour mixture back into pot, add remaining soy milk,  and return to high heat.
6) When soup starts simmering, add arrowroot mixture and vegan cheeze, and stir until it melts. You're done :)

Whole Wheat Barley Bread (Medium Loaf, 2lbs)
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups water
1tbs soy butter, cut into chunks
1 tsp sea salt
2tbs agave nectar
2 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup barley flour
2tbs oats
1/4 cup flax seeds
2 1/4 tsps active dry yeast, instant

Directions:
1) Put all ingredients in the order displayed above, and start your breadmaker. I always select "light" crust.
2) When it is done kneading, you may take it out and re-shape it before allowing it to bake. Sometimes, I'm lazy and skip this step, but I end up with a really garbled loaf of bread. So if you like pretty, don't be lazy ;)

If you're curious about the Skinny Bitches, and the recipe book I mentioned above, take a look at the Amazon link: