My hubby had a cookie exchange on Monday at work. I made a batch of thoes No Bake Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies. They were well received.
Today in one of my Newsletters, I'm sharing is a recipe for
Broccoli and Oregonzola Soup
I thought for those watching their waists a Soup Exchange might do instead of the cookies.
Sharing this with you... it is something I may try.

Broccoli and Oregonzola Soup
Reprinted with permission from Pacific Northwest Wining and Dining: The People, Places, Food, and Drink of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia by Braiden Rex-Johnson (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2007). Copyright 2007 by Braiden Rex-Johnson.

Serves 8
Wine Varietal: Syrah

You'd never suspect that an unassuming cinder-block building in the tiny town of Central Point, Oregon houses one of the finest artisan cheese-making operations in the world. The Rogue Creamery began in 1935, when Thomas Vella, an Italian immigrant known for successfully producing cheese in Sonoma, California, expanded his operations north to Oregon. He produced vast quantities of cheese for the war effort during World War II, traveled to France in 1956 to learn the art of blue cheese-making, and returned to Oregon to produce Oregon Blue Vein, a mild, creamy, Roquefort-style cheese made from raw cow's milk that is regarded as one of the best in the world.

Today, Ignacio (Ig) Vella, Thomas's son, continues to run the Sonoma creamery. In 2002, Ig chose Cary Bryant and David Gremmels to become the new owners of the Rogue Creamery. Cary and David have carried on the Vella tradition of hand-milled cheese, while at the same time adding award-winning cheeses to the lineup.

The Rogue Creamery won the London World Cheese Award for best blue cheese (Rogue River Blue) in 2003, the first time an American cheese factory had ever won the high honor, and other varieties of its blue cheese have won high honors in subsequent years.

The soup recipe below uses Oregonzola, Ig Vella's Gorgonzola-style cheese, to add a creamy texture (much like heavy cream or half-and-half in more traditional soup recipes) as well as a distinct salty/tart taste. Oregonzola is aged a minimum of 120 days in the creamery's caves, which results in a sharp, Old World Italian flavor and a velvet-like texture.

* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 3/4 cup chopped white or yellow onion
* 1 cup peeled, chopped russet potato
* 1-1/2 pounds trimmed broccoli, coarsely chopped (about 7-1/2 cups)
* 2 cups vegetable stock plus 2 cups water, or 4 cups water
* 4 ounces Oregonzola blue cheese or other high-quality blue cheese, crumbled
* Freshly grated nutmeg
* Kosher salt
* Freshly ground black pepper
* Walnut oil, for drizzling

1. Heat the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and potato, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is slightly softened but not browned, 5 minutes. Add the broccoli and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the 2 cups of stock and 2 cups of water and bring to boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, 15 minutes.

2. Strain the vegetables, reserving the cooking liquid. Put the cooked vegetables in a food processor and moisten with a few tablespoons of the cooking liquid. Pulse until very smooth. With the motor running, gradually add the rest of the cooking liquid. Work in batches as needed.

3. Transfer the soup back to the saucepan. Reheat until almost boiling, then remove from the heat. Stir in the blue cheese. Add nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste. Ladle the soup into 8 warm soup bowls and drizzle with the walnut oil.

LYNNE'S TIPS

Make this soup a day ahead and it just gets better. The flavors marry and mellow overnight in the fridge.

A warm baguette and a salad of baby spinach leaves, sliced fresh pears, toasted nuts, a sprinkle of crumbled blue cheese, and an apple cider vinaigrette round out the meal.

Oh my tummy is rumbling...Ana
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