Cream of Broccoli Soup (with Chicken!)

One of the first things I learned to cook was soup. It's extremely easy: chop, add water, turn on stove, wait. I've always been curious how creamy soups were made, and I had my first try today.

Here is the original recipe which I've adapted. The soup turned out watery, since I dislike using roux, and I put more water than called for. I also added chunks of chicken for some extra heartiness.

Cream of Broccoli Soup (makes 4-6 servings)

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 heads of broccoli
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 4 cups water (use 2 1/2 cups for a creamier soup)
- 2 stalks of celery, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cup milk (use 2 cups for a creamier soup)
- 1 skinless chicken breast

Preparation:
1. Rub chicken breast with salt, bake at 350°C for 30 minutes.
2. Break broccoli into florets, and cut the stem into half-inch chunks. 
3. Melt butter in a pot on medium heat, and cook celery and onion until onion is transparent. 
4. Add stock, water and broccoli to pot, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes. 
5. Turn off heat, ladle soup into blender, filling half of the pitcher at a time. Purée the soup into a separate pot. 
6. Cut the baked chicken into 1-cm-sized chunks. Add to the purée. Add milk. 
7. Heat and serve. 

Yummy and nutritious! This a great if you don't like the taste of plain broccoli. I usually hate broccoli, and can only eat it if I smother it in cheese. No longer!