Broccoli Soup with Whole Wheat Croutons

All of a sudden it's gone from blisteringly hot to cool days with drizzly rain (and some real showers) here in LA. I couldn't be happier. Perfect soup weather. The change in seasons sort of took me by surprise so I figured a dinner soup from what we happened to have in the house. I sautéed a chopped onion and several stalks of celery in some olive oil and then added in the roughly chopped stems from a few heads of broccoli. I covered the pan and let it sit on low (along with about a teaspoon of salt) for about 15 minutes until the stems were starting to get tender. Next I added about 6 cups of chicken broth, the florets from the broccoli and a pinch of red chile flakes and brought everything up to a boil. After the soup simmered for about 10 minutes I puréed it in the blender, poured it back into the cleaned pot and added a splash of milk -- about 3/4 cup, a pinch of cayenne pepper, and more salt to taste.

Those pan fried croutons I tried last week have become a pretty popular garnish around here so I tossed up some cubes of whole wheat bread with a bit of salt, thyme , and olive oil for a tasty topper.

Weather that calls for soup for dinner. Finally fall.