In My Kitchen: Edam Cheese Soup

My parents recently got back from a riverboat cruise through Holland and Belgium. I got to spend an afternoon looking through their pictures and hearing a lot of their memories. My husband and I were lucky enough to pass through Holland on a bus tour around Europe when we were both in college, so I compared notes with my parents on some of our favorite aspects of this area of the world. The top on both of our lists: the gorgeous, picturesque landscapes that surround you.

In honor of the tulips being in full bloom over there right now, I wanted to make a dish inspired by Holland. When my husband and I visited, one of our stops was in Edam. Of course, we bought some Edam cheese and gobbled it up immediately. But we also got to rent bikes and tour this town. The canals, the quaint streets, the windmills. It almost seemed too perfect, but yet it was real.

The weather here in Indiana is slowly warming up, but this week we had a cool, rainy day. I thought this recipe for Edam Cheese Soup from Food.com was a great way to conjure up memories from our day in Edam and warm up a chilly evening. While the title says cheese soup, it's really more of a broccoli soup. I mostly stuck to the recipe, except that I probably doubled the amount of cheese. (My husband taught me long ago that you should use all the cheese you have whenever you make something that calls for cheese, not the suggested amount. This lesson has never failed us.)

A mountain of creamy Edam cheese

The next time I make it, I'll use less chicken stock and maybe increase the amount of potatoes. I prefer my soups a little thicker than the way this turned out. It tasted delicious though. If you have an immersion blender, it's much easier to blend the soup. (Plus, I feel like a soup ninja whenever I use mine.)

Edam Cheese Soup, blended and ready to serve

And then... the heavens opened up, choirs of angels came down and sang... because the arrow actually ate it. A first for the In My Kitchen series. (Ignore the fact that he's wearing a fishing hat, bib and no shirt. Focus on the toddler consuming vegetables.)

This post is a part of Wanderfood Wednesday at Wanderlust and Lipstick.