Crockpot Broccoli Cheese Soup — The Soup That Holds When Words Cannot

Paul stopped talking this week. Not completely — there are moments, usually morning, when a word or two emerges, whispered, the ghost of his voice passing through. But functionally, the voice is gone. The teacher's voice. The shipwreck voice. The "another year, Linda" voice. Gone. The communication device is no longer optional. Paul types. The machine speaks. The mechanical voice says the words that Paul's mouth can't, and the words are his and the voice isn't and the gap between the two — his words, not his voice — is a canyon I'm learning to cross. He typed on Monday morning: "Good morning, Linda." The machine said it. Flat. Mechanical. Missing everything — the warmth, the rasp, the specific timbre that I've been hearing for thirty-three years. I said, "Good morning, Paul." And I went to the kitchen and made coffee and I cried over the percolator, quickly, three minutes, the allowance, and then I brought him coffee and held the cup and the morning began. Elsa came that evening. She picked up the book — the Swedish lighthouse book — and she read to Paul for two hours. Her voice filled the room the way his used to. He listened with closed eyes. At the end, he typed: "Thank you, Elsa. Your voice is beautiful." The machine said it. Elsa said, "I learned from the best." He typed: "Your mother reads better." Elsa said, "Don't tell her that. She'll be insufferable." He typed a smiley face. The machine didn't say anything because smiley faces don't have sound. But the smiley face on the screen was Paul smiling. I went to the Damiano Center on Thursday. Gerald was there. I served soup. I didn't talk much. Gerald said, "Quiet day, Linda?" I said, "My husband lost his voice this week." Gerald put down his spoon. He looked at me. He said, "But he still has you." I said, "Yes." He said, "Then he hasn't lost what matters." Gerald. A man with nothing, telling a woman with everything that the everything is enough. I made soup. Wild rice. The soup that holds. The soup I've been making for three years of writing and thirty-three years of cooking and it holds. It holds when the voice goes. It holds when the machine speaks. It holds when the lake opens and the ice groans and the man in the wheelchair types "good morning" because his mouth can't say it. The soup holds. I hold. We hold.

Wild rice wasn’t in the pantry that week — I had been to the Damiano Center and back and hadn’t thought to stop — so I made this instead, the broccoli and cheddar one, slow and low in the crockpot while Paul typed and the machine spoke and Elsa read aloud from the lighthouse book. It’s not the same as my wild rice, but it holds in the same way: you put it together in the morning, you walk away, and it is still there for you in the evening, warm and unchanged, asking nothing. That’s what I needed. Something that would still be there.

Crockpot Broccoli Cheese Soup

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 6 hours (low) | Total Time: 6 hours 15 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 5 cups fresh broccoli florets, roughly chopped
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
• 1 can (10.75 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 cup whole milk or half-and-half
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard powder

Instructions

1. Load the slow cooker. Add the chopped broccoli, diced onion, garlic, chicken broth, condensed cream of chicken soup, butter, pepper, paprika, and mustard powder to a 5- or 6-quart slow cooker. Stir to combine.
2. Cook low and slow. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 6–7 hours or on HIGH for 3–4 hours, until the broccoli is completely tender and the onion is soft.
3. Blend partially. Using an immersion blender, pulse the soup 4–5 times directly in the slow cooker to break up some of the broccoli while leaving plenty of texture. Alternatively, transfer about 2 cups of soup to a blender, blend smooth, and stir back in.
4. Add the dairy. Pour in the milk or half-and-half and stir in 1 1/2 cups of the shredded cheddar. Replace the lid and cook on HIGH for 15 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until the cheese is fully melted and the soup is creamy.
5. Season and serve. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Ladle into bowls and top each serving with the remaining shredded cheddar. Serve with crusty bread or crackers.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 310 | Protein: 15g | Fat: 20g | Carbs: 17g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 870mg