Dairy Free Cream of Celery Soup

It's cold and flu season and time for soup and vegetables. Here is the first of what will be many. different soups I'm sure. This is loosely based on a Moosewood classic. It is no longer vegetarian, no longer dairy based.

Dairy Free Cream Of Celery Soup

2 fist sized potatoes, peeled and diced

4 cups chopped celery( plus one more minced finely, preferably from the interior stalks)

3 cups chicken broth(we make our own- more on that later)

1 1/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp margarine- we use kosher for passover types that are soy free

1 heaping cup minced onion

1 tsp celery seed

1 cup warm water

2/3 cup darifree potato milk powder

black pepper to taste

4 oz. so delicious coconut milk based yogurt

Put potatoes, chopped celery, broth and 11/4 tsp salt in suacepan to boil. Bring to a boil and then turn to simmer. Simmer covered 15 min. when vegetables are soft puree.

Melt margarine in soup kettle add onion, minced celery, celery seed and 1/2 tsp salt. Saute for 8-10 min. When vegetables are tender add puree. Stir together warm water and Darifree powder. Make sure to get rid of any lumps. Add to soup. Stir in remaining ingredients. Heat gently to warm through, stirring carefully to blend in yogurt. Top with freshly ground black pepper.

This was a huge hit with my boys who have colds, and best of all, no mucus inducing effects from the cream soup.