This is a pretty good recipe to use as a base, and add to it. This is what I did: In a saucepan, I sauteed some freshly minced garlic, fresh basil, a dash of salt, and some crushed pepper in olive oil. After a few minutes, I poured it into a cup and set it aside. I then made the roux with 4 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp water. I added the cup's contents, the milk, cheese, and then made a bit more of flour and water (probably 1/4 c. flour made into a somewhat viscous liquid, to thicken it up even more, but this can be remedied with more milk if it's way too thick). I let it bubble a bit, then simmered for about 15-20 minutes. While it was simmering, I added more fresh basil, pepper, garlic, salt and even more cheese, because you can never have enough of all of these flavors. This is pretty versatile, because you can make it as strong or mild as you want without really screwing it up. The sauce was flavorful, thick, and went well with whole wheat pasta noodles.

Reviewed On: May 18, 2009

I haven't reviewed this yet, but I've been using this recipe for a couple of years now. This is the greatest, and so versatile. I've even used the base for peanut butter cookies, and a variety of other flavors. This is excellent.

Reviewed On: Aug. 15, 2008

Wow, is this good!! I love good, hearty soups and this hit the spot. I did things a little different. I combined about 3/4 of a stick of butter with cinnamon, nutmeg, honey and brown sugar. I buttered both sides of the bread and cooked it on one side for about 10 minutes, flipped them, turned off the oven and let them sit in there while I made the soup. (I only did a thin layer of this butter mixture on the bread; I have a lot leftover for toast!) I sauteed the onions with just a fistful of brown sugar (maybe a loose 1/4 cup or less) with the one cup of broth (I used vegetable). It gave the onions a very light but flavorful sweetness. After blending it, I returned it to the deep pan I used, and added about 15-17 ounces of canned pumpkin, 2 more cups of broth, generous shakings of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, pinch of salt, few shakes of pepper, another ~1/4 cup of brown sugar, some drizzles of maple syrup and let that cook accordingly. Then I swirled in maybe 1/3 cup of cream, because it was already really thick. It turned out great! The croutons are

Reviewed On: Apr. 20, 2008