white bean and roasted garlic soup

I'm sick right now and cannot taste a damn thing. this makes eating difficult because I have to rely entirely on texture - a dicey issue for me in the first place. soup, however, is a perfect antidote to the problem since it has a nice, neutral texture. last sunday night I made one of my favorite soups, one particularly suited to being sick because it is loaded with garlic. I've been eating all week, tasting it a little bit more each day. I love this not only because it's delicious, but it also requires very little prep.

Roasted garlic and white bean soup:
*2 tbsp olive oil
*1 medium onion, chopped
*1 tsp salt
*1/2 tsp fennel seeds crushed
*4 cups vegetable broth, or 2 tbsp veggie bouillon sauce and 2 cups of water
*3 cans of cooked white beans, drained
*3 fresh sage leaves, chopped or a couple of large pinches dried sage
*1-2 bay leaves
*juice of 1/2 lemon
*2 heads of garlic roasted or 4 heads of garlic, chopped in large pieces

saute the onions in a stockpot in olive oil for about 5 to 7 minutes. add the salt, some black pepper, and the fennel seeds and saute for about another minute. (I like to use a mortar and pestle to crush the fennel seeds because then my house smells like fennel and I can think about severus snape, greasy git that he is.)

add the broth (or broth elements), beans, sage, and the bay leaves. bring the mixture to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer for about five minutes. turn the heat off and remove the bay leaves.

if you have a hand mixer, you can do the next part directly in the stockpot. otherwise, you'll need to put the soup into a blender: add the garlic and puree yourself some soup so that it's thick and somewhere between lumpy and smooth. add lemon juice to taste and then serve. I like to eat it over brown rice.

this makes a lot of servings which is good because, if you are sick like I've been sick, you won't be able to taste anything the first time you eat it. but, as you get better, you'll be able to revel in the garlicky goodness.