Avocado Soup

I love, love, LOVE avocados. And I found this great recipe in The 10 Things You Need to Eat that really maximizes an avocado and in a fairly guilt-free format. It's a soup that is mostly vegetables and comes together quickly once you've cleaned the leek. Yeesh, how do leeks manage to get so much dirt between EACH leaf? I tweaked it somewhat by adding some garlic and pureeing it and I love it. It's cheap, tasty, and healthy. Interested?

You'll need:

- 1 large leek (trim off root end, cut leek in half, and rinse each leaf to remove dirt/grit, then roughly chop)
- 3 celery stalks, roughly chopped
- 1 large onion, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp of olive oil
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 quart vegetable (or chicken) stock
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 large ripe Haas avocado, pitted, peeled, and roughly chopped
- scallion, finely chopped, for garnish
- cilantro, finely chopped, for garnish

Heat olive oil in pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chopped leek, celery, and onion and cook about 5 minutes until they soften. Add bay leaves, stock, coriander, garlic powder, cumin, and lime juice and simmer for about 10 minutes. REMOVE bay leaves and then add avocado and stir for a minute. Puree soup with immersion blender or in batches in a regular blender. Season with salt and pepper. Serve in bowls topped with chopped scallions and cilantro.