Okay, I admit it, I was pretty sad that summer was over as is documented on Patch (no denying it). But the second I felt the first crisp breeze of fall—wahooo! Thank goodness for seasons. I love every season equally and when one ends and the other beings, I wonder how the heck I lived without it for so long.

There are a number of reasons I love fall. I love the colors. I love the cool air. I love returning to the routine. I love dressing in layers. I love autumnal food, the apples, squash and pumpkins! But most of all my favorite part of fall is soup!

Soup rocks. As a vegetarian, soups are one of the most successful mix of veggies in terms of taste and nutrition. In the summer, I often make dinners that seem more like a bunch of sides. But with soups, you mix all the sides together and they become liquified heaven.

But the best, best part of soups is that my kids eat them. Somehow, the sight of asparagus on a plate can inspired lots of "eww" "gross" comments from the kids but put it in a soup, blend it and add some cream and all I hear is "slurp!"

Being a "sneaky chef" has become a popular way to get your kids to eat veggies—hide some caulifower in the mac n' cheese or squash in their muffins. But my kids can sniff out even the smallest amount of fiber. I can't even sneak a fraction of whole wheat flour into their pancakes without them calling me out.

But for some reason when it comes to veggie filled soup,  I can brag about all the veggies they're eating in their soups and because they like them so much, instead of feeling cheated, they seem proud.

We have a lot of favorite soups in this house: minestrone, potato-leek, tomato. But last year a friend gave me Tal Ronnen's cookbook "The Conscious Chef". Ronnen is a vegan cook (I am not vegan) but he has the most amazing secret for soups that everyone should know about—cashew cream.

Ronnen popularizes cashew cream by demonstrating how raw cashews turn into a superb dairy substitute. It's super easy to recreate and makes every soup you make it with perfect. Cashew cream is lighter than heavy cream but just as smooth and creamy and much better tasting. Plus you get the added benefits of the nutrition of cashews. As he explains it, raw cashews "have no flavor of their own; they're just a vessel for fat and creaminess." He ain't joking.

Here's how to make it:

Regular and thick cashew cream

Ingredients/directions

• 2 cups whole raw cashews (not pieces, which are often dry), rinsed very well under cold water
• Put the cashews in a bowl and add cold water to cover them. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight.
• Drain the cashews and rinse under cold water.
• Place them in a blender with enough fresh cold water to cover them by 1 inch. Blend on high for several minutes until very smooth. (If you're not using a professional high-speed blender such as a Vita-Mix, which creates an ultra-smooth cream, strain the cashew cream through a fine-mesh sieve.)

To make thick cashew cream, which some of the recipes in his book call for, simply reduce the amount of water when they are placed in the blender, so that the water just slightly covers the cashews.

Makes about 2 1/4 cups thick cream or 3 1/2 cups regular cream
Prep time: 10 minutes, plus soaking overnight.

You can find that recipe, plus Ronnen's recipes for asparagus soup, on his website. I recommend getting the book to try tomato soup and, the most awesome of all, celery root soup will surely please everyone in your house!

I had never even seen a celery root before Ronnen but I decided to give it a try. I went to the local farmer's market for my search. I found it—it's a nasty, knarly looking thing but the beautiful, subtle flavor that comes out is hard to beat.

Just follow Ronnen's simple soup recipes and I promise you will have some happy fall campers.

Try it and let me know what you think!