Roasted Egg Plant Veggie Soup

The inspiration for this soup comes from one of the best cooks I've ever known, Helen Pettingill.  I tasted a yummy soup she made last fall and knew I'd someday use it to 'fool' my kids into thinking they were eating a super cheesy soup.  The secret to this one is roasted egg plant.  I have tried egg plant over the years and it's never really worked, but as a base for soup I really like it roasted.  If I get ambitious this fall I'll roast some and freeze it for later, but that's another post.