Still, I’m perfectly aware that I’m probably one of the luckiest people on the planet. I have wonderful, caring parents who are endlessly supportive, and a boyfriend who makes me laugh (mostly at him) and reminds me of the joy in every day.
I know, I know. Finish your barfing noises and come back when you’re ready.
Good? Good. So the above portions of spectacular support and love birthed this beautiful baby - a brand spankin’ new camera. Which I had to play with. Immediately. Which means whatever is available to me must fall victim to the glass.
Since Matt has two states of being - (1) at work and (2) catatonic, and he wouldn't appreciate me posting a million photos of him zonked out, this means the only available victim is food.
I’ve had this recipe floating around from this blog I read, Two Peas and Their Pod. The writer/cook/spectacular food photog swears up and down that people who don’t like cauliflower will even like this vegetarian soup she made - out of cauliflower. I was skeptical. But, I have been trying to give people the chance to pleasantly impress me.
And she did.
Guys. This soup. Whole. Ee. Crap. Creamy, warm, comforting, cheesy goodness. Of course, Matt and I aren’t vegetarians. And I’m pretty sure that at the very least, if I tried to convince Matt to go vegetarian with me, he might trade me in for a new car. So I made some alterations. But I’ll have you know that the original is hers. And you can find the vegetarian version here (she actually measured mostly, which I don’t do. It’s a hereditary problem. We’re allergic to measuring utensils). Mine is NOT vegetarian-friendly, and I used what I had on hand - translating to no fresh herbs.
MY version will embark very vaguely, with the wonderful low-light capabilities of my shiny new Nikon D600. My flash is, of course, broken. And our apartment complex doesn’t believe in things like windows and happiness, so the fact that the D600 can manage a 2000 ISO without submitting you to a horror of grain just makes me so happy I could go help myself to seconds. I still claim no glories of having any variety of talent in the way of food photography. Some day, when the man I feed is actually home during daylight hours, and when we live somewhere with windows, I might put a little more effort into the sect. Until then, hire me to take photos for you so I can buy a new flash (smiley face).
I started out with some on-super-sale steamer bags of cauliflower (four of them). I tossed them onto a baking sheet (raw), sprinkled with olive oil (I really wish I’d had some PAM olive oil on hand - that would have been so much easier), thyme, rosemary, black pepper, and garlic powder.
I popped them in the oven at 400 for 25 minutes, checking on them halfway to make sure they were browning evenly. Then I pulled them out to let them cool a touch.
Meanwhile, I cooked a half of a diced yellow onion with a LOT of minced garlic (I use the stuff in a jar) in a pretty healthy-sized pot (it needs to be big enough for all that cauliflower patiently waiting for your attention. I’m guessing it was probably about a teaspoon and a half. Once it was cooked through, I turned off the heat and threw in some more rosemary, thyme, and pepper.
Then I scooped up those gorgeous brown-edged roasted pieces of white mystery and tossed them in the pot, poured some low-sodium chicken broth over the top until about 3/4s of the flowers were covered. Pop on a lid and tucker up the heat. Then I sat easy until it boiled ferociously. It didn’t take long for the cauli to be cooked through - fork easy.
If you have an immersion blender, I’m jealous. I had to scoop them suckers (onions, garlic, cauliflower, and broth) into a blender in parts, blend it on low until smooth, and pour it back into the pot.
Then I let it sit pretty, pouring in chicken broth to thin it out a touch more as necessary, and letting the spices marry into the flowers and broth. About a half hour before I was ready to die from starvation, I grated half a brick of white cheddar cheese (about a cup, shredded) and stirred it into the soup, saving some to garnish with later. Then I tossed some sliced fungus onto the same baking sheet I used for the caulis with some chopped turkey bacon and roasted them at 400 for 10 minutes with some olive oil, garlic powder, and rosemary.
Let me tell somshing to jou! - Garnishing with a scoop of roasted mushrooms, a spoon of bacon, and a wee pile of white cheddar took a beautifully delicious soup to another level.
Seriously, guys. Go to the grocery store and buy some cauliflower (I never thought I’d say that). I gotta admit, somewhere in the blending process, I was doubtful the pale creamy substance would be worth the effort. But I’m definitely making this again.
After I buy an immersion blender...
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