Cauliflower Leek Soup

Cauliflower Leek Soup Serves 6 Ingredients: - 1 TB olive oil - 2 TB minced garlic - 1 large head of cauliflower - 3 leeks, cut into 1 inch pieces - 7 cups veggie stock or water (and a veggie boullion cube if using water) - 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed - 1 cup cashew cream - 1 TB lemon juice - 2 TB nutritional yeast (in the bulk section of your health food store) Directions: 1. Heat the olive oil, in a large pot over medium heat, and saute the leeks, cauliflower, and garlic for about 10 minutes adding sufficient amounts of water to keep it from sticking or burning.  2. Add veggie stock/water to the pot and bring to a boil. Turn down heat to a simmer, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.  3. Remove the soup from heat. Blend the soup with an immersion blender or hand mixer.  Mix in the cashew cream, lemon juice and nutritional yeast and continue blending until smooth. 4. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Tips: -You can garnish the soup with anything you like really, cashews, sliced spinach, cilantro, bell peppers, avocado... you name it! - You can use this as your main dish, as a side, as a base for another creamy soup. The sky is the limit! - And don't be afraid of substituting other veggies. Use what you have.

Cream of Vegetable Soup

Here is a creation from today that I made up between today's amazing sessions of General Conference with whatever I had available in my fridge. And as we say at our house, "It's blog-worthy!" so I'm sharing it with you. Enjoy!

Cream of Vegetable Soup

Serves 6

Ingredients:
Veggies:
- 1 onion
- 2 Tb. garlic
- 1 stalk celery
- 2 cups cauliflower
- 1 cup broccoli
- 1 lb. asparagus

- 1 large handful (about 1 1/2 cup) spinach
- 5 cups water or veggie stock

Seasonings:
- 1/2 tsp. dry thyme
- 1 tsp. dry oregano
- 1/2 tsp. coriander
- 1/2 tsp. cumin

Finishing Touches:
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast (in the bulk section of your health food store)
- 2/3 cup cashews
- 3 Tb. lemon juice (or to taste)

- 1 tsp. salt (or to taste)
- fresh cracked pepper

Directions:
1. Heat a large pot on medium high heat while you roughly chop your onion (but not so rough as to chop your finger :) I've learned that lesson a time or two...), then start sauteing your onion adding sufficient amounts of water to keep it from sticking or burning.

2. While onion is sauteing, chop all your other vegetables and add (except for spinach) to the pot. Saute for about 5 more minutes, or until onions are translucent.

3. Add water/veggie stock and spinach to the pot and bring to a boil. Turn down heat to a simmer.

4. Add all the seasonings and simmer for about 10 minutes.

5. Remove from heat, add nutritional yeast, cashews (that's where the "creamy" comes in!) and lemon juice. Then puree using an immersion blender (or ladle small amounts carefully into a blender).

6. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Tips:
-You can garnish the soup with anything you like really, cashews, sliced spinach, cilantro, bell peppers, avocado... you name it!
- You can use this as your main dish, as a side, as a salad dressing, as a base for another creamy soup. The sky is the limit!
- And don't be afraid of substituting other veggies. Use what you have. 

Coconut Cauliflower Curry Soup

Today, I set out to create a delicious masterpiece, using whatever we had in our fridge and pantry that would be hearty enough for my husband, and soft enough for Baby John to chew. I love that he can eat what we eat now!! We are believers in supporting local farming, and love to buy produce from our farmer's market. This past weekend, Seth bought an enormous cauliflower for $2! I feel bad that the farmer didn't get his fare shake...but that is the price he offered Seth because a 2 inch part of it got a little frozen.  We're not worried about that; at least it didn't get picked when it wasn't ripe and get shipped over thousands of bumpy miles losing flavor and using up too much fossil fuel. It is such a beautiful cauliflower, it's orange! Did you know there are like a whole bunch of different varieties of cauliflower. Seriously, go to your local farmer's market and check them out. After you taste it, you will never want to pay $5 for a tasteless/bitter white knobbly thing from the grocery store again! And when you look at the ingredients, you may be a bit overwhelmed, but don't be, it only means more nutrients and extra deliciousness. I believe in symphonies of flavor, and I think tonight we are going to enjoy one.

Coconut Cauliflower Curry Soup
Serves 10-12
Ingredients:
- 2 diced onions, (optional to saute or not)
- 6 cups veggie stock (or water)
- 1 can coconut milk (use light for lower fat)
- 2 cups soy milk (I like to use organic)
- 8 cups chopped cauliflower
- 3 diced sweet potatoes
- 2.5 cups diced tomatoes (fresh or canned)
- 3 cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
- 2/3 cups red lentils
- 1 Tb natural peanut butter
- 1 tsp. minced ginger
- 2 Tb. minced garlic
- 3 tsp. cumin
- 2 Tb. curry
- 1/4 tsp. garam masala
- 2 tsp. coriander
- 3 tsp. oregano
- 1/4 tsp. cayenne
- 2 Tb. nutritional yeast
- 1.5 cups frozen peas (or 1 can) - optional
- salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
- fresh basil or spinach for garnish

Directions:
Optional: Saute onion in your large pot ( I used my stock pot because this make a ton of soup! Hooray for freezer meals!)
1. Combine all ingredients in a large pot and simmer until sweet potatoes are soft.
2. Garnish with basil or spinach (chiffonade) and serve with hot crusty whole grain bread or whole wheat naan.

Tips: 
- You could bake or roast your sweet potatoes beforehand to really speed up the process! Then you would just be waiting for your cauliflower to cook until it's soft.
- You could also do this in a crockpot. I think Low heat for 6-8 hours would cook the potatoes. Let me know if you try it.