Sea monsters and soup

The last few days have consisted of gray skies, drizzle and a chill in the air.  Perfect weather to spend an afternoon inside making soup from my new cookbooks. A month ago, I decided to purchase Heidi Swanson's new cookbook.  Heidi is the author of the blog 101cookbooks, which I read often.  She is a fantastic cook and photographer and even better resource on using all natural ingredients and incorporating whole grains into recipes.  When I went on Amazon to order her new book, I placed it in my shopping cart and was then offered free shipping if I ordered her first cookbook as well.  Being the sucker I am for a good cookbook and free shipping, I of course ordered not one, but TWO books.  And boy, am I glad I did.  I have spent many hours flipping through the pages, gazing at the beautiful pictures. More on these books later, back to this soup I made!  This cauliflower soup is a wonderful a blend of vegetables, complemented by the tang of Dijon mustard.  To make this soup, I had to cut up green and yellow onions, potatoes, and cauliflower.  To tell you the truth, I have never been compelled to examine vegetables as closely as I did last Thursday and was absolutely intrigued by the intricacy and uniqueness of each vegetable.  The perfect spirals of the green onions and then tree like shape of the cauliflower florets were so much fun to photograph, and I couldn't help but notice how the roots of the green onions resembled sea monsters.  Call me crazy-but I had a blast!  I wonder what my family thinks of me when they come home after work to find me blaring country music and having the time of my life with vegetables...oh, wait, they are used to it. Nothing new here.

In addition to having way more fun than the average person cutting up and photographing vegetables (I'm weird, I know) the soup turned out so well! and I felt compelled to share the recipe with you. It's very healthy and doesn't require too much hands on time.

Cauliflower Soup: from Super Natural Everyday  (I highly recommend buying this cookbook or Super Natural Cooking, OR BOTH)

croutons
A decent sized chunk of whole grain bread (6 oz), cut or torn into 1/2″ pieces
2 tbsp butter, melted
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard
a few pinches of sea salt

soup
2 tbsp butter
2 shallots, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
one large potato, peeled and diced (1/4″ cubes)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 head cauliflower, chopped
2/3 cup sharp cheddar cheese
2 tsp Dijon mustard
To make the croutons, toss all ingredients together in a large bowl, then spread on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes, or until the croutons are crunchy
To make the soup, melt the butter in a large soup pot. Add the shallots and onions and cook for a few minutes, stirring, until they soften. Sprinkle with a little salt, then add the potato, garlic, and vegetable broth.
Cover and bring to a low boil, cooking for about 8 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Add the cauliflower and stir well. Cover and cook another 5 or 6 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender. Add the cheese and mustard and stir well.
Puree with an immersion blender, and add salt to taste. Add a little more broth or water if the soup is too thick.
Serve topped with croutons and a sprinkling of grated cheese.

*You may notice that there are no croutons in the pictures...I skipped this step to keep the soup gluten free. I also added an extra tablespoon of mustard for additional flavor.

new love

I don't know what has gotten into me, but I have a new love for all things lemon.  I have never disliked lemon per se, but have never truly enjoyed lemon flavored desserts.  After baking this heavenly lemon cheesecake and practically licking the pan clean in an effort to enjoy every last crumb, I have been searching for lemon recipes.  I just could not resist trying this lemon poppy-seed cake.  The cake was baked for a lovely afternoon coffee get together with dear friends J and A. I guess this is what you do after you graduate from college, not so bad, eh?  The original cake recipe came from eatingwell.com but of course I had to modify it in some way.  The addition of a lemon curd yogurt filling between the layers and chocolate butter cream frosting on top of the cake were the grand ideas of my Mother.  I have to admit I was a bit hesitant at first to pair lemon with chocolate, as it seemed like an odd combo.  Oh, was I wrong. With the butter cream frosting, this recipe probably wouldn't be found on a website promoting healthy recipes (oh well) but the addition of the filling and frosting is, in my opinion, absolutely necessary.  The recipe and directions look slightly daunting, only because you must make the cake, the frosting, and the filling.  This truly is an easy cake to make, its just that there are three separate parts; don't let the length of this post deter you from making it!

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake (www.eatingwell.com)

• 2 tablespoons plus 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons poppy seeds
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 6- or 8-cup tube pan with nonstick spray. Sprinkle pan with 2 tablespoons sugar, tapping out excess.
2. Whisk flour, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
3. Whisk egg in another bowl until frothy. Whisk in remaining 1 1/4 cups sugar, buttermilk, oil, lemon zest and vanilla. Gradually add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, whisking until just moistened. Pour batter into prepared pan.
4. Bake the cake until top springs back when touched lightly and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Immediately loosen edges and invert onto a wire rack. Let cool completely. 

*I made the cake gluten free by using a pre-blended mix of non wheat flours called Pamela's baking mix.  Everything else stayed the same.

Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting---Note: this frosting is something my mother just whips up with no directions or pre-measured amounts.  She is currently washing the dishes and rattling off approximations of how she makes this divine cake topping as I frantically try to type.  As a result, this is not an exact recipe.  Just use your judgement when making the frosting, you will know when your butter cream is perfect)

• 4 tablespoons butter, slightly softened
• 2 envelopes Nestle pre-Melted Choco-Bake
• Powered sugar
• a pinch of salt
• 2-3 tablespoons half and half

Place softened butter in a medium bowl and stir by hand or by mixer until creamy.  Add chocobake, mix well and add the salt.  Now it is time to add the sugar. Start by adding 1 cup of powered sugar and 1 tbs of half and half.  Beat vigorously until blended and smooth.  Taste and add more sugar or half and half as needed to get a nice, smooth frosting.

Lemon Curd and Yogurt Filling (Again, not an exact recipe)

• Lemon curd
• Low fat plain yogurt or sour cream

Combine half of a 10.5 oz jar of lemon curd and 3 tbs yogurt or sour cream in a small bowl.  Add more curd or yogurt/sour cream until filling is spreadable but not too runny.

Cake Assembly
Remove one cake from pan and place on desired cake plate.  Next, spread lemon filling on first cake.  Flip second cake out onto a separate plate and then flip over again when placing on cake (this allows you to place the smooth side of the top layer right side up, making frosting easier)  Place the second cake, right side up on top of the filling, Frost with butter cream and enjoy!

The new lemon zester that works fabulously (its my mother's)

fresh zest

My favorite brand of lemon curd: Trader Joe's

The finished cake with filling and frosting

We were too eager to try the cake that I do not have a picture of the whole cake!