Showing posts with label vegetables. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vegetables. Show all posts

Monday, August 22, 2011

{Cauli}Flower Soup


My daughter is a pretty picky eater. There was a time when the only way I could get her to eat any vegetables, was to disguise them in things like zucchini bread and carrot waffles. This was a recipe I found to get her to cauliflower. 

I'll admit, I am not a big fan of cauliflower, but this soup is heavenly and good for you. I add a little cream to it at the end to make it even better. The original recipe includes parmesan crisps, but we just serve it with bread (sourdough is really good with it) for dipping. My daughter loves to dip. To disguise it, we call it Flower soup. My daughter is girly like that, so flower soup is fun for her.


Silky Cauliflower Soup

Recipe courtesy Dave Lieberman of the Food Network.

Ingredients

Soup:

Directions


Remove the leaves and thick core from the cauliflower, coarsely chop, and reserve. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan or soup pot over medium heat and add the onion and garlic. Cook until softened, but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add the cauliflower and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until the cauliflower is very soft and falling apart, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and, using a hand held immersion blender, puree the soup, or puree in small batches in a blender* and return it to the pot. Add the Parmesan and stir until smooth. Season, to taste, with salt and black pepper. Keep warm until ready to serve.

*When blending hot liquids: Remove liquid from the heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. Transfer liquid to a blender or food processor and fill it no more than halfway. If using a blender, release one corner of the lid. This prevents the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions. Place a towel over the top of the machine, pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth. 

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Sneaky Vegetables

 Our vegetables are growing like crazy now that it is getting hotter. Check out those Mustard Greens, they are HUGE!
 The Swiss Chard is pretty big, but I am not sure why the leaves are funky. I just tear off the funky parts when we eat it.
 The herbs... not quite big enough to use yet, but hopefully soon.
 The part I'm most excited for...the broccoli. I can finally see a little floret starting to grow.

 So I have been trying to come up with ways to use our lettuce in ways that the kids will eat it. Last night I tried adding it to pasta sauce and it was delicious.

I took 3 or 4 of the largest leaves of the Mustard Greens and Swiss Chard, tore off the thick stems, and ripped it into several smaller pieces and steamed them for about 5 minutes or so. Then, with an immersion blender, I mixed it into some spaghetti sauce (I just used some from a jar) along with some minced garlic. I served it over some rotini noodles with a little parmesan cheese and the kids LOVED it. My daughter is really picky and she asked for seconds.  I thought the lettuce taste might be a little overpowering, but it really made the sauce taste really good and I loved the color that it made the sauce.



 The biggest evidence is this little man's face. We don't even bother with a bib on spaghetti night...it is so much easier to just strip him down and stick him in the kitchen sink when he is done.