Cauliflower Soup

I love love love Donna Hay!  There, I said it.  She is a fantastic chef and wonderful creator of great recipes.  The recipe that I am currently enamored with is out of the Donna Hay Magazine Jun/Jul 2013 (Issue 69) on page 81.  It's called cauliflower soup with spiced cauliflower.  I've made it twice now, once the way she does it in the magazine and once my vegan way.  I have plenty of friends who are vegetarian and/or vegan and I thought that maybe I'd give it a go for them.  Take one for the team so to speak.  :)

Since her recipe was absolutely fabulous on all levels of consciousness, I thought I would play around with it and see if I could a) make a vegan version and b) experiment with additions to it.  I'll feature my adapted version here but I strongly suggest that you buy the magazine (Issue 69) and try making it her way if you are not vegan.

So, start with gathering the ingredients.  I used the following:

• 2 TBSP coconut oil
• 1 leek, trimmed and sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 400 grams raw cauliflower, chopped
• 200 grams potato, peeled and chopped
• 3 1/2 cups of vegetable stock or water
• sea salt and cracked black pepper

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a medium stock pan over medium to medium high heat.  Add the leek and cook for about five minutes until soft.  Be sure and stir it on occasion to keep it from browning too much.
2. Add the garlic and cook for one minute more.
3. Add the cauliflower, potato, vegetable stock (or water), salt, and pepper then bring to a boil.  
   
4. Reduce heat to simmer and then cover with a tight fitting lid.  Cook for twenty minutes or until cauliflower is tender.
5. Remove from the heat and blend the soup until smooth.  
6. Set aside and keep warm.

The spiced cauliflower that I made had a different ingredient than what she did and I think it came out just as good as hers.  The following ingredients are needed for the topping:

• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1 TBSP coconut oil
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 100 grams of cauliflower, chopped
• 1 tsp ground coriander (cilantro for those in the US)
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin OR cumin seeds
• 1/4 cup of pumpkin kernels

Method:

1. Place the oils, garlic, cauliflower, coriander and cumin in a small frying pan over medium / medium high heat.  Cook, stirring often, for about five minutes.
2. When the cauliflower starts to get crisp and golden, add the pumpkin kernels and cook for another minute or two.

To assemble, pour soup into bowls and top with spiced cauliflower.  Bon Appétit!!

Donna Hay’s "No Time to Cook"

Hello folks.  It's been a while since I last wrote but I think you'll be OK with that.  The cookbook I am going to discuss here is Donna Hay's No Time To Cook!  I have nothing but praise for this book as everything I have made from it turns out beautifully.  Now, for the review.

According to the introduction, this cookbook was conceived by Ms. Hay after she began contemplating starting a family and was devised for "time-poor people".  I for one, am glad she did it.  This was my first Donna Hay cookbook and after I made some of the recipes herein, I purchased another one.  I'll critique it next time.

The table of contents consist of the following:

• assembled dinners
• CHEATS 1. breakfast & brunch
• fast flavour
• CHEATS 2. marinades & rubs
• one pan
• CHEATS 3. salad sides
• one pot
• CHEATS 4. sauces & salsa
• one dish
• CHEATS 5. vegetable sides
• some now some later
• CHEATS 6. nibbles
• instant desserts
• CHEATS 7. sweet treats
• glossary
• measures & conversions
• index

There have been a few times in which I was just interested in how she would have done a vegetable in a faster way and have looked up a recipe from the contents.  Most often, I like to look at the pictures and decide what I want to make.  The photos of the finished recipe are artfully done and truly mimic the real deal looking very similar to my own finished attempts at them.

Some of the recipes in this book have turned into family favorites. Barbecued spinach & mozzarella pizza (made without tomatoes or tomato sauce), lemongrass chicken wonton soup, and lemon salmon pasta are all fantastic!  Having received permission from the publisher, I will share the recipe of lemon salmon pasta with you so you can see if you'd like to purchase this book.  Even if you don't like that particular recipe (although I can't imagine why you wouldn't.  It's easy, tasty, quick, and even my teenager likes it.) I would suggest seeking out this cookbook for the vast number of other recipes it has.

So, without further ado, here's lemon salmon pasta:

Lemon Salmon Pasta, reprinted by permission.

Picture out of the book of Lemon Salmon Pasta, reprinted by permission.

You will notice that I gave this recipe four and one-half stars.  My standard of measurement are as follows:

• Big X = never make this again
• One Star = was not horrible but I won't make it again
• Two Stars = was ok, but definitely not worth the effort
• Three Stars = good and most people in the house liked it
• Four Stars = very good and should probably become a staple
• Five Stars = THIS IS THE BEST FOOD EVER!!!

So, with this particular recipe...  it falls into the 'become a staple' and 'THE BEST FOOD EVER' categories in my house.  Hopefully, you'll give it a go and see where it falls in yours.  Happy cooking!