Roasted Cauliflower and Red Pepper Soup

So this week I joined a food co-op called Bountiful Baskets. The upside is you get a bunch of fruits and veggies at a good price. The down side is you don't get to choose the fruits and veggies. I made peace with these two facts and accepted the latter as a sort of challenge and an opportunity for serendipitous discovery to take place. So far so good.


This week's challenging veggie? Cauliflower. Well, I'll see your cauliflower and raise you two red peppers! In my search for a suitable recipe, I looked for something hearty, comprising the bulk of a meal. I also wanted something fairly simple with the kind of ingredients I already had in the kitchen (luckily red bell peppers were on special for 99 cents earlier this week.) This delicious Roasted Cauliflower and Red Pepper Soup from Closet Cooking is what I found. It's relatively simple and very healthy.


The cauliflower thickens the soup without the need for an unhealthy roux. You don't have to compromise on taste either. The roasted veggies reward you with a surprising depth of flavor that far surpasses their uncooked counterparts. Add some onion, garlic and a bit of cayenne pepper to turn up the heat. What you have now is a flavor profile that reaches true perfection with a thick dollop of Greek yogurt on top. If you have some thyme on your hands, you can toss a sprig or two on top as a garnish as I did in the picture above. 

Roasted Cauliflower and Red Pepper Soup

Ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower (cut into florets)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 1 onion (chopped)
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 2 roasted red peppers
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
• 3 cups chicken stock

Directions

1. Toss the cauliflower florets in the olive oil with the salt and pepper.
2. Arrange the cauliflower florets in a single layer in a baking dish.
3. Roast the cauliflower in a preheated 400F oven until lightly golden brown, about 20-30 minutes.
4. Heat the oil in a pan.
5. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
6. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
7. Add the cauliflower, roasted red peppers, cayenne and stock.
8. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer until the cauliflower is tender, about 20 minutes.
9. Puree with a hand blender or food processor.
10. Serve garnished with Greek yogurt.

Kale is hot (and in this case crunchy)

Whole Foods has always struck me as a barometer of food fashions. While casual, comfy stores like Sprouts and Sunflower Market satisfy with their straightforward offerings, Whole Foods dazzles with glitz and glam. 

Looking for fancy cheese? Whole Foods has it, even cave-aged cheese. Looking for local produce? Whole Foods has that covered too. How 'bout an apple from Wilcox, only 272 miles from the store, according to their sign. Looking for a hot dinner? Forget about that rotisserie chicken. At Whole Foods you can have beef brisket, smoked in-house. Yes, Whole Foods gives the foodies what they want. And what do they want? Well, in the deli anyway, the answer seems to be kale. 

While drooling over things like portobello mushroom lasagna and orzo salad  today, I spotted no less than four, that's right, four different types of kale salad! Ladies and gentlemen, we are apparently in the midst of a kale craze. I have no idea when or how it began. Maybe it's like how after buying a new car, you suddenly notice that everyone else is driving the same car. I don't know, all I know is that I bought my first ever bunch of kale earlier this week.

Why kale? Well, I've been trying to eat healthier lately and if you don't already know, Kale is a bit of a health nut's wet dream, a "superfood," if you will.  It's high in vitamins, a powerful antioxidant, and has both cancer-fighting and anti-inflammatory properties. Is there anything that this mighty cabbage can't do? Now that's one sexy veggie! But hey, it's still a veggie. That's why I was excited to find a recipe for kale chips. They're salty, wafer-thin, and have a satisfying crunch.


I made the bunch pictured above this morning and they were gone in no time. Just be sure to go easy on the salt. I didn't actually measure mine out and you can taste every grain on such a paper-thin chip. I got the recipe below from Allrecipes.


Baked Kale Chips


Ingredients

• 1 bunch kale
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. 
2. Remove thick stems from kale and then tear into bite-sized pieces. Wash and dry kale thoroughly. In a bowl, toss kale together with olive oil and salt. 
3. Spread in a single layer on the cookie sheet and bake until edges are brown but not burnt, about 10-15 minutes.

Additional Information
Yields 6 servings. 
Calories: 58  
Total Fat: 2.8 
Cholesterol: 0