Creamy Cauliflower Bisque

Dear Turkey,

Remember that. cauliflower. that I got as a present? Well, I had only used half of it, and it was time to use the rest. Since I have OCD, I hate it when I can't see the back of my fridge at all times (or when I can't see my reflection in any given shelf at any given time). So I emptied the fridge and challenged myself to make the contents disappear (and not by putting them in the compost). 

Roasting and pureeing are two of my secret weapons for turning a lot of food into not a lot of food. (My other secret weapon is just sitting down and eating it all up.) So I made a soup and a chutney.

Creamy Cauliflower Bisque:

In a big Pyrex baking dish, coarsely chop the following and roast it at 425 degrees for about an hour:

3-4 c cauliflower

2 small sweet potatoes

1 onion

3 cloves garlic

1 handful of fresh parsley and oregano (who says you can't roast parsley?)

1 poblano

1/4 c olive oil (you don't have to chop that)

1/2 stick butter

lots of salt

Then heat up 6 c of veggie broth, several tablespoons of cumin and lime juice, and add the roasted veggies and all of their delicious juices. Puree it and stir in a tablespoon or two of cream. Decorate with the chips and chutney, and serve with a sliced serrano on the side for non-wusses:

For the "chips" I ripped up some corn tortillas and sprinkled/drizzled them with olive oil, salt, lime juice and cumin and baked them at 425 degrees for ten minutes. For the chutney: blend 1 c (each) parsley, cilantro, and mint with 1 or 2 t (each) sugar and salt (start with 1), and several tablespoons of lime juice. It would be a lot easier if you had a Vitamix. Oh, wait, you do. But I don't. 

I was inspired to make the cake by this cool blog. If you click on her link you will see how much easier (but less beautiful) my version is. The cake is just our standby Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread (PCCB) without the chocolate chips:

3.5 c flour

2 t baking soda

1 t cinnamon

1 t nutmeg

3 c sugar

1 c oil

4 eggs

2/3 c water

1 regular-size can pumpkin

Mix until combined. Bake 1 hr in a greased pan at 350 degrees. 

I used her recipe for the frosting, but on her blog it is "the filling." It was not hard and it was totally worth it. I'd been reading a lot lately about how good homemade butterscotch is and I needed to know if the hype was real. It's real, Turkey. 

So, stale corn tortillas, almost-expired cream and broth, and a two whole grocery bags of veggies and herbs that are almost dead + a couple of hours + someone to watch your baby + Vitamix = happy full family.

I moss you,

Tofu