Sunday's Soup/Roasted Cauliflower with Arugula

Whew!, it's been a while since I last checked in. In my last post, I shared that my dog Gracie had a ruptured blood vessel in her ear. Well, it resulted in surgery last Thursday. She is better, as better as one can be with a cone around their head ;) But, the cone is needed as she wouldn't have an ear at this point. The cone keeps her from scratching at her ear, but I can't keep her from shaking. UGH!!! I never realized that the dog shakes her body as much as she does. 

In the meantime, I came down with a cold and have been a running temperature. Oh well, it's my yearly cold, so hopefully I'm getting it over with and will have a super fun winter, full of winter sports! As I type, I'm drinking a cup of tea with a little whiskey, actually Grand Marnier(my favorite). I'm telling myself that the orange flavor of the liqueur is vitamin C ;) Regardless, the warmth of the tea mingled with the liqueur is very soothing to my throat, so...good enough for me!!! 

I did manage to make a wonderful soup this week. I wanted something simple, and I wanted a little extra warmth as I've been so cold, so I decided to do a little roasting. If you haven't roasted vegetables, by all means, give it a try. Roasting gives the vegetables a slightly smokey taste and I think, enhances the flavor.

I wanted a big batch, so I used 2 heads of cauliflower. The recipe will be for a smaller version using just 1 head of cauliflower.

Begin by breaking the cauliflower into small florets. Slice a purple onion and garlic cloves. Line a baking sheet with foil. I laid out my cauliflower first, and then topped it with the sliced purple onion and slivered garlic. I then sprinkled olive oil over all of the vegetables and added salt and black pepper. My absolute favorite salt is pink salt. I purchase it in a large grinder and use it for almost everything.

Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the vegetable mixture in the preheated oven and roast for approximately 45 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender. The bottom of the cauliflower will be nice and brown, and the edges of the onion will be crinkled and brown. 

I then put my vegetable mixture in my pot. Added vegetable broth, and pureed the mixture with a handheld mixing wand. If you don't have a handheld wand, puree the mixture in a blender. I like to say that there's almost always another way to do just about anything ;)

Once the vegetables were pureed, I added the chopped arugula. Love the spicy taste of arugula. I then added thyme and oregano, and adjusted the salt and black pepper. Brought the mixture to a boil and then reduced to simmer for about 10 minutes to give the arugula time to flavor the soup. 

As is, the soup is the perfect vegan soup.

If you would like, and you don't follow a vegan diet, top the soup with a little shredded parmesan cheese and chopped green onions.

If I may say so myself, the soup is delicious!

Roasted Cauliflower Soup with Arugula

ingredients;
printable recipe

1 large head of cauliflower broken into small florets
1 medium purple onion sliced
2 cloves of garlic slivered
2-3 tablespoons olive oil sprinkled over vegetables
4 cups arugula before chopped
2 teaspoons dried thyme  
1 teaspoon dried oregano
6-8 cups vegetable broth for desired consistency of soup 
Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Break cauliflower into small florets and place on foil lined backing sheet. Top with sliced purple onion and slivered garlic. Sprinkle olive oil over vegetables. Top with salt and black pepper. 
Roast in preheated oven 45 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
Once tender, place roasted vegetables in a large soup pot. Add vegetable broth. Begin with 6 cups and add more if needed for desired consistency. Using a handheld mixing wand(or blender), puree the soup mixture.
Once the soup has been pureed, add the chopped arugula, thyme, and oregano. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer for approximately 10 minutes to allow the arugula to flavor the soup. Adjust salt and black pepper to taste.

Soup may be topped with grated parmesan cheese and chopped green onions. Serve and enjoy! 

I have SO enjoyed this soup. It will freeze well and be great for an easy dinner in the future, or a fabulous, warm lunch. Or, you can be like me and double the recipe and share...or maybe not ;)

Rhonda

Sunday's Soup/Roasted Cauliflower, Leek and Carrot Soup

We've all heard that carrots are good for our eyes. Well, it's not just a myth, they really are good for our eyes. Since I was diagnosed with moles on my retina, I've become all the more concerned with trying to get vitamins and nutrients in my diet that will nourish my eyes, so a recipe with carrots always pops off the page. 

I found a recipe from Flourishing Foodie that caught my attention, Roasted Cauliflower, Leek and Carrot Soup. You know how much I enjoy roasted cauliflower :) As the title says, this recipe combines carrots and leeks with roasted cauliflower, a sure fire winner in my book!

Begin by breaking up a head of cauliflower and mixing it with smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, garlic, olive oil and salt. Mix well and roast.

While the cauliflower is roasting, cook the carrots and leeks. Once the cauliflower is roasted, mix half with the carrot and leek mixture, add vegetable stock and cook for about 30 minutes. Once vegetables are tender, puree the mixture.

Add the remaining roasted cauliflower to the pureed soup. Add grated Parmesan cheese (I used grated Romano), and the juice of 1 lemon. Be sure to add the lemon as it really enhances the flavor.

To serve, drizzle a little olive oil over the soup and toss on some sliced green onions and brace yourself for a taste explosion in your mouth!

*One note, the recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. You may want to use a little less and increase once you've had a taste. *One more note, the recipe calls for 3 carrots, please be sure to use large carrots or your soup will be too thin. If you are using smaller carrots, double the amount and use 6. Below is a picture of the size carrot that I used.

I love how half of the roasted cauliflower was added to the pureed soup, it gives you a little something to chew :) 

This past week, I received an article from Dr. Josh Axe. He has a great website devoted to natural remedies and living a healthy lifestyle. The article is all about the vitamins that are great for your eyes. You can read the article HERE. His website is an all around great resource for healthy information.
Take care of your eyes and eat lots of carrots!!!
Rhonda

Eating For Your Health/Roasted Cauliflower Wraps with a Twist

It's no secret that I LOVE roasted cauliflower, roasted vegetables in general, but especially roasted cauliflower. Last November, I shared a recipe for Grilled Cauliflower Wraps. Makes for a nice light supper, or a great sandwich when you're on the go.

This past week, I received an email from a fellow Texan. She told me that during Lent, she usually serves fried fish on Fridays, but this year decided to do something a little healthier, so she gave the roasted cauliflower wraps a try, but wait till you see what she did.

Rather than just roasted cauliflower, she mixed green bell peppers and onions with the cauliflower and roasted all together. If you look closely below, you'll see that I added a sliced jalapeno pepper to my mixture.

Below is my mixture just before it went into the oven. I had fun with spices too! 

While the vegetables were in the oven, I chopped up a bunch of fresh cilantro. 

 Vegetables roasted and ready to go.

I made up a batch of fresh hummus and smeared it on a whole grain tortilla. 

Topped the hummus with the roasted vegetables and freshly chopped cilantro, rolled it all together and then made my taste buds sing! 

If you would like to give it a try, here's the recipe;

1 head of cauliflower

1 green bell pepper

1 Spanish onion sliced

1 jalapeno pepper sliced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon garlic powder

homemade or purchased hummus

1 bunch fresh cilantro

whole grain tortillas

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Once you have broken the cauliflower into small florets, slice the bell pepper, onions, and jalapeno. Add spices and olive oil. Mix well. Pour on to a foil lined baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees until vegetables are golden brown and tender.

Build your wrap, roll and eat!

Thank you so much Lamar for your suggestions on the wraps. I can't wait to make this again, and again, and again!

See, a healthy diet can be fun :-)

Enjoy!

Rhonda

Eating For Your Future/Roasted Cauliflower Wraps

Have you ever found a restaurant that had a dish that you fell in love with, only to find one day that they have unexpectedly closed?

We had a wonderful Middle-Eastern restaurant near our home that made what they called a cauliflower sandwich, which I could eat every day of the week. They made their own bread which is similar to a tortilla, flat like a tortilla, but more of a bread consistency. Rolled inside the bread was lettuce, hummus, and fried cauliflower. It was like heaven in my hand!

I waited for months, hoping that the restaurant might reopen as mysteriously as it closed. No such luck. A new restaurant has opened in the space, but no cauliflower sandwich. ARGH!!!! Desire can be the mother of invention, so I decided to make my own. Rather than fry the cauliflower, I roast it. 

Roasted Cauliflower Wraps

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower

homemade or purchased hummus

Arugula or greens of your choice

whole grain tortillas

2 tablespoons olive oil

garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste

Begin by breaking apart a head of cauliflower into small florets. In a bowl, pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the cauliflower. Sprinkle garlic powder, salt and black pepper over the cauliflower and stir to mix. 

Pour onto a foil lined baking pan and bake at 425 degrees for approximately 35 to 40 minutes. About midway through, turn cauliflower so that it browns evenly. Be sure to allow the cauliflower to get nice and brown.    

Spread hummus on a whole grain tortilla, approximately 2 tablespoons. 

Top the hummus with your choice of greens. I like arugula as it has a rather peppery taste. But a nice romaine lettuce or fresh spinach is also good. 

Top the greens with the grilled cauliflower. 

Roll up and devour!!! 

The roasted cauliflower is as good cold as it is warm, so make some ahead and have it later for lunches. My husband thinks that my version is even better than the restaurant's. I think so too :)
If you give it a try, I hope you like it as much as I do!
Enjoy!
Rhonda