Soothing Cauliflower Soup

The journey

I was on a date night with friends at a tapas restaurant and the tried the cauliflower soup as an appetizer. I remember thinking then that this soup is such a great idea but it tasted like baby food and desperately needed a flavor punch. I decided to try making it at home and added some classic Indian flavors (garlic, nutmeg) and then the twist (pepper, chives, olive oil and cheddar cheese). It was comforting and delicious...perfect for those cold winter Sunday evenings...or really anytime of the year. It will freeze very well and without the garnish, it makes a great pasta sauce as well. A very versatile soup that is lip smacking good.

 

 Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower

1 small white or yellow onion

2 cloves of garlic - pealed and sliced

1 tsp canola or grape seed oil

1 tsp white or black pepper

1 tsp salt or to taste

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 cup of milk
1 cup of water

Chives - chopped as garnish. You can substitute with spring onions as well (just the green side), although I love the taste of Chives the best.

Olive oil - drizzled as garnish

Grated Cheddar cheese - optional as garnish

Now, let's get cooking..

Chop the cauliflower and microwave with a 1/2 cup of water on high for 5 minutes until fully cooked. You can also do this in a stove top. Consider this though..Boiling cauliflower on a stove top with water reduces the levels of the phytonutrients that fight cancer in cauliflower, with losses of 20–30% after five minutes, 40–50% after ten minutes, and 75% after thirty minutes. However, other preparation methods, like stir frying or microwaving or steaming have no significant effect on the compounds. This is why I like to microwave and I also save the liquid and use it in the soup. 

In a saucepot on medium heat, add the oil and sauté the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent but not browned.

Add the cooked cauliflower, the cooked water, nutmeg and salt.

When the flavors are combined well in a minute, turn off heat.

Puree in a food processor to a pasty consistency but leaving a little bit texture.

Transfer the puree to the saucepan. 

Now add the milk and water. Bring it to a boil.

Serve hot with a garnish of chives, cheddar cheese (optional) and a drizzle of olive oil.

The Good in this Recipe

Chives are probably the most easy and fuss free addition to your herb garden. From ancient beliefs of warding off evil to acting as a diuretic, they have several benefits. They are perennial, look beautiful particularly with the purple flowers in spring, need little care, dry freeze well and they are twisty delicious as a garnish for most savory foods.Chives have antibiotic properties. The natural antibacterial and antiviral agents in the vegetable work with vitamin C to destroy harmful microbes. This makes the plant an excellent natural defense against the common cold, flu and yeast infections too.Chives have anti carcinogenic, cardiovascular and digestive properties. 

Cauliflower  is very low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Protein, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Magnesium and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Folate, Pantothenic Acid, Potassium and Manganese. If you are diabetic, you might want to watch your intake of cauliflower since it is generally high in natural sugars. 

Healthy Kale Chips

The Journey

My son has always been a spinach lover and we fondly remember the pre school teacher's stories of how he ate all the spinach at the table. So we were very happy he naturally liked spinach.  With his natural affinity to spinach, I assumed getting kale into his diet profile would be a breeze. Now, I would be amiss if I did not mention how resistant he is to variations of something he loves. He is the type of person who will say to you "Leave well alone..don't improvise or change anything." So kale did not make the cut for the new and improved spinach at the table. Kale is a nutritional powerhouse and I had to find a way to get him to enjoy this. I also found out that the best way to get my son to try anything new is to grow it and make him harvest it - somehow being part of the process lowers the resistance. So we started growing Kale each year and I am constantly struck by how hardy this vegetable is (grows in spite of me.. ;) )and the ROI is simply stunning. $3 of kale sapling at spring gives me well over $50 worth of kale in the growing season between spring until frost. It is such a giving plant! If you don't grow your kale(please consider doing so) give this recipe a try with store bought kale. You will find all kinds of kale in the salad isle these days. There are many many tasty recipes that use this wonder vegetable, this one is my family's favorite. It is hard to believe how easy the recipe is and how much of a crowd pleaser it is when served as an appetizer. Replace potato chips in your sandwich for kale chips for a healthier crunchy twist. You can always add your own spices and make this personal..adding your own twist. Once you start, you just can't stop..

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 big bunch of kale - well washed and towel dried and torn into 2-3 inch pieces. If you are buying from the salad isle, use one 10oz bag of torn kale. 

1 tsp of fresh cracked pepper

1/4 tsp Sea salt or Himalayan salt to taste

1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese (not the green box please)

1/4 tsp Nutmeg

3 table spoons extra virgin olive oil

1/4-cup pine nuts - lightly toasted

Now, let's get cooking..

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees F.

Wash and towel dry the kale. It is really important at this time for the kale to be dry. Wet kale does not work for this recipe and will steam in the oven rather than crisp.Tear the kale into 2-3 inch pieces. You want to be able to hold the chips after all! 

Toss the kale into a bowl and mix in olive oil, pepper and nutmeg (my twist). I love nutmeg in my spinach. Go ahead; give the kale a massage with your clean hands...give them a Spa treatment :)

Pour your utterly relaxed kale onto a non-stick or lightly oiled cookie sheet - no clumping, no over crowding. Each of the kale leaves need exposure to the oven heat so they turn into chips. Since this hardly takes time, make multiple batches if needed.

Bake for 15-20 minutes on the top rack until you see the edges slightly brown or turn to a very dark, almost brownish green. Oven temperatures, the kind of cookie sheet you use can change the equation slightly..If you can take a peek at 15 mins you'll know. The time needed to bake greatly depends on the thickness of the kale leaves. Mature kale leaves might need the full 20 mins while baby kale probably only needs 15 mins. Keeping an eye on the color of the kale and a ear out for the crackling sound from the oven is not a bad idea.

Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and toss the Himalayan pink salt. 

While this is baking, toast the pine nuts in a sauté pan for 60 seconds, moving the pan after 30 seconds to get an even toast. No oil needed. 

Toast pine nuts in medium heat

Start of the toasting process

45 seconds later

60 seconds later

Voila! Toasted pine nuts..

Shave the Parmesan cheese on top and add toasted pine nuts before you serve. There are few things that make my daughter give me a blissful smile - one such thing is the moment when freshly grated parmesan makes a soft landing on the food she is about to eat! It is an absolute delight to eat this and watch that smile!

The good in this recipe..

Kale is low in calories, good source of vitamins A, C and K, high in fiber, loaded with antioxidants and has zero fat. Per calorie, kale has more iron than beef. Kale has great cardiovascular benefits due to its ability to lower cholesterol levels. It is a good anti-inflammatory and a great way to detox your system.  Virtually fuss free, inexpensive addition to the garden with the longest yield and best ROI. The homegrown kale is also usually tenderer than the store bought kale.  A true wonder for your body and can be for your wallet too if you grow your own. I am amazed I can summarize the good in 1 paragraph..it really is too good to fit in one page.

Pine nuts are a powerhouse of vitamins, minerals and other compounds. It is not widely known that pine nuts can actively suppress feelings of hunger since they contain a hormone called cholecystokinin (CCK). To complement this, pine nuts are also a good source of dietary fiber, which gives a feeling of fullness after eating. A single serving of the nuts can provide around 20% of the recommended daily amount of fiber. They are also rich in Vitamin K and provide 1/3 of the protein in a day (great if you are a vegetarian looking to up the protein). It is also chock full of minerals such as magnesium (1 serving has 85% of dv) and manganese (1 serving has 600% of the dv). Both these minerals are very useful in metabolizing fat and blood sugar. Although pine nuts have a host of benefits, it is worth pointing out that they are fairly high in saturated fat and calories, containing around 30% and 45% of the recommended daily amount of each respectively. Like my mom says...."everything in moderation is good for you". 

Himalayan pink salt is the purest naturally available source of salt available in the market today. Himalayan Pink Salt was originally formed from marine fossil deposits over 250 million years ago during the Jurassic era.  Harvested from ancient sea beds, this rare and extraordinary salt has been a valuable commodity for centuries. This salt naturally contains iodine without the artificial process of adding Iodine to your salt.  It also contains over 84 minerals and trace elements. Lot better than your standard NaCl(Sodium Chloride). At the end of the day, salt is salt :) use in moderation.