Healthy Heath

Chili Today, Hot Tamale March 6, 2012

It’s back to chillier weather again. Silly Colorado, please pick a season and stick with it!

The delightful warm weather left as quickly as it came. I’m not sure that March in Colorado can ever be classified as lion or lamb. It hops back and forth between the two daily!

Today I decided that soup should be on the menu. Oliver and I went for a cold, windy walk. We usually go for a three mile loop, but today we had to turn around half way! So ridiculously cold!

When I got home, and my poor fingers had finally thawed, I set to work making Cauliflower and Cheddar Soup. It was definitely the night for it!

Ingredients:

• 1 medium cauliflower, chopped into bite sized pieces
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 cups low sodium chicken stock
• 1 cup water
• 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
• Salt and Pepper, to taste
• Cayenne Pepper, optional

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, sautee the onion in the butter until soft. Add in the garlic, cooking for 30 seconds.
2. Add in the cauliflower and cook until it start to brown, approximately 8 minutes.
3. Next, add in the 4 cups of chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer until the cauliflower is soft, around 20 minutes.
4. Take the soup off the heat and then carefully, in batches, put the soup into a food processor and blend until smooth. Add in the extra one cup of water, or until the soup is the desire thickness.
5. Return the soup to the heat and melt in the cheddar cheese. Season with the salt and pepper. Serve with a sprinkle of cayenne pepper if desired, and a side of crusty bread… you can’t miss!

I used promise spread instead of butter to cook the onions, and it came out just fine. However, I then used low fat cheddar cheese, and it didn’t melt evenly throughout the soup. It seemed to sit in the middle in a melty blob. Definitely tasted good, but I would splurge on the regular cheese next time. Maybe that would have solved the melting problem!