Vegan Cauliflower Soup with Sourdough Grilled Cheese Croutons

Yesterday was such a gorgeous day here in St. Louis, temps in the upper sixties, crystal blue skies. Perfect weather. It was hard to stay in one spot for very long. I was up and about, went for a run (my first in quite some time because finally I think my lungs can handle it) plus I took the time to just explore the backyard with the kids (the four-legged ones)--they loved the weather, too.

I'm dining solo this week. Dear god, thank you for getting my husband to his destination on his Southwest plane without the roof ripping off mid-flight! Geez. Talk about being a bundle of nerves all weekend. (I feel like billing them for my lack of sleep!) We celebrated his safe arrival with a mid-afternoon chat on all things plane trip. I asked what the mood was like? I've flown my share of Southwest flights--usually all super-perky, the "fun" airline. Not so much this time. Dr. Thyme said the flight was very carefully handled from everything he could tell--all business, took off very smoothly, and landed without issue--to great relief of other passengers, I'm sure. Oh, did I mention he sat right in front of a possible future prez? Mitt Romney was on his flight. We like to play, "Guess who I saw?" celebrity sightings games when he's gone. This beat out my plane trip in which I sat next to Nelly.  

So basically, I am bound to no schedule with regard to cooking. It's dinner when I want and what I want. Inevitably, I find my hands and body working in the kitchen about the same time I would were DH home--my cooking clock dictating when to begin pulling out the cutting board and onions and garlic. I have found that when I cook for one, there is a completely different expectation guiding me. I know that were it up to me, soup would be on the menu every night of the week.

I went out yesterday to get my copy of Heidi Swanson's new cookbook, Super Natural Every Day: Well-loved Recipes from My Natural Foods Kitchen. I then spent the rest of the afternoon and evening reading it from cover to cover, relishing the recipes, the photography, the careful notes on ingredients--I absolutely adore this cookbook--as much, if not more than I loved her first, Super Natural Cooking.

This is where my idea for the cauliflower soup came from. I will be honest and state that neither cauliflower nor broccoli are my favorite vegetables. I really have to be inspired to use either vegetable in my cooking. I am ashamed to admit to you how many cauliflower heads have entered this home (with the best of intentions) only to end up shoved in the back of the fridge, discovered weeks later quite ready for the compost pile. 

We've been enjoying sourdough bread grilled cheese sandwiches lately. Which turned into a new love affair with my cast iron skillet. No other pan will do for making my grilled cheese. For some reason, I crave sourdough bread. I wish I could tell you the sourdough bread used in this recipe was my own. It's not. It comes from a local bakery, Companion Bakery, who delivers breads to my local grocer a few times a week. When I conquer sourdough, you can bet it will be posted here. For now, the thought of "tending" to a mother starter for five days in a row, well, let's just say, my attention span is not up to anything like that right now. But soon.

This soup is simple, and depends entirely upon the flavors of the vegetables. No addition of dried herbs is required. As I finished my soup with the immersion blender, this realization dawned on me: I had not added any herbs. Just slow cooked my leeks, onions, garlic, a bit of celery and potato and cauliflower. That's it. I added some salt and pepper to taste and a swirl of my all-time-favorite, mustard oil, and fresh chives from my garden. (They are begging to be used--so happy to have fresh chives.) Heidi's recipe inspired me to give this soup my own twist. She mentions in the book that she hopes her recipes do just that--inspire you to give things a try, adding your own spin. I don't see how anyone could NOT want to jump in the kitchen and begin cooking after flipping through this cookbook. I will say that the key for me was the addition of mustard. The combination of the cauliflower and grilled cheese croutons with the subtle hints of mustard: just divine. Really. Dinner for one last night: five stars!

Vegan Cauliflower Soup with Sourdough Grilled Cheese Croutons

*Adapted from Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson

1 leek, sliced thin, rinsed well

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1/2 red onion, diced

1 celery stalk sliced thin

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium russet potato, peeled and diced

1/2 head of cauliflower, broken into small pieces

3 cups veggie stock

bit of mustard oil for drizzling over soup

salt and pepper to taste

*vegan grilled cheese sandwich, swiped with some Dijon mustard, then cut into cubes for topping soup

In a soup pot, add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil or canola oil and the leeks and a half teaspoon of salt. Cook over medium heat for about five minutes. Next add the red and yellow onion and celery, cook for about five more minutes, until softened. Then add the garlic, potato and cauliflower and just a cup of the veggie stock, toss everything together. Make sure your heat is not too high. Allow these veggies to cook for about 4-5 more minutes. Remove the lid and add the remaining veggie stock and allow the soup to simmer for about 15-20 minutes. While the soup is simmering, get that grilled cheese sammich together! Use an immersion blender to puree the soup. I also like to cook my soup a bit longer over low heat after I use my immersion blender--this thickens it up a bit, gives it more body. Taste the soup for salt. Add fresh ground pepper, if you'd like. Serve soup topped with your grilled cheese sandwich croutons, some fresh cut chives and mustard oil drizzled over it. Yum!