cauliflower

I had a head of cauliflower in the fridge and wanted to include it as a vegetable for last night's meal (pork roast, kale, salad). The other four members of the family like cauliflower soup, and can choke down one small floret if they have to. Other than that, they just don't like it. I got around it last night, though. Everyone had seconds, and a few (other than me) even had thirds!

1 head cauliflower floretted (means cut into florets)
1/2 c shredded marble cheese
4 T pesto from a jar

I steamed the cauliflower. It's one of those vegetables that will get really yucky when overcooked, so just after it was to the teeth/al dente cooked, I removed the florets from their pot and plunked them into a medium sized bowl.

Using my handy dandy pastry cutter, I mashed it to a granola type texture. I find mashing with a potato masher releases too much water and it just isn't as nice.

I added the cheese and pesto and stirred until it was evenly distributed through the cauliflower.

At this time, I suppose I could have put it in a casserole dish, sprinkled some more cheese on it and broiled it. That would have been fantastic, but I just brought it to the table in the bowl.

yeah baby, that's it. and they ate it!!!

basil dumplings

I love soup. When I make a broth based soup, I usually accompany it with bread, biscuits or dumplings. These dumplings are a family favourite. Last night, DS had three bowls of soup and dumplings, DD had two servings and BG just one.

I found the bones of this recipe in a magazine about a year ago. I've since altered it to reflect our preferences and this one goes very well with turkey vegetable soup...

1/2 c white flour
1/2 c whole wheat
1 t dried basil
1/2 t salt
3 eggs
4 T veg oil

In med bowl, combine the dry ingredients, stirring well.

In small bowl, beat together the eggs and oil until creamy.

Add wet to dry, stirring until smooth and sticky.

This part is important: drop by spoonfuls into BOILING soup. If the soup is not boiling, the batter will dissolve into the soup, resulting in a disgusting mess. trust me. Makes about ten T sized dumplings.

Cover and steam for 3-5 minutes.

Serve out in a bowl with the soup.

These are also fantastic with an Italian herb blend in a minestrone soup.