Mellow Yellow: Cauliflower Soup

It's been one of those weeks. You know the kind, where you (I) stress eat a bag of chocolates and then come home and you (I) binge on ice cream and sugar and...

Some weeks the stress just gets to you no matter how many crafty and healthy blogs you look at for inspiration and laughs because really, who has TIME to paint a bookshelf a million shades of blue? Of course, as soon as I saw this craft I wanted to do it. I digress.

So I thought I'd bring you an awesome healthy soup because a) it's summer and who doesn't love soup in summer? Amiright? b) it's just so damn good.

The soup was a group effort. I had an idea for a roasted cauliflower soup, and Dani took it over halfway through to give it some flair and spice and boooyyyy am I glad he did. Truthfully, I enjoyed it hot plain, warm with a little greek yogurt and a squeeze of lime, and cold mixed with some red quinoa and salmon, almost like a fish stew. Needless to say if you want a gorgeous, healthy light dinner, here is your answer, however you like your soup.

Roasted Cauliflower Soup
1 large head of raw cauliflower
4 cloves of garlic, whole
3 tablespoons of olive oil
Pepper
Garlic Powder
1 tablespoon Earth Balance
1 leek
6 cups of water or chicken stock
Some of each of the following spices, to your taste:
Oregano
Cumin
White Pepper
Paprika
Cayenne Pepper (the more of this, the more heat!)
Turmeric (here is where the lovely yellow color comes from)

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2) Wash and chop the cauliflower into florets. Peel the garlic, but keep it whole. Toss the cauliflower and garlic together with the olive oil, pepper, and garlic powder.
3) Spread the cauliflower and garlic mixture onto a baking sheet and pop it into the oven for 40 minutes, or until soft.
4) In a large stock pot, melt the Earth Balance over medium heat. Wash the leeks (wash well...they grow underground and can have sand and dirt stuck between the layers) and sautee the leek (only the white part!) until soft and translucent.
5) Take the veggies out of the oven and put it into the large stock pot with water or chicken stock and spices. Bring to a simmer for ten minutes.
6) Turn the soup to low, and blend in batches or immersion blend until the soup is smooth. Continue to simmer for another 10 minutes until all the flavors are blended. This makes a huge pot of soup, so when you reheat it, you can add a little water, as the soup thickens as it cools.

Mmmm....yellow soup

More yellow soup!

I love colorful things, and this soup is just the ticket. Dani's spices add a great zing to it and it's super amazing and easy and YELLOW. Who doesn't love a soup the color of sunshine and Big Bird?

Stress-free and fancy free,

Dalia