Greetings from the Northern Hemisphere my friends and as I bask in the sunlight, midway between the vernal equinox and the summer solstice, the glory of the seasons rebirth, renewal and regrowth is a feast for my senses.............What the hell am I going on about?
Good day people on this beautiful Spring day.
I am sorry to announce, that due to the forthcoming hospital confinement and no internet access, this blog will be on vacation for 3-4 weeks from Sunday 27th March.
I suffer from psoriasis, a skin complaint, that a requires hospitalisation every now and again for intense treatment that cannot be administered at home. Purely routine, but a long process of control and confinement. So, what do I have to look forward to? Long, very long, days of reading, writing, relaxing, sleeping and not forgetting the 4 meals a day with intervening scatterings of crisps, chocolate and sweets.
You are given a daily menu to choose the following days meals but no matter what you choose, for a hot lunch and dinner, you will always end up with a stew. Example;
LUNCH: Beef stew with creamed potatoes and seasonal veg
TRANSLATION: a pond of tiny chunks of meat and gravy, 2 ice-cream scoops of rehydrated powdered potato and crunchy undercooked mixed veg
DINNER: Steak n Kidney pie, chipped potatoes and seasonal veg
TRANSLATION: THE SAME BLOODY BEEF STEW YOU HAD AT LUNCHTIME BUT WITH A SQUARE PIECE OF PUFF PASTRY SITTING ON TOP OF A POND OF TINY CHUNKS OF MEAT AND GRAVY.....about 7 cold and hard chips and.....THE SAME BLOODY CRUNCHY UNDERCOOKED MIXED VEG YOU HAD AT LUNCHTIME.
One shall be missing his homecooked food to the point of tears within 48 hours
Anyhows, cauliflower is bang in season right now, so in anticipation of the fellow housemates eating crap for the next month, I have cooked and frozen a beautiful Cauliflower Cheese Soup, along with a slow-cooked Piri Piri Chicken, 2 more large Cottage Pies, a large Beef and Guiness Pie and an assortment of cook-in-sauces (not hard, defrost, then just add meat)
Give this Cauliflower Cheese Soup a go, but please note; if you intend to freeze DO NOT ADD THE CHEESE. Add the cheese when you defrost and reheat it. Enjoy.
knob of butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 large cauliflower (about 900g/2lb), leaves trimmed and cut into florets
1 large potato, peeled and cut into chunks
700ml vegetable stock (I use swiss vegetable bouillon powder)
400ml milk
100g mature cheddar, grated
Heat the butter in a large saucepan. Tip in the onion and cook until softened, about 5 mins, stirring often. Add the garlic and cook for a further couple of minutes. Add the cauliflower, potato, stock, milk and seasoning. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and leave to simmer for about 30 mins until the cauliflower is soft and the potato almost collapsing.
Whizz in a food processor or crush with a potato masher until you get a creamy, thick soup. Add more milk if you prefer a thinner soup. Freeze now, if desired. If not freezing, return to the pan, warm through, add the grated cheese and stir till melted into the soup. You can make ahead up to 2 days in advance, cool, cover and leave in the fridge until needed, or freeze for up to 1 month.
Love, peace and freedom beautiful people
Cluski
