Cropshare Member Guestpost: Louise B's Squash-Cauliflower Soup

I ate cauliflower, but it was delicious because it wasn’t cauliflower

So, I’m taking a crack at this – once upon a time in a land far, far away (Richmond) my husband (CRB) and I had a blog of places we went to eat there were amazing, but that stopped when we moved to Herndon exactly four years ago (now we’re in Alexandria) and our lives haven’t been right-side-up since!  But, through four years of insanity, we have maintained one thing – our undeniable adulation for eating delicious things. My boss loves to say, “I eat to live, but you clearly live to eat.” And that we do!

So when I joined the crop share I was excited, but I was dismayed to find out that cauliflower was in our first crate. I looked at CRB and said “Really? I think I made a mistake.” He laughed and told me it would be fine. Then he went to play with the dog (our 1-year old Yorkie, Pickles), so I figured I had to make a plan for this cruciferous crime against yum. We’ve been experimenting (gently, because I have nut allergies) with paleo-type meals, and I found this recipe below, which hides the fact that cauliflower is even there. It masks it and uses it as a thickener, which I must say, is what it’s AMAZING for! My husband did nearly remove one of his digits chopping the squash (while I languished in bed until about 11 am on a Saturday…aaah, the joys of marrying an early bird), so I recommend checking out Tara’s blog on dissecting the butternut squash to remove the “honey, do you think this is bad enough for a doctor or can we just staple it back together?” discussion from your life. And no, I’m not kidding about the staple comment. He’s done that. Sigh.

Louise B's Squash-Cauliflower Soup

1 head of cauliflower, roughly chopped

1 butternut squash, cubed

2 acorn squashes, cubed

1 sweet onion, chopped

1 apple, cored and chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

½ can coconut milk

2 cups chicken broth (or veggie broth)

2 tablespoons curry powder

1 tablespoon raw honey

1-2 teaspoons salt

⅛ teaspoon cinnamon

dash of black pepper

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

Place all ingredients into a slow-cooker and roast on low for at least 8 hours (we did it for 24 because we kept forgetting to eat it. Or maybe I kept forgetting to remind him to eat it…maybe). Stir every so often to rotate the ingredients. When done, use an immersion blender or food processor to puree everything. Enjoy!

This had me looking at him saying “did we forget to put cauliflower in here? I don’t taste sadness, I taste only happiness!” He rolled his eyes and batted our pup from his lap saying “NO Pickles, this is daddy’s dinner!” So even the dog liked it…still not sure if that’s a compliment, given that he eats leaves and pine needles when we’re not looking. But the hubs loves it, and has loved having it as a leftover in his lunch, so that was good enough for me! I hope you’ll try this and find it to be delicious too.