Sunday Soup: Cauliflower and Mustard

What a fun weekend... Today I visited Redmond which is apparently the "bicycle capital of the northwest" according to the signage I found upon entering.

Then I went to an adorable coffee shop called Victor's Celtic Coffee Shop.

                                                   


I couldn't help but stop by Trader Joes on the way home since I've grown up without one and seriously love all the fun mustards, sauces and yummy snacks they offer. In fact its at Trader Joes that I found the mustard I used for the soup.

Before I start cooking soups with winter squash I thought I'd squeeze in a cruciferous vegetable since they are so good at detoxifying our bodies and supporting the liver. This is what I used:

Grocery List:
1 head cauliflower
2 shallots
1 yellow onion
1 large potato
2 cloves of garlic
4 cups of vegetable broth (I used the TJ's low sodium organic)
2/3 cup of white chedder cheese ( I used raw organic valley cheese )
4 teaspoons of dijon style mustard ( I used the TJ's mustard aioli)
sea salt
pepper
coconut oil for sauteing

1. Heat coconut oil in large sauce pan and then add the shallots onion and a big pinch of sea salt.

2. Once the onion is soft, stir in the potato that is chopped into small cubes.

3. Cover and let the potato soften. Then add the garlic and the vegetable broth and bring to a boil.

4. Once boiling add, the cauliflower and cook until it is tender.

5. If you have an immersion blender, blend the soup by hand otherwise blend it in batches in a regular blender

6. Stir in the mustard, cheese, pepper and add more salt if needed

This soup has a surprising twist with the mustard that I love. My roommates approved as well even though I spilled a whole jar of lemon pepper in the pan since the top wasn't screwed on tight enough. Whoopsie!

Don't mind the black peppercorn. It was remnants of the pepper spill...

Altogether the week is off to a great start. Tomorrow I have my first day of class (eeek). Can I say I've reverted back to middleschool tendencies and have an outfit laid out

Yes that is the color of my room. Not sure what to do about it...

...a lunch packed in a cutsie lunch bag

and I'm tucking myself into bed at 9:30.


I suppose being completely over prepared is better than the alternative but sometimes I've got to laugh at what a little girl I still am.

Sweet dreams and wish me luck in my first day as a big girl graduate student!!