Cheesy Cauliflower Soup

Ah the life of a food blogger. I must have taken three different sets of photos for this soup, to finally settle on this photo which needed more than a little Photoshopping (and yes, that’s a recognized verb in my browser) in the end. It looks okay… yet somehow I feel like I’m in a photography slump lately, and perhaps that’s the reason for the infrequent postings this last month or so. Work has been quiet and I’ve had more than enough daylight to take those lovely window-lit photos mid-afternoon that other food bloggers rave about… and yet I look at my plating and composition and feel thoroughly unsatisfied. Argh!

Some exciting news however is that I found a great eBay deal on a Canon Speedlite 430ex external flash for my lil’ Rebel—and while it has not revolutionized my photography literally overnight, sigh—I do look forward to having a bit more flexibility in the kitchen. There’s a lot to learn and I’m looking forward to it!

Anyway, this cheesy cauliflower soup is a Jamie Oliver-inspired dish from his Ministry of Food cookbook. It’s a brilliant thing! The average foodie might pick it up and see all the basic recipes and go, “What do I need this for?” but it’s just darn useful. A few of my favourite recipes have come from it—check out my basic steamed rice, meatballs, and carrot feta salad, all of which were inspired by Ministry of Food.

The bragging rights for this soup are a bit special for me. Our roommate Tom—a chronic carnivore and unfoodie—isn’t a fan of soups and is only borderline on stews. The poor boy has been at home the last couple weeks sick with mono—with a slight silver lining being that his throat has swollen so that he can eat nothing but soup! It’s hardly a pleasing situation, but at least I had an excuse to perfect some recipes.

Upon serving up a dish of this soup, he immediately turned to me and went, “This is bloody good!” …so there you go. A soup to please even the most discerning of soup skeptics. Enjoy! (more…)

Edited: August 7th, 2011

Beautiful Roast Rosemary Chicken

We’re deep into Australian “winter” right now, which means time for plenty of baking, roasting, and Christmas in July celebrations (which we’re celebrating this weekend—I’m already making cookies!). But, this recipe would be great year-round with some gorgeous fresh veggies and herbs, should you have a rainy weekend and a desire for a quick roast.

Originally this was a Donna Hay “Fast 50″ recipe, but I’ve altered it rather beyond recognition. What makes this dish lovely is using chicken thighs still on the bone (also a somewhat cheaper option at the butcher), plenty of rosemary, and a liberal smattering of smoked paprika. You could use any woody herb here; sage or thyme both work great with chicken, or you could use a combination.

I’m also pleased to announce that my kitchen just gained a slow cooker—so you can look forward to a few more recipes that take so little effort!

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Edited: July 13th, 2011

Roast Leg of Lamb

Makes your mouth water a little bit, doesn’t it? I was at the Bondi Farmers Market this last weekend, acting as the in-house photographer (yep, I work for the folks that run the markets at Bondi Beach & Manly Beach on weekends, it’s a great gig!), and of course had to avail myself on all of the awesome veggies and breads and goodies there. It was a great market, and I don’t say that lightly! One of the best features of my home town in Canada is its tightly knit community, which in the summer seems to revolve around the local farmers market. I’ve grown up on fresh produce and market goods, and it was difficult to reconcile myself to second rate stuff at grocery stores when I moved away for university.

Fortunately, the Foodie Revolution means that farmers markets are cropping up everywhere and flourishing too. Have you noticed this? In both Sydney and Vancouver, the two cities I’ve lived in most recently, organizations are working hard to get these markets off the ground and to be the centres of their community. I think that this will certainly happen in Bondi—this oh-so-famous part of Sydney is chock full of folks who know what’s good for themselves and for the environment. Yay Bondi! There were hundreds of people at the markets this Saturday and I hope that it stays as busy for all the Saturdays to come.

What fell into my bag? Some organic carrots, a few chocolate croissants, a delicious fruit and nut loaf, and some wholewheat flour stone-ground by hand the day before I bought it, by the man who handed me the bag (yes!). It smells like heaven and I can’t wait to get baking with it. Seriously, life just doesn’t get better than a good farmers market!

While this leg of lamb is sadly not from the farmers market, it is a darn good recipe for a Sunday afternoon roast. (Which should totally come back into fashion, by the way—talk about a little effort for a lot of food!) So read on…

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Edited: May 3rd, 2011

Eggplant Tomato Soup

Maybe my favourite thing ever is when cold weather mixes with gorgeous early summer produce. Australia is in the middle of one of its wettest and coolest summers on record (it’s only 25 C! woe, according to the Aussies!). This does mean that everything is lush and green and growing, though, so the produce these days has been fabulous. Despite a broken fridge—the true woeful part of this story—we’ve been taking advantage of all the fresh fruit and veg to the nth degree.

This soup is a wonderful combination of a cold weather comfort food made with fresh seasonal veggies—or a great recipe to use up a slightly aged eggplant, since the soup transforms it into a soft mushy deliciousness anyway. I figure you could even use zucchini instead of the eggplant for something more ratatouille-esque. I made my own chicken stock for this recipe; omit the chicken and use vegetable stock instead for something vegetarian, and use gluten free noodles for a gluten free option.

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Edited: December 7th, 2010