lately, i have been a busy little bee cooking up a bunch of new projects. currently, i am working on a revamp of newfoodtuesdayz. in the works are more user friendly recipes, beautiful, easy to use recipe archives and new features like online ordering for my cake business.

so i have been going through old posts, looking for direction and inspiration. i went all the way back to the beginning. and one of the first posts was an all time favorite. potato leek soup. i believe the recipe i used was from one of my idols, martha. the recipe gave my my first real cooking tip. since leeks can be dirty and gritty, slice them and soak them in some water. all the dirt will wash off, drain the leeks and pat them dry and they are ready for use. 

not only did i learn my first pro tip, for the first time, someone cooked a recipe from newfoodtuesdayz. now, it wasn't really MY recipe, but it didn't matter then.

but that's not even the best part. the friend who cooked the soup? my dear friend lindsey who is working with me on the other BIG project i am working on. a CAKE calendar. yes. you read that correctly. i will let you process for a moment... 

. 

. 

. 

yes. a calendar all about cake. here is a taste from our first shoot.

while you contemplate what cakez i could possibly come up with, here is MY version of potato + leek soup. sorry martha, mine is my better. 

potato + leek soup
serves: 4
prep time: 10 minutes
active time: 35 minutes
total time: 45 minutes
ingredients: 2 tbs olive oil. 3 large leeks, white and light green parts sliced .25 inch thick (soaked in water, strained and dried). 1.5 lbs yucon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped. 1 tbs minced garlic. .5 cups marsala wine. .5 tsp nutmeg. 5 small sage leaves, chopped. 6 cups chicken stock. 1 tbs kosher salt. 1 tsp fresh ground pepper. 1 cup seasoned croutons. hand immersion blender, blender or food processor. 

start by hearing the oil over medium high heat until hot. add in the leeks and cook until starting to brown. about 5-8 minutes. season the leeks with a couple pinches of salt and one of pepper. add in the garlic and cook until it is fragrant. about 1 minute. 

pour in the marsala and while it bubbles up, scrape up any browned bits. 

add in the potato, sage, nutmeg and the remaining salt and pepper. bring the soup to a boil. about 7-10 minutes. reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the liquid had reduced a bit. you should have lost about .5 inch of liquid from the original liquid lime on your pot. once you can smash a potato piece against the side of the pot, it is ready. 

remove from the heat and blend until smooth. 

serve hot with croutons.

xo,a

potato + leek soup serves: 4 prep time: 10 minutes
active time: 35 minutes
total time: 45 minutes
ingredients: 2 tbs olive oil. 3 large leeks, white and light green parts sliced .25 inch thick (soaked in water, strained and dried). 1.5 lbs yucon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped. 1 tbs minced garlic. .5 cups marsala wine. .5 tsp nutmeg. 5 small sage leaves, chopped. 6 cups chicken stock. 1 tbs kosher salt. 1 tsp fresh ground pepper. 1 cup seasoned croutons. hand immersion blender, blender or food processor. start by hearing the oil over medium high heat until hot. add in the leeks and cook until starting to brown. about 5-8 minutes. season the leeks with a couple pinches of salt and one of pepper. add in the garlic and cook until it is fragrant. about 1 minute. pour in the marsala and while it bubbles up, scrape up any browned bits. add in the potato, sage, nutmeg and the remaining salt and pepper. bring the soup to a boil. about 7-10 minutes. reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the liquid had reduced a bit. you should have lost about .5 inch of liquid from the original liquid lime on your pot. once you can smash a potato piece against the side of the pot, it is ready. remove from the heat and blend until smooth. serve hot with croutons.

california has been flush with rain as of late. it's wonderful that we are finally recovering from our drought and i love the rain, but it is wearing me down. it just makes me want to curl up on the couch by the fire or hunker down in my bed with my laptop and apple tv. 

all this rain definitely doesn't make me feel productive, and after chatting with others, i know i am not alone. so here is a soup that is EASY to make, VERY satisfying and bursting with FLAVOR. roasting the ingredients may seem like an extra step, but you are basically setting it and forgetting it while it acquires delicious and important flavors from the oven. not only will this soup fill you up, it keeps well in the fridge and makes great leftovers! 

roasted cauliflower soup
serves: 6-8
prep time: 10 minutes
active time: 20 minutes
inactive time: 1 hour
total time: 1 hour 30 minutes
ingredients: 1 head cauliflower, core removed and chopped into florets (2 lbs if you are buying precut). 1 medium brown onion, sliced about .5 inch thick. 1 medium yukon gold potato, peeled and roughly chopped. 10 garlic cloves, smashed. 20 sprigs fresh thyme. 2 tbs olive oil. 1 tbs salt. .5 tbs pepper. 1 tsp lime juice. .5 cup marsala wine, divided. 6 cups chicken stock. .5 cup heavy whipping cream. 2 tbs chopped fresh parsley for garnish. seasoned croutons for garnish. 

start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees f. on a baking sheet. on a baking sheet, combine the cauliflower, potato, onion, garlic, and thyme. drizzle with olive oil, add the lime juice and season with half the salt and pepper. toss well till everything is lightly coated in oil.

pour half the marsala into the bottom of the baking sheet and roast for 40 minutes. stir up the veggies half way through.

after the veggies have roasted, remove all the thyme twigs from the veggies and scrape the roasted veggies into a large pot over medium heat.

 add the remaining marsala and cook over medium heat until all the liquid has evaporated. about 3-5 minutes, stirring once or twice.

pour in your chicken stock and season with the rest of the salt and pepper.

bring the liquid to a boil and then reduce the heat till the liquid is slowly simmering. simmer for 20 minutes.

remove the soup from the heat.

using a hand emersion blender or in your blender, puree all the ingredients until smooth.

add in the cream and blend until just combined.

serve hot with seasoned croutons and parsley garnish.

xo, a

roasted cauliflower soup
serves: 6-8 prep time: 10 minutes
active time: 20 minutes
inactive time: 1 hour
total time: 1 hour 30 minutes
ingredients: 1 head cauliflower, core removed and chopped into florets (2 lbs if you are buying precut). 1 medium brown onion, sliced about .5 inch thick. 1 medium yukon gold potato, peeled and roughly chopped. 10 garlic cloves, smashed. 20 sprigs fresh thyme. 2 tbs olive oil. 1 tbs salt. .5 tbs pepper. 1 tsp lime juice. .5 cup marsala wine, divided. 6 cups chicken stock. .5 cup heavy whipping cream. 2 tbs chopped fresh parsley for garnish. seasoned croutons for garnish.
start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees f.
on a baking sheet. on a baking sheet, combine the cauliflower, potato, onion, garlic, and thyme. drizzle with olive oil, add the lime juice and season with half the salt and pepper.
toss well till everything is lightly coated in oil. pour half the marsala into the bottom of the baking sheet and roast for 40 minutes. stir up the veggies half way through.
after the veggies have roasted, remove all the thyme twigs from the veggies and scrape the roasted veggies into a large pot over medium heat.
add the remaining marsala and cook over medium heat until all the liquid has evaporated. about 3-5 minutes, stirring once or twice. pour in your chicken stock and season with the rest of the salt and pepper. bring the liquid to a boil and then reduce the heat till the liquid is slowly simmering. simmer for 20 minutes.
remove the soup from the heat. using a hand emersion blender or in your blender, puree all the ingredients until smooth.
add in the cream and blend until just combined. serve hot with seasoned croutons and parsley garnish.