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.

there are many reasons i wanted to go into business for myself, but one of the biggest reasons was my schedule. i detest living on someone else's schedule. while i'm a hard worker and work most of my waking hours, i want to work on what i want to work on, when i want to work on it. if that happens to be at eleven at night on a tuesday, so be it. it's on me. 

of course there are downsides. there is never anyone to cover for me, there is no "vacation" time and i work most holidays. but i do have control over my days off. so this sunday i scheduled myself off so i could actually ATTEND a party. 

naturally, i'm bringing some food (it is my bestie's house, i can't not contribute). and when she suggested i make chili, i knew exactly where to go searching for the perfect recipe... 

last year when i stopped working and was finalizing all my wedding planning, i went DEEP into chili recipes. i tried at least a dozen recipes and used wes and my mother as test subjects to hone in on the BEST chili. i was looking for a classic, go to chili you count on for events just like the super bowl. 

after flipping through pages of scribble recipe notes covered in oil droplets and sauce stains, i found just what i was looking for. the page with a large note at the bottom. "WES REALLY LIKES THIS ONE." winner, winner. 

super bowl chili
serves: 5-6
prep time: 20 minutes
active time: 40 minutes
inactive time: 2 hours
total time: 3 hours
ingredients: 1 lb ground beef. 2 tbs olive oil. 1 brown onion, diced. 1 bell pepper (your choice of color), diced. 1 jalapeno pepper, all but about 10 seeds removed, and small diced. 5 garlic cloves, minced. 1 chipotle pepper, seeds removed and small chopped. 1 tbs fresh chopped oregano. 1 tbs cumin. 1 tbs brown sugar. 1 bottle of beer (i used new castle but use what you like to drink). 1 14oz can diced tomatoes. 1 14 oz can kidney beans, rinsed. 1 14 oz can pinto beans, rinsed. 4 cups chicken stock. 1 tbs salt. .25 tbs ground pepper. 1 cup mexican blend cheese. handful of cilantro for garnish. lime wedges for garnish. 

in a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat until hot. add in the onion, jalapeno and bell pepper. 

season with one fourth of the salt and pepper and cook until the onions are translucent. about 7-10 minutes. 

press the veggie mixture to the sides of the pot. pat the ground beef dry and season the meat with half the remaining salt and pepper. turn up the heat to medium high. 

add the beef to the center of the pot and allow the meat to sear on one side before flipping it. about 5 minutes. 

allow the other side of the meat to sear before breaking it up with a wooden spoon. 

when you have broken up the meat, add in the garlic, oregano, brown sugar, cumin, chipotle and stir well tog combine. 

continue to cook the mixture, stirring every minute or so until the garlic is fragrant. about 2-3 minutes.

pour in the tomatoes. 

and the beer. 

bring the mixture to a simmer. allow it to cook down for about 5 minutes. 

add in the last of the salt and pepper, chicken stock and beans. 

stir well to combine and bring the chili to a boil. once boiling, reduce the heat till the liquid is gently simmering. simmer on low for 1-2 hours for the liquid to reduce a bit and the flavors to meld. 

serve hot, topped with cheese, lime and a couple of cilantro sprigs. 

xo, a

super bowl chili
serves: 5-6
prep time: 20 minutes
active time: 40 minutes
inactive time: 2 hours
total time: 3 hours
ingredients: 1 lb ground beef. 2 tbs olive oil. 1 brown onion, diced. 1 bell pepper (your choice of color), diced. 1 jalapeno pepper, all but about 10 seeds removed, and small diced. 5 garlic cloves, minced. 1 chipotle pepper, seeds removed and small chopped. 1 tbs fresh chopped oregano. 1 tbs cumin. 1 tbs brown sugar. 1 bottle of beer (i used new castle but use what you like to drink). 1 14oz can diced tomatoes. 1 14 oz can kidney beans, rinsed. 1 14 oz can pinto beans, rinsed. 4 cups chicken stock. 1 tbs salt. .25 tbs ground pepper. 1 cup mexican blend cheese. handful of cilantro for garnish. lime wedges for garnish.
in a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat until hot. add in the onion, jalapeno and bell pepper. season with one fourth of the salt and pepper and cook until the onions are translucent. about 7-10 minutes.
press the veggie mixture to the sides of the pot. pat the ground beef dry and season the meat with half the remaining salt and pepper. turn up the heat to medium high.
add the beef to the center of the pot and allow the meat to sear on one side before flipping it. about 5 minutes. allow the other side of the meat to sear before breaking it up with a wooden spoon.
when you have broken up the meat, add in the garlic, oregano, brown sugar, cumin, chipotle and stir well tog combine.
continue to cook the mixture, stirring every minute or so until the garlic is fragrant. about 2-3 minutes.
pour in the tomatoes.
and the beer.
bring the mixture to a simmer. allow it to cook down for about 5 minutes.
add in the last of the salt and pepper, chicken stock and beans.
stir well to combine and bring the chili to a boil. once boiling, reduce the heat till the liquid is gently simmering. simmer on low for 1-2 hours for the liquid to reduce a bit and the flavors to meld.
serve hot, topped with cheese, lime and a couple of cilantro sprigs.