Roasted Cauliflower Leek Soup

I can eat soup in any weather. I love it. All soups; broth, cream, chunky, spicy, mellow, cold- WHATEVER.
I found some beautiful leeks at my Farmer's Market last Saturday for a great price with the idea of making leek soup immediately. My mom first made me Potato Leek soup when I was little but it was more of an indulgence thing, like calorie wise...not price, it's like the cheapest soup to make. Anyhow, I hated onions and was not keen on these long stocks that smelled similar to an onion. Reluctantly I tried it and fell in love. Now, I love leeks raw, cooked any way and in anything. In the whole "don't eat carbs, they are the devil" phase we went through I found I love using cauliflower in place of the potato in dishes. Cauliflower is so underrated in my opinion. You always see it lonely on the crudité platter after all of the other veggies have gone or smothered in cheese hiding it's solo deliciousness. Also, in my nutrition education and learning about the nightshade allergy and cooking for people who suffer from it I learned potatoes are a huge trigger for pain in this autoimmune disorder.  So in this version of the soup I opted for just half of a potato to give it a some creaminess knowing none of my nightshaders wouldn't be eating this ;) So here you go! Hope you enjoy! xo


You'll need:
2 medium leeks, chopped into medium sized rounds and cleaned*
1 head of cauliflower rough chopped- I keep the core on and remove the bottom green stems
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt
1TBSP of White Pepper
2 small or 1 lg clove of garlic
3 cups of veggie stock
2 cups of almond milk- make sure it's not that flavored crap!
1/2 of a russet potato or a small gold potato (optional) rough chopped


Make:
Pre heat your oven to 325. In a roasting pan toss the cauliflower, leeks, potatoes and garlic in just a bit of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. You just want to make sure the veggies are coated not drenched. Roast in your oven until they are tender and golden, my oven was about 50 minutes.
If you have a roasting pan that you can use on your stove burners go ahead and turn the burners to a medium heat and add your liquids and white pepper. White pepper is very fine and a little goes a long way on the peppery heat it adds so add a sprinkle a bit in at a time and taste. At this point I was looking for something a little hearty so I added about a half teaspoon of earth balance butter. This rounded out the creamy, savory feeling you want in a soup like this but totally optional. Once the liquid and the veggies swam together for a bit, about 10 minutes, I ladled 3 quarters of the soup into my food processor, you can totally use your vitamix or whatever high powered blending tool you have. Pulse to your desired texture; I like the "creamy" with whole veggies still visible.
I garnished with some chopped fresh parsley because I love it but feel free to top with some croutons of some sort.


Enjoy your bowl! or two ;)
xoL

Tofu Spring Rolls

Tofu Spring Rolls

Makes 9 rolls

You’ll need:

Rice paper spring roll wrappers

For the tofu:

Extra firm tofu (*pressed)- I use the organic half blocks from TJs

¾ cup fresh OJ (sometimes I use mango or pineapple juice-use what ya have)

½ cup tamari or shoyu

1 tbsp sesame oil

2 tbsp grapeseed or sunflower oil

½ tbsp fresh grated ginger

½ tbsp minced garlic

Optional:

Garlic chili paste, a pinch of cayenne, or enough sriracha to satisfy your hot self

Fillings for the rolls:

Totes up to you but I use combinations of these guys:

Red pepper matchsticks

Cucumber spears

Shizu leaf

Shredded napa cabbage- if you use regular cabbage it will tear the rice wrapper, napa is softer J chopped butter lettuce works too

Shredded carrot

Basil leaf

Mint leaves

Cilantro

Avo

Green apple matchsticks

*after you remove the tofu from its packaging, wrap your block of tofu in a clean kitchen towel and set something with weight like a cast iron skillet, a brick, the base of a nurtibullet or vitamix on top of your towel wrapped tofu. This will express any moisture out of the tofu making it better for marinating.

Make:

In a 9x9 baking dish, like one you would make brownies in, whisk the tofu marinade.  Cut the block into 9 sticks. Lay them in the marinade. Let them sit for about 10 mins then flip to get the other side. Pre heat your oven to 375, when the oven comes to temp slide those puppies in that sauna. Bake for 25 mins. When the marinade has baked on to your dish and you realize you’re going to need a jack hammer to get it back to the way you started, they’re done. Let them cool on the counter if you have that kind of time. If you are like me, pop those bitches in the freezer to take the edge off then let them cool completely in the fridge. In this time set up your rolling station. Cut your fillings the way you want them. Inspect your rice paper; sometimes they come out of the package straight up unusable so, with dry hands, pull out the good ones. And FYI, if you’re using the brown rice paper wraps those tend to get drier faster-wrap fast!

Get a large bowl or baking dish, fill it with warm water, not luke warm and not hot, warm. Place the rice paper in the water and with your fingers move the sheet around gently. When the wrap becomes pliable pull it out of the water and place on your clean surface. Take a clean dishtowel and pat dry the side facing you. Lay your ingredients just below the center of the paper. Fold the sides in first, then fold the bottom up to the center <- this piece is clutch. You want to wrap it around your ingredients tight enough to keep the guys in but not so tight that your wrapper breaks. Keep rolling up keeping the side in. It takes practice, I’ve made a lot of burritos in my life, I’m pretty solid at it. The first batch of rolls I made looked like my 5 year old did it…who cares what it looks like, it’s gonna taste bomb!

Storing these yummies:

If your family is like mine these don’t last very long, but they do dry fast. I lay a damp paper towel down then Butter lettuce leaves in a storage container, put the rolls in then cover with more lettuce leaves and top with another damp towel.