Yesterday the hubs and I went to our first kids birthday party with our baby. It was filled with the usual—an insane amount of sugar, 4 year-olds running around with foam pirate swords, more sugar—-it wasn’t so bad. It was actually a beautiful day and I could relax in the fact that since my kid is too young to eat solids, I didn’t have to deal with the bargaining and tears that come with trying to temper your child’s sugar intake at a birthday party. At some point I swear I was in a Judd Apatow movie when I overheard a father ask his 18 month old, “Is that poop I smell? Did you poop your pants?” All in all, it was a lovely day. Then I got home and received word that my beloved dog, Teddy, isn’t doing so well and the end might be near. Before there was hubby, before there was baby, it was just Teddy and me. As a twenty-something in Chicago, Teddy was my buddy. Every Saturday morning, when the weather allowed us, we would take incredibly long walks around the city. Sometimes I would stop in our favorite coffee shop, Central Bark, and I’d get a latte and he’d have a biscuit; it was really lovely. That little man went everywhere with me. When my grandfather unexpectedly passed away a few days before Thanksgiving, my cousin, his then fiancée (now wife), Teddy and I jumped in the car and drove to Louisville in a blizzard. At one point on that drive he ate dinner with us in a Burger King, B. K. (Before Kosher) as it was too cold to leave him in the car for a few minutes and too snowy and dangerous to drive while eating. He just sat there eating chicken fries (sorry PETA and other concerned pet-lovers. At least it was food. He was fine. Calm down.), happy as can be. He was truly my little buddy and I will be forever grateful for his companionship. When it came time for me to move myself to Israel for the year Teddy moved into my mom’s place in Asheville, NC and lived the life of a retiree in the mountains and he’s been there ever since. He complained, he went on long walks, he slept a lot, he was happy. Now he’s dealing with some yucky cancer and we’re not sure how much longer it’s going to be. Mom took him to the emergency vet yesterday in the evening and while I waited to hear the news of his condition I made soup. What else are you supposed to do when you need to be busy while waiting to hear about your furry friend? The soup decided upon was a roasted cauliflower soup. I found the recipe on Pinterest and tweaked/added a few things and I really feel the result was the taste and comfort I was looking for. The original recipe did not call for smoked paprika or dill but I really felt like the paprika and the dill would compliment the cheddar nicely while not over powering each other. However, the paprika is definitely more of an ‘ingredient’ while the dill is more a garnish, if that makes sense. Also, it’s important to taste and taste often with a heavy recipe. I ended up adding the squeeze of lemon at the end because it just needed a bit of acid to balance that cream. Anyway, I hope you find the soup just as comforting as I did while making it under happier circumstances.
Ted with some awesome friends the day after my wedding.
Oh! Before I write out the ingredients/how-to I wanted to list all of Ted’s nicknames given to him by myself and various friends throughout the years. You know, one last time.
1. Tedward
2. J. Tedgar Poover
3. Tedgar Allen Poo
4. Theo
5. Teddy Ruxpin
6. Teddykins
Ted and I in Chicago keeping each other warm.
What?
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
2 tablespoons oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
3 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups aged white cheddar, shredded
1 cup milk or cream
1 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
juice of half a lemon
A few sprigs of fresh dill for garnish
How’s That Now?
Toss the cauliflower florets in the oil along with the salt and pepper and arrange them in a single layer on a large baking sheet.
Roast the cauliflower in a preheated 400F oven until lightly golden brown, about 20-30 minutes.
Heat the oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat.
Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
Add the garlic and thyme and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
Add the broth and cauliflower, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
Puree the soup until it reaches your desired consistency with an immersion blender.
Mix in the cheese, let it melt and season with paprika.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Mix in the milk and remove from heat — MAKE SURE TO TASTE AGAIN
Add squeeze of half a lemon to balance out the heaviness of the soup.
I don’t have a precious baby, well, other than my sweet puppy, so it feels a little disingenuous to complain about my schedule. Just know that preparing any sort of meal during the week is hard. What I usually do, what I like to do, is prepare a huge meal on Sunday that can last us a few days of the work week. Then, I’ll pull something together to get us through the last couple of days. I try to do that anyway. The older I get, the more respect I have for what my mother did when I was a kid. A new meal every night of the week. Oh, my Lord.
Last night on the way home from work, I stopped by the Whole Foods. I figured I’d buy a huge container full of tuna salad or some other such madness. Then? I walked through the meat department. I didn’t want to spend my evening baking chicken or figuring out some sort of magical meat entrée.
Then I saw the fish. Minus tuna salad, I am not that much of a fish guy. I know I should be. Doctor Oz tells me every day that I need to make it happen with the fishes. Enter last night. You guys! The Whole foods has filets of Tilapia. Filets of Tilapia crusted with Parmesan. You guys. I mean…come on! I love Tilapia. So I got a couple filets.
Then? Since I was feeling super lazy, I found chopped cauliflower and cut (AND SPICED!) butternut squash. Shut your mouth! I love a roasted vegetable more than just about anything. I figured I’d throw all of this in the oven around the same time. As it turns out I’m a genius.
Nope. I don’t know a thing about baking a fish filet. That’s why Hashem invented the Internets. I preheated the oven to 450. I put those babies on a baking sheet. I tossed my cauliflower with a 3 tablespoons of garlic and a little olive oil. I put my pre-seasoned squash in a baking dish. I put the veggies in for about 25 minutes and the fish in for about 20. When the buzzer went off I looked like a champ.
My suggestion for tonight? Be lazy. Go see what Whole Foods (or grocery story of your choice) can do to make your life easier. I mean don’t you need to catch up on old episodes of Housewives of Beverly Hills? I know I do. l’shalom!
It’s 9AM and already 80 degrees outside on this sunny yet windy day in late October in Miami. When we moved here from Ann Arbor, Michigan, the hubbs and I were excited to be done with 8 – 9 months of winter. The bitter cold and unending days of no sunshine were taking it’s toll on our otherwise sunny dispositions and we were excited to be living in a climate where it was sunny most every day of the year. However, we knew we were sacrificing Spring and Fall when we moved to Miami. The seasons here most closely resemble Summer and Even Hotter Than Summer. Case in point, it’s late October and 80 degrees at 9AM. You know how you know Fall is around the corner when Starbucks brings the Pumpkin Spice Latte back into rotation? It’s like, “Great, just what I want when it’s 85 degrees outside–a cup of sugary hot milk. Hmmm, can I get that over ice please?” (Besides Fall and Spring, Miami is also in need of some local coffee houses; at least in North Miami Beach. We have driven the 30 minutes to Panther Coffee just for a cup of real delicious coffee. Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do). Anywho, I digress. I miss Fall and when you miss the yumminess of Fall and you like to cook the quickest way of recreating the glory of Fall is in your kitchen. So while the sweaters and scarves on display at the mall remain strictly a display (though the students at the school I work at do in fact break out their Uggs when the thermometer dips down to 70), root vegetables, apples and butternut squash do not. If you read the Caramel Coffee Cake post you’ll remember that my big post-baby hosting took place on Simchat Torah. We had a hankerin’ for some butternut squash so purchased the largest, most obscene squash we could find. After roasting half of it with some maple syrup and pecans, I used the rest of it for a quick flatbread dinner last week. So all you warm climate folks, throw caution to the wind, dip that AC down to 70, break out your fleece (who am I kidding? I haven’t bought fleece since 2002. Even the coldest of weather can’t force me into fleece) from storage and turn on the oven because if you can’t have Fall outside you can at least create it in the kitchen.
Butternut Squash
Roasted Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Flatbread
What?
Roasted Butternut Squash
1 large butternut squash, cut into 1-inch chunks
2 tbsp. olive oil
salt + pepper to taste
Caramelized Onions
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 large purple onions, halved & thinly sliced
salt + pepper to taste
Additional Flatbread Ingredients
1 prepared pizza crust (I like Udi’s and it’s kosher!)
Desired amount of shredded sharp cheddar
2 tsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. sage leaves, cut into ribbons and sauteed prior to assembling
2 tbsp. chopped toasted walnuts (optional)
Dash of nutmeg
How?
Roasted Butternut Squash
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place cubed squash evenly on rimmed baking sheets; drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until tender.
Caramelized Onions
Heat oil in a large skillet over low heat. Add onions and a pinch of salt. Cook until completely caramelized, stirring occasionally at first and more often as onions begin to brown. Depending on your stove, this could take anywhere from 30 minutes to over an hour. Season with freshly ground pepper.
Flatbread
Preheat oven to temperature indicated on pizza crust package. Top crust with caramelized onions, cheese, and squash. Bake for time on package or until squash is heated through and cheese has melted.
While pizza is baking, heat oil in small skillet over medium high heat. Add sage leaves and saute, stirring constantly, for about 3 minutes or until leaves are crispy, but still green. Sprinkle sage leaves and walnuts on pizza before serving.
**Pair with salad of arugala, blue cheese (let me know if you find kosher blue cheese that’s cheaper than $7) and toasted walnuts
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