For my sister...

Comfort food.

Comfort food always seems to be so high in fats, carbohydrates, sugars, you know the rest of the story.... and when Autumn comes around, all you want is that hot bowl of soup with a huge piece of crunchy bread, or a big plate of homemade mac 'n cheese with broccoli (I'm telling you, this is my weakness) to go with the chilling weather and the lack of sunshine.

This year, since my major health nut kick, I have been trying to find ways to make these foods lighter, but still give you that satisfying feel of being warm inside, minus the feeling that you're about to gain 30 pounds this winter (so that your new year's resolution can, again, be that "you are going to take off all of that holiday weight").

The other day I made this Cauliflower Leek soup and it was absolutely delicious. I love creamy, rich soups and Potato Leek soup is one of my favorites, but for a change... I decided to make it was cauliflower because potatoes are so starchy, not to mention... they are pretty much all that I ate in South America!

Here's the basic breakdown of ingredients you need:

-2 leeks

-1 onion

-1 bay leaf

-1-2 cartons of chicken broth, you can use veg broth too if you're vegetarian! (I think I used around 6 cups)

-1 large head of cauliflower

-chives (or parsley... not a huge fan of parsley, so I chose to use chives)

-2-6 cloves of garlic, depends on how much you love garlic!

-salt and pepper

- 1/4 cup cream (optional)

Step 1: prep all veggies: dice onions and leeks (be sure to wash really well!), cut up cauliflower, mince garlic, chop up fresh herbs

Step 2: in a large pot, saute your onions until transparent, then add leeks

Step 3: when leeks and onions are all good and soft, add in chicken broth, bay leaves, garlic,  herbs, cauliflower and cream if you want it... stir and keep an eye on it. This honestly didn't take too long, but I'll be that if you waited and slow-cooked it, it might be even better!

Step 4: when cauliflower is all soft, blend with a beater or in your blender. I like mine a little bit chunky, so I left some of it out of the blender and just stirred it in at the end.

Step 5: Eat! I garnished with a little bit of goat cheese.  Later, I also ate it with some steamed collard greens and it was yummy!

Enjoy.