If it were Green it would be......

So, I have been craving that flavor you get when you cook beans and ham hocks or split pea soup with ham hocks. If you've been following posts you know  I grew up on southern home style cooking. There is just something about that flavor of the smoked pork cooked in the juices of these southern style dishes that if you have a "hankerin" for it, nothing else will do... it just will not go away. Thinking, thinking..... I got it. Tweak the cauliflower soup, it morph's into just about anything.
Did it.... and I am sooooo amazed at how close this was. If it were green, I would have thought I was eating split pea with ham hocks. Close my eyes, I'm there.

I shared a recipe a while back for the Cauliflower Cheese Soup. Here's is a take off, that tastes competely different with the extra flavor of the bacon ends & pieces. This was so rich in flavor and creamy that it did not need the cream added that my orginal recipe used. The Trader Joes Uncured Bacon Ends and Pieces are actually like chunks of ham not sliced bacon so it is perfect for that chunky ham hock effect.
    -A little Trivia: growing up we had our own smoke house and smoked our own ham and bacon from the pigs we raised-

Southern Ham Hock Cauliflower Cheddar Soup
Ham chunks really are in here at the bottom 

Ingredients
2 cps chicken broth
1 lg head cauliflower-cut in large pieces
1pkg Trader Joe's Uncured Bacon Ends -large chunks
2 stalk celery, chunks
1 carrot-chunks (optional)
1 lg onion-chunks
1 cp water-or more to desired thickness
1 cp or more shredded cheddar (I like sharp)
Salt & pepper to taste
garnishes: finishing oils/salts of your choice,  thin sliced leek...the options are limitless 
Praparation:

Add all ingredients except cheese and water to a large pan. Bring to a boil and turn down to a low simmer for 90 mins. Ladle mixture and remaining water into blender and process until very smooth and desired consistency. (May need to do this in 2 batches). Mixture expands so be very careful not to over fill 1/2 way especially if it is hot. Return pureed mixture into saucepan. When hot stir in cheese to taste.

With GF Tamari Roasted Pepita's

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As you know, I love to garnish with flavored oils and salts. I used just a drizzle of lemon oil.

This one I also added a few GF Tamari Roasted Pepita's I get from my health food store. They're a great little snak and adds a great crunch to an aray of dishes.

 

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Cauliflower Cheese Soup

Bacon & Leek

I have to tell you that this soup makes the most AMAZING base for a cream soup. All by it's self it was a classy hit even for company. Statements like...."this could be on any high priced restaurant menu". But when you begin messin with it and adding this or that.... it morphs into a completely new wonderful delight.
I have made cream of cauliflower soup many, many times but I must say none has ever tasted as amazing as this one. I think the difference is that it is simmered for 90min on the stove before trying to blend it all together.     
WHAT A DIFFERENCE.
I have now made it 3 times and I made enough to be eaten for several meals. Each time I cook the left over soup, I make a different variation of it by adding various things.

I love using finishing oils and salts. Just before serving I add a drizzle of oil such as Lime Olive Oil and a couple pinches of finishing salt such as Smoked Garlic Sea Salt. OVER THE TOP. Fun to experiment.

Now these finishing oils and salts are not cheap by any means but just a few drops and pinches turns a good homey food into an exquisite chefs gourmet special.

Have I said we loved this soup????? I think you get the picture.

I have loved cream soups especially with cheese. Many however usually use some sort of high carb thickener to get that thick creamy feel. This one does not need any at all and has the most creamy thick consistency.

Ingredients
2 cps chicken broth
1 lg  head cauliflower-cut in large pieces
1 stalk celery, chunks
1 carrot-chunks
1 lg onion-chunks
1 cp whole cream
1 cp water-or more to desired thickness
1 1/2 cp shredded cheddar cheese
Salt & pepper to taste

garnishes: finishing oils/salts of your choice, crisp bacon, thin sliced leek, parsley,
optional: bacon,broccoli, kielbasa
                          the options are limitless

Bacon & Broccoli

Preparation: Add all ingredients except cream, cheese and water to a large pan. Bring to a boil and turn down to a low simmer for 90 mins. Ladle mixture into blender and process until very smooth. (May need to do this in 2 batches).
Return pureed mixture into saucepan and stir in cream and water to desired consistency. When hot stir in cheese.

 I have added bacon, broccoli, mini meatballs, kielbasa. All were amazing.

adapted from: framedcooks.com

Vietnamese Pho Soup

Chicken Pho Soup

We used to live in Bellevue, WA where not far from our home was the most fabulous Vietnamese restaurant. We frequented it often or called in the big order for Chicken Pho Soup.
Now that we have moved to the desert and not one Vietnamese restaurant in town I went on the hunt to recreate it. After pouring over recipe after recipe and making many batches I found what is the closest to our favorite restaurant. Adapted from: steamykitchen.com. Great site with lots of delicious healthy dishes.
For us LCing, we do not use the noodles, we add LOTS of bean sprouts to our bowl of hot soup. You'll never miss the noodles.

Ingredients
1 whole chicken
1 med onion-cut in half (char-see below)
3-inches of ginger-unpeeled (char-see below)

 Broth Spices
2 tbl whole coriander
4 tbl whole cloves
2 whole star anise
2 tbl Splenda or sweetener of choice
2 tbl fish sauce 
small bunch cilantro- stems only-tie in bunch

Accompaniments at table
6 cups bean sprouts
4 large sprigs of fresh basil
1 jalapeno, sliced
cilantro tops-leaves and tender stems
1/2 cup shaved red onions
1/2 lime, cut into 4 wedges
Sriracha hot sauce- add to taste
Hoisin Sauce-add to taste
 

As I began to cook this, I thought I would skip this 1st step as most of the other Pho recipes I read did not included it however I  the others I tried did not quite taste like what I remembered. So I grudgingly did it..... I think this is what made it the winner.

•  Place ginger and onion on baking sheet. 4" from the heating element. Set to broil on high 15 minutes. Turn them over a couple of times to char. The skin will get dark and the onion/ ginger will get soft. Let cool, rub to get charred skin off the onion.    
  Use a butter knife to scrape the skin off the ginger. Slice ginger into thick slices. 
• In a large stockpot, fill with water and boil. With a sharp cleaver, carve the chicken breast meat off and reserve. With the rest of chicken whacking hard through the bones to get sections about 3″ big. The more bone that is exposed, the more marrow that gets in the broth (translation: rich, flavorful). You can even whack several places along the bone just to expose more marrow. When the water boils, add chicken sections (not breast) and boil on high for 5 minutes. You’ll see lots of foam and “stuff’ come up to the surface. Drain, rinse your chicken of the scum and wash your pot thoroughly. Refill with about 4 quarts of clean, cold water.
• Add chicken, chicken breast meat, onion, ginger and all of "Broth Spices" in the pot and cover. Turn heat to high – let it come to boil, then immediately turn heat to low. Prop lid up so that steam can
  escape. After 15 minutes, remove the chicken breasts, shred with your fingers when cooled and set aside (you’ll serve shredded chicken breast with the finished soup). With a large spoon, skim the surface of any impurities in the broth. Skimming every 20 minutes ensures a clear broth. Simmer a total of 1-1/2 hours. Taste and adjust seasoning with more fish sauce and or sweetener.
• Strain the broth, discard solids. Add shredded chicken breast and ladle broth to into each bowl.
  Have accompaniments set at table for each person to add to their bowl. 
  Serves 4