Now that I’m armed with an immersion mixer and a bountiful harvest from my farm share, I’ve been a soup-making maniac. From a lower-carb version of 101Cookbook’s ribollita to 2 rounds of butternut squash + leek, my favorite creation of the fall was a bowlful of cumin-mint cauliflower soup. It was a one pot, minimal ingredient, flavorful blend of cheddar cauliflower via Greensgrow, toasted cumin powder, onion, chicken stock, fresh mint from my herb garden, and S&P.

What’s soup for dinner without a sandwich? My sister, Kerry, gave me a fragrant curry powder that had been taunting me from the spice cabinet and seemed like a curry chicken wrap was the right match. As the weather cools, this meal definitely warmed my belly.

Cumin-Mint Cauliflower Soup

Serves (6). Makes approx. 1.5 quarts.

• cheddar or standard cauliflower – one head, chopped into florets
• chicken stock – 3 cups, about 1.5 small cans
• yellow onion – medium, chopped
• butter or olive oil
• ground cumin – 1tsp or to taste
• fresh mint – 2T, chopped
• S&P

1. Bring chicken stock to a boil in a heavy stock pot. Add chopped cauliflower, cover, and bring back to a boil. Simmer for about 10 min or until cauliflower is fork tender.
2. While cauliflower is cooking, heat a deep saute pan on medium. Add butter/olive oil, chopped onion, & cumin. Sweat for approx 8 min. until tender & translucent, making sure to turn lower heat if they begin to brown.
3. Add onion & cumin mixture to the pot of cauliflower & stock. Combine and simmer for 10 min on medium heat.
4. Turn off heat and stir in mint and S&P to taste.
5. Blend mixture in the stock pot with an immersion blender or in batches in a standard blender. Thin as needed with water or additional chicken stock.
6. Serve with shredded cheese, fresh mint garnish, and your favorite sandwich.

Chicken Curry Wrap

Serves 2.

• boneless, skinless chicken breast – 2 breasts, trimmed & cut into strips
• yellow onion – 2 medium, sliced
• dry wine – 1/2 cup
• yellow curry powder – 2 tsp
• sour cream – 3/4 cups
• lettuce – chopped or shredded, your preference
• tomato – chopped or sliced, your preference
• tortillas – 2 burrito-sized flour wraps
• S&P

1. Heat olive oil in a saute pan on medium heat. Season chicken breast with 1 tsp of the curry powder and S&P. Add to hot pan and toss regularly, until browned & cooked through, approx. 10min. Remove from pan and set aside.
2. Keep pan on medium and add 1/2 cup of white wine to deglaze. Scrape brown bits from bottled to pan with a spatula. Allow to evaporate until minimal amount of liquid remains in pan.
3. Heat 2 T of olive oil in the same pan over medium until shimmering. Add onions and saute for about 5 min.
4. Add remaining 1 tsp of curry powder and sweat for approx 4 min longer until tender and browned.
5. Return chicken to pan and add sour cream. Combine ingredients and warm over medium-low heat for about 3 minutes.
6. Lay out tortillas. Add chicken, lettuce, & tomato. Wrap like a burrito and enjoy with a toasty bowl of cumin-mint cauliflower soup.

Earlier that week, I bought 2 large bunches of Collard Greens from the Italian Market. It was alot of greens for only $2! I rinsed & chopped them before sauteing in garlic, shallots, EVOO, & butter and simmering in chicken stock. I didn’t have any turkey bacon on hand as a usual ingredient in my greens, so just settled for some Sriracha & Worcestshire to jazz it up. I STILL had Grape Tomatoes from my Spicy Fish Tacos & Avocado-Salad and Sweet Peppers from my Mexi-Risotto, so I tossed them into a Rice-a-Roni Spanish Rice Mix.

Dre whipped up a batch of Cornbread using trusty ol’ Jiffy mix. We tossed in some sliced jalapenos & the leftover sweet peppers, and sprinkled with shredded sharp cheddar halfway thru the baking process. With the greens sauteing, rice simmering, & cornbread baking, it was time for crab!

After a few knife pokes, a brush of butter, & 5 minutes on each side, we had ourselves a summer afternoon feast. Oh, and MOJITOS! After some experimenting, Dre mixed up a perfectly refreshing batch using Apple Mint from my garden.

Grilled Crab Legs, Spanish Rice, Collard Greens, Jalapeno-Cheddar Cornbread, & an Apple Mint Mojito

Jalapeno-Cheddar Cornbread - Photo: Dre

Grape Tomatoes

Fresh Collard Greens from the Italian Market

Summer Grilled Crab Feast:

Grilled Snow Crab Legs – Brushed in butter before grilling, dipped in Butter after

Sauteed Collard Greens - Wilted w/ Shallots, Garlic, & Olive Oil, simmered in Chicken Stock w/ S&P, Worcestershire, Dried Herbs, & Sriracha

Spanish Rice – Sauteed Garlic, Sweet Peppers, & Grape Tomatoes added to Rice-a-Roni Spanish Rice

Jalapeno-Cheddar Cornbread – Sauteed Sweet Peppers & Jalapeno added to Jiffy mix, topped w/ Shredded Sharp Cheddar

Classic Mojito w/ Apple Mint from my Garden

Herbed Zucchini Ribbons & Red Curry Chicken Skewers

Our feast included:

Curried Chicken Kebobs ~ marinated overnight in red curry paste & Greek yogurt, skewered, & grilled

Herbed Zucchini Ribbons ~ sliced lengthwise with a mandolin, S&P, fresh herbs (basil, mint, & thyme from my garden), olive oil, & grilled in a pan

Sunshine’s Tangerine Cabbage & Bleu Salad

Sunshine’s Wheat Pellet Puffy Wheels ~ deep-fried in olive oil

Cucumber Mint Yogurt Sauce ~ Greek yogurt mixed with cubed cukes, fresh mint, minced garlic, & salt

Fresh Chopped Tomatoes

Pocketless Pita

Ariel’s Oatmeal Cookies ~ soft & delicious

Sunshine’s Sangria ~ lemon, orange, lime, peach, & plum

The Mighty Cuke & The Mighty Grill

Grillin' Kebobs & Zukes!

Summer Feast

Summer Plate

Sunshine's Puffy Wheelies

Sunshine prepping her Sangria

Monday night I dove into my first experience making homemade pesto; seemed easy enough. I’ve been so excited to start an herb garden to kick off the first summer with our big patio & my Siam Queen Thai Basil went wild! Well, I went a bit wild too… with the garlic. You’ll find in my food ventures that I’m not big on following recipes (will explain my philosophy in its own post soon enough!) & for once, my absentmindedness paired with a disregard for proportions turned into an initial flop.

With an enthusiasm for cooking passed down from my Grandma, I whipped out her 70s era Cuisinart food processor to get chopping. In goes a handful of pine nuts & an unidentified amount of garlic cloves. 15 sec, a swipe of my rubber spatula, & we’re on to the fresh basil & fresh grated parm. I pumped up the my fresh picked stock of basil with some grocery store basil. Flavor was delicious, but as I picked leaves, the plant seemed to look more & more like a mutant GMO basil plant. Delish, nonetheless, but prob will prob consider some organic action. Can’t forget I threw in some fresh Apple Mint & Parsley from my garden as well!

I bought some good Extra Virgin Olive Oil to make my first pesto feel special. I drizzled it into my roaring food processor until I found a good consistency. A few more spatula swipes & 10-15 sec of blending & it was time for a taste… that almost burnt my tongue off! Holy raw garlic overload!

Unwilling to give up on my precious homegrown basil, I went into pesto emergency mode. This is what I get for bragging that I never cook anything bad! I reached for more parm & blend blend blend… no good. More pine nuts & blend blend blend & more olive oil drizzles… still no good. Lightbulb!! Pesto Cream Sauce!! So I threw in some FAGE Greek Yogurt waiting to mix with red curry paste to marinade chicken (for Tuesday’s summer dinner party) & blend blend blend. FAIL turned WIN by way of yogurt!!

I tossed a few tablespoons of the pesto cream (a little at a time of course, as it still had quite the garlic punch) with some rotini pasta & paired it with my Italian Ranch Grilled Chicken for a perfect summer dinner!

~~~~ Post Script ~~~~

Not just being a bit more attentive, I may follow suit of a recommendation from one of my fave food blogs, 101 cookbooks, and hand chop my next attempt at pesto. Texture & elbow grease are both staples in my cooking (as much as I don’t want to overlook my love for the ol’ Cuisinart), so recipe-following or not, I look forward to putting a bit more attention & love into the next go-round.

Finally, in all the pesto frenzy, I continued the FAIL by not taking any photos of my creation & re-creation & final deliciousness. My fresh basil & non-recipe notes (see: 3-9!! cloves of garlic) will have to suffice. Beginnings of the beginning…

Pesto Recipe Notes

Pesto To Taste

• 2-3 cloves of Garlic – To start!! Add more to taste
• 1-2 handfuls of Pine Nuts – or Walnuts or Toasted Almonds or…
• 3-4 fistfulls of Fresh Basil – Pick, Rinse, Spin
• 1-2 handfuls of Fresh Grated Parm – or Asiago or Romano or Mahon
• Good Extra Virgin!! Olive Oil – enough to get the consistency you like
• S&P to taste
• Flair: Mint – Parsley – Cilantro&Lime – Spinach&Arugula&Lemon – Rosemary&Walnut – Sundried Tomatoes – Yogurt or Ricotta for a Creamy Sauce – Roasted Red Peppers

1. Chop garlic & pine nuts together first 15 sec in a food processor.
2. Add basil, parm, & S&P, process another 15 sec.
3. Turn processor on & slowly drizzle olive oil until you find a consistency you like. Light but pasty so it sticks to your pasta, salmon, etc.
4. For fridge storage, make sure to either create a film by drizzling a film of olive oil or putting saran wrap on top. For freezer storage, spoon into an ice cube tray, freeze overnight, & store in air-tight freezer bags for a quick dinner.

Many thanks to my brave tastetesters who didn’t flinch (too much) in sharing everlasting garlic breath w/ me.

Lex & Dre <3 my fave people to cook for!