A friend of mine does her own thing by spending Monday mornings at 4 a.m. down at the city’s commercial organic vegetable market.  She elbows her way in between buyers from some of the best restaurants and grocers in town to bring home boxes of the most beautiful produce she can find.  Then she divides it into a dozen or so bags, which she leaves out on the front step for those of us lucky friends who all join in for this weekly bounty.  Did I mention that she’s a very talented cook, besides?

Last week she sent out a recipe for “Butternut Vegetable Soup.”

1 medium onion, chopped

4 large garlic cloves, minced

2 T. olive oil

1 medium butternut squash, cubed

3 sweet potatoes, cubed

2 carrots, sliced

3-4 potatoes, cubed

1 T. fresh basil 

1 T. fresh thyme 

1 quart vegetable stock

salt and pepper to taste

Sauté onions and garlic for 10 min.  Add carrots and squash, sauté for 10 min more.  Add all remaining vegetables, vegetable stock, and 4 cups of water.  Add basil and thyme.  Bring to boil and simmer covered 30-45 minutes until vegetables are soft.  Puree soup with an immersion blender if you have one, or a potato masher if you do not.  Add water to thin soup if you like. Salt and pepper to taste.

And then she explained how to make “Simple Cauliflower Soup.”

Break up cauliflower into florets.  Cover cauliflower with water in a saucepan.  Bring to boil, and simmer uncovered for 15 min or until cauliflower is tender.  Puree cauliflower and season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.  She says that her children love this simple soup.  

I’ll bet it also tastes great with a 1/4 cup cashews tossed in before the puree step, and I’ll bet I can make it in my new Vitamix!

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