It was clean up the fridge and freezer day. I made use of some things that I put away. I have an abundance of frozen cauliflower that I put in the freezer after I purchased five heads a while back that were on sale.

It's so cold and gloomy outside for our day off so I made creamy cauliflower soup. This was a plant based version of a soup I used to like back in the day. It's something that was common when you went to a place that sold take out soup. Creamy cauliflower soup was usually one of the options. It was always made with chicken broth and cream.

Today I used vegetable broth and vegan cooking cream. The veggie broth was home made. It is easily made using carrot, celery, parsley, onion, garlic, bay leaves, salt and peppercorns. I don't really measure the water, I just top up the pot, boil and simmer.

Creamy cauliflower soup
1 head of cauliflower or equivalent in frozen
4 potatoes cubed (I used already cooked that I had in the fridge)
1 carrot
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
Bay leaves
Dried rosemary
Dried sage
Chopped parsley stems around a half cup
2 tablespoons vegan butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil to saute. Just use water for oil free
5 or six cups veggie broth
1 cup white wine(optional)

It doesn't matter how you chop the vegetables. It will be blended in the end.

I wasn't going add potatoes but there happened to be some already cooked so I used them. The cauliflower soup that I had eaten in the past, was usually thickened with flour. Potatoes work well instead.

Saute onion, garlic, bay leaves, rosemary, and sage. Add carrot and celery.

Add cauliflower, potatoes and broth. Simmer for half hour or so.

I blended everything in the blender to get it extra creamy. Sometimes I just use a hand blender for a chunkier soup.

I used soy cooking cream because it has a neutral taste but coconut cream would work. I just wanted the flavor of the soup to be more of a Northern old fashion herby version to suit the mood of the day.

I randomly chose to garnish with corn, and sunflower seeds, making use of items that I had.

To go along with the soup, I made a salad from quinoa that had been in the cupboard for too long. It was time.

I also have tempeh in the freezer that I purchase for a good price at my favorite grocer. So this would be the protein on top.

After dicing it I marinated it. I usually just use random items for the marinade.

In this case I used around 1 cup of vegetable broth, around 3 tablespoons tamari(soy sauce), juice of half a lemon, chili powder, black pepper, a dash of agave nectar, a pinch of garlic powder and a pinch of onion powder.

After marinating for around half an hour, I simmered it in a pan until the liquid evaporated.

Meanwhile I cooked the quinoa.

I mixed half a cup of red quinoa, and half a cup of white quinoa, and cooked it in a cup of boiled water. I always turn it down low and cook until the water evaporates. The one to one ratio of water to quinoa usually always works for me.
After the quinoa is cooked, cool it off in fridge. I just cooled it by the window since it is so darn freezing outside.

I mixed with it 1/2 a red onion, a grated carrot, a half of a cucumber, and some chopped parsley.

I didn't take the time to soak beans, so I used a can of white kidney beans to add to the salad.

I decided to go with one of my favorite dressings, which was a lemony, garlic tahini dressing.

I used around 3 tablespoons tahini, the juice of two lemons, 3 cloves garlic, salt and pepper, 3 tablespoons olive oil which can be substituted for water.
Blend it until smooth. Add more liquid if it's too thick. I prefer to not add water to keep the flavors from diluting.

I added the salad to a bed of greens then topped it with tempeh and dressing.

I had sumac which is a middle eastern spice that is quite tangy and really nice with tahini dressing.

The salad and soup were a complete meal leaving us satisfied for most of the day.

There were leftovers which I love having for a lazy time.

Thanks for stopping by and hope you are all having a great Veganuary!