Meatless Monday - Blog Inspired

I was feeling extremely under the weather yesterday, so food was the last thing I wanted to think about. But today I started feeling a lot better and decided to make some food.

I got really in to blogs this week and set up my google reader account so I can read them all more easily. Through the rise of pinterest (which I am actually not a member of, but sometimes I look at people's boards) I have found so many new foodie blogs. There are so many out there! A lot of them are for dessert recipes and there are a lot of recipes with meat, but there are definitely a ton of recipes worth looking through!

Here are a few of the blogs I started following this week:

• Closet Cooking  - Cooking in a closet sized kitchen. Seems appropriate for the size of my current kitchen
• Skinny Taste - Probably my favorite of all. Everything looks AMAZING
• Snack Girl
• Fooducate - The latest on food news
• A Couple Cooks

I started following a bunch more but there are a few to get your started. Click around on the sites and see if they have links to other blogs you may like!

I read through a bunch of blog posts on Friday and then bought the vegetables at the farmers market this weekend. Tonight I made a creamy cauliflower and aged white cheddar soup. It took me about an hour to make, but it tasted great and I have a lot of leftovers. Also I bought a large block of cheese for the soup and only used just over half so my little and I were able to have really good crackers and cheese as an appetizer :

Here's the recipe (by Closet Cooking):

Ingredients

• 1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets
• 2 tablespoons oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon thyme, chopped
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 1 1/2 cups aged white cheddar, shredded
• 1 cup milk or cream
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Toss the cauliflower florets in the oil along with the salt and pepper and arrange them in a single layer on a large baking sheet.
2. Roast the cauliflower in a preheated 400F oven until lightly golden brown, about 20-30 minutes.
3. Heat the oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat.
4. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
5. Add the garlic and thyme and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
6. Add the broth and cauliflower, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
7. Puree the soup until it reaches your desired consistency with a stick blender.
8. Mix in the cheese, let it melt and season with salt and pepper.
9. Mix in the milk and remove from heat.

I really enjoyed the soup and am excited to have the left overs for the rest of the week!

Also about a month ago, I posted about the Katie Oppo Research Fund as part of my post for National Cancer Day. My little just finished updated the website for the foundation and now you can donate online! If you are interested, please take the time to donate to this great fund. Here is the website! www.teamkatieoppo.org