Baby, it's cold outside.

With the latest arctic air masses coming down from Canada, Maine has a cold spell with temperature at -5F (and -15F with wind chill). Oophs. That means getting out the Def Con 1 winter clothes (looking like the Michelin man), and eating hot soup. I found this wonderful vegan soup on Green Kitchen Stories, and I tried it out over the weekend, changing it around slightly. How does Renee Zellweger say in "Jerry Maguire"? "You got me at hello". Or better this one got me by its beautiful name: white velvet soup.

White Velvet Soup:

1 cauliflower, cut into florets

1 TB grapeseed oil

1 white onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup lima beans (used canned, I used dried one which I cooked)

2 cups of vegetable stock

for serving: hot sauce (recommend Sriracha).

Use a steamer inset for a pot, and steam the cauliflower florets for ca 20 min. Meanwhile, saute the onion and garlic clove in the oil until only translucent, but not browned (it's called white velvet). Once done, pour the mix in a blender. Add the cooked beans to the blender/food processor. Once the cauliflower is steamed, add to the blender, too, and the vegetable stock. At this point, I let the whole mix cool for about 1h, and then pureed it til smooth. (Don't mix hot ingredients, ever! The whole stuff will explode. Been there, done that). 

Pour the pureed soup back in a pot, and reheat gently. Serve with a squirt of hot sauce.