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I truly feel like life is in transition and I am not quite sure what to make of it all. I am a contradiction of things at any given moment…observant, hurried, reckless, cautious, pensive and opinionated. [Is this what mid-life looks like?] I look for ways to embrace the calm, to smile and to laugh every day. I remind myself about the gravity of the past few years because it is perspective. I remind myself to be thankful for each and every experience – not only the good ones – because it is not without the sour that we know the balance and beauty of the sweet.

I always strive to learn and improve, but I know part of my learning is sometimes allowing for the imperfections and embracing those imperfectly perfect jagged edges. I’ve abandoned my inner ‘Martha Stewart’ and I am learning to embrace my quirky, passionate, satirical, geek techie and foodie undertones >I have no idea which public persona that correlates to, so I guess I’ll have to just be me.<

I can’t make excuses; I am still in soup mode. Perhaps it is because I feel gypped out of winter. I hear about record breaking snow stories on the East Coast, and yet I am wearing a sweater (and sweating) because it is 75 degrees outside. My brain refuses to accept this winter-free season. In sheer protest I am still making soups.

Thinking back on my love of flavors, I am reminded how much I enjoy soups. A large pot, filled to the brim with fresh ingredients, slow simmered with a pinch of this and that, until the wafting aroma fills the corners of the kitchen and you can practically taste it with your eyes. Soups seem so simple to assemble and yet so decadent in composition. While I tend to like ‘day old soups’, feeling their flavors are more robust, the beauty of this recipe is that once cooked it hits its full stride.

Creamy Cauliflower Gruyere Soup

Soup Ingredients

1 TBS olive oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 tsp salt

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup dry white wine

2 heads cauliflower

1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated

2 cups vegetable stock

2 cups heavy whip cream

Pesto Rye Crouton Ingredients

1 loaf rye bread

olive oil

pesto

Directions

In a large stockpot, sauté onions, garlic and salt for 5 minutes over medium heat.

Deglaze pot with white wine and cook until it has evaporated. Add stock, cream and cauliflower and simmer approximately 30 minutes, until cauliflower is tender. Once cooked, transfer this mixture to a blender and puree until texture is smooth and creamy.

Season with salt and pepper. If soup is too thick, think with more stock. While still hot, blend in Gruyere cheese.

To make pesto croutons, slice bread into half-inch cubes and toss lightly with olive oil. Place on baking sheet for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Before serving toss with pesto and finish with chopped chives and a drizzle of olive oil.