Indian summer

​What is Indian summer? The dictionary defines it as “a period of unusually dry, warm weather occurring in late autumn.” Hopefully after last week’s heat and the rain today, we can put summer behind us and move into cooler, less humid weather.
 
Many years ago, Delicious Orchards featured a soup befitting Indian summer, it's cream of cauliflower soup. The soup is quite easy to prepare. You’ll need 5-6 cups of chicken stock and three cups of milk, light cream or heavy cream. In the past I used to use heavy cream, however, becoming more health conscious, I opted for whole milk as I wanted a creamy taste, but with less fat. For this preparation I used Organic Valley whole milk that I purchased at Whole Foods for $2.99/quart. The cauliflower was from Delicious Orchards and costs approximately $2.99 per head.

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​It took about twenty minutes for the cauliflower to become tender cooking in the chicken stock. To puree the mixture, I used my blender. However, you can use a food mill, food processor or immersion blender to achieve the same results. To make the mixture have a creamy consistency, the recipe calls for a roux (melt butter in flour and cook for a minute to remove flour taste.)
 
This is a hearty and filling soup that would make a perfect soup and sandwich night supper. Don’t tell anyone that they’re eating cauliflower, they may be pleasantly surprised.
 
Pureed vegetables are becoming quite popular. Wegmans now carries zucchini, carrot and cauliflower purees. You can make your own by cooking the aforementioned vegetables in either a chicken or vegetable stock or they pureeing. The sauces make a create bed to place cooked seafood, chicken or beef on.