Hey everybody!

Remember awhile back when I made Yellow Squash and Basil soup?  It’s ok, it was a long time ago.  One of my first blog posts, actually 🙂

Whilst (yes, I like whilst) wondering the produce section in Safeway the other night, I saw them!  Not very yellow, and not very big, but there!  In the bin!  Yellow squash!  (Or, squashes?)

Six of those squashes magically leaped into my cart, and dinner was in the works.  But then I got to thinking.  (Uh oh)

I love this soup.  A lot.  There’s not a lot of room for improvement, if you ask me.  But what if…What if I could just shake things up a bit?

And then a head of cauliflower appeared, nestled amongst the squash.  Perfect!  A vegetable to add texture and creaminess without drastically changing the flavor of the soup.  Brilliant.

You might think you don’t like vegetables, and you might think that you don’t like soup, but that’s only because you haven’t tried THIS soup.  I can’t get enough, which is why I made a hugh jass pot of it.  (Yay for leftovers!)

Because I’ve never tried it before, I decided to roast the cauliflower.  It’s easy.  Preheat the oven to 400F.

Chop the cauliflower, spray or drizzle with olive oil, salt, and toss into a pan. Roast for about 20 minutes, stirring things around at least once.

They’ll come out slightly brown and super fragrant. Yum.

And you can start the soup while the cauliflower is roasting.

Yellow Squash and Basil Soup with Roasted Cauliflower (Adapted from Good Housekeeping)
Serves a ton. Feel free to cut the recipe in half or third if you don’t have the storage space.

1 medium onion, chopped
6 yellow squash, washed and cut into rounds (I don’t bother peeling these, but you can if you want)
6 medium carrots, chopped (I don’t bother peeling these, either)
1 head of cauliflower (chopped and roasted at 400F for 20 minutes)
4 cups warm water
2 tsp Better than Bouillon (or you could use 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth, and 2 cups warm water instead)
Salt and Pepper to taste.
1 cup of half and half
2 cups of fresh basil, shredded

Heat oil in a large dutch oven or soup pot. Add onion and cook about 5 minutes. Add squash and carrots, mixing until the onion is incorporated. Add warm water and BTB, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. You can either use an immersion blender, or you can transfer small batches of the squash mixture and cauliflower into a food processor and puree to desired texture (we like ours a bit chunky). Once everything is mashed up, season with salt and pepper, add the half and half and heat through. Just before serving, stir in the shredded basil leaves and season again with salt and pepper if necessary.

This soup is equally good hot or cold. I like to eat it hot for dinner, and then chilled the next day at lunch.
Enjoy!