The Pea.

Happy Tuesday y'all!

I am super excited for today b/c I get to see my bff who just moved back in town. This means tea room lunch date. I just love it. If you really, really want to get on my good side...take me to your fave tea room. We will become best friends. I think my fondness for tea rooms has something to do we me playing with my tea set and dressing up as a princess when I was little. I just feel so regal eating those itty bitty tea sandwiches. 

On another note, let's talk about this past weekend. My weekend started on Friday. My dad was off work Friday, so we got to spend some quality father-daughter time together. I had eaten lunch already, but since we were waiting for my dad to get his hair cut, we went next door so he could grab a bite to eat at Black Eyed Pea. If you don't know about "the pea," just know that it was one of my fave restaurants to go to as a child, and it still is today. This is for one reason and one reason only...Broccoli Cheese Soup  and Cornbread...wait, that's two things. Whatevs. 

Okay, not just those things eaten by themselves, but together...and I don't mean that you take a bite of your cornbread and then eat a big spoonful of soup, or dip your cornbread in the soup. I'm talking about, taking that cakey, thick, sweet cornbread and crumbling it up into your broccoli cheese soup. Ummmmm yes please. Don't look at me weird. Just do it. It will change your life. My dad taught me how to do this when I was little and I may have just thought it was the best invention in the world. Seriously. 

I had been wanting to make some sort of broccoli soup for a while, and well, you know I am all about the cornbread so...

I got down to business. 

This cornbread just so happens to be vegan. 

Don't be scurrred.

This cornbread has a crumbly texture, perfect for the soup.

What soup?

This soup.

Well, that is broccoli that is going to go into the soup. 

I could live off cornbread.

Oh, yea

this cornbread is made with apple butter preserves.

Fall has arrived, embrace it!

This cornbread has the perfect balance of sweet and savory.

Oh, hit there beautiful pot of creamy broccoli cauliflower soup!

Yo, there is actually no "cream" in this soup.

The wonders of the immersion blender (or any blender for that matter) will pulverize this soup, giving it a creamy texture.

I just love that word...pulverize.

Green is my fave color.

So there you have it...craving fixed. 

In a healthier way.

THIS IS IMPORTANT: you need to top this soup with Parmesan cheese. 

It will change your life.

Yes, crumble that cornbread.

Enjoy!

DO YOU HAVE ANY WEIRD/AWESOME FOOD COMBO'S THAT I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT? SEND THEM MY WAY!

Creamy Broccoli Cauliflower Soup with Apple Butter Cornbread (GF/V):

Ingredients:

For the soup:
extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 sweet yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 head of broccoli, stems removed, roughly chopped
1 head of cauliflower, stems removed, roughly chopped
5 c. water
1/4 c. fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
freshly grated Parmesan cheese, optional

For the cornbread:
1 c. unsweetened, vanilla almond milk
1 T. white vinegar
2 c. fine stone ground cornmeal
2 T. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1/4 c. raw coconut sugar (or regular sugar or stevia)
2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 c. apple butter preserves (I used an organic brand with low sugar)

Instructions:

For the soup:
1. Heat a dutch oven over medium heat on the stove. Drizzle with evoo.
2. Add the onion and garlic to the pot and saute until the onions are translucent, about 3-5 minutes.
3. Add the broccoli and cauliflower and saute for an extra 3-5 minutes, just to combine the ingredients together.
4. Pour the water over the vegetables, turn up the heat to medium-high and boil for 3 minutes. Then, lower the heat and allow the soup to simmer until the broccoli and cauliflower are tender. About 20 minutes.
5. Add the parsley. Using an immersion blender, blend the vegetables together until pureed into a thick, soup-like consistency.
6. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
7. Serve hot sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and crumbled cornbread.

For the cornbread:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 420 degrees F. Grease an 8 in. square cake pan with cooking spray.
2. In a small mixing bowl, combine the milk and vinegar. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
4. Add the almond milk mixture to the cornmeal mixture and mix well.
5. Add the evoo and apple butter and mix until thoroughly incorporated.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.
8. Let the cornbread cool completely in the pan. Cut into squares.
9. Serve drizzled with honey and butter or crumble the cornbread into a bowl of broccoli cauliflower soup.

Makes 12 squares of cornbread. Soup serves 8-12 people.

MANGIA!!!