cauliflower leek & jalapeno soup

What to do on a wet and windy fall Sunday with a storm on its way? Make some warming autumn soup– even if my power goes out this evening I can still have friends over for dinner.

ingredients:

• 1 large head cauliflower, chopped
• 1 large leek, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1/2 jewel yam, chopped (peel and discard skin)
• 1 large jalapeno, finely diced
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cube Celifibr brand vegetable bouillon
• 4 cups water
• 1 cup milk
• toasted caraway seeds as garnish

instructions:

In a medium sized soup pot, saute chopped yam in 2 T olive oil for 3-4 minutes, then  add 1/8 cup  water and steam covered over low heat until yam is soft- it wont take long. Transfer to a blender or soup tureen to cool. Add 2 T olive oil to soup pot, saute leek and cauliflower until leek is fragrant, then add chopped celery, minced garlic and jalapeno, continuing to stir. I like my soup to have more heat, so I used the jalapeno seeds too. Dissolve  bouillon in 1 cup boiled water, then stir into soup pot with an additional 3 cups of water. Bring just to boil, reduce heat and simmer covered until cauliflower is soft. Remove from heat, stir in one cup of milk. Use immersion blender to blend all smooth (including set aside cooked yam), or allow to cool some before carefully transferring to blender to blend smooth. Serve topped with toasted caraway seeds.