Don’t you love when you mess up a recipe but you come up with something even better? I have tried making a particular recipe twice now, and I like it and eat it but it’s just not good enough to post here yet. However, while doing it I found that I love pureed cauliflower! I mean I have always loved cauliflower and creating recipes with it as you can see by a few here, here, and here. So why not as a puree-base for a soup? So I did, and yum. Here’s my vegan and gluten-free Roasted Mushroom and Cauliflower Chowder.

So that other recipe will be coming at some point, and I since I am in soup-mode right now this soup is perfect timing. For this soup I was trying to think of something to add to the pureed cauliflower and what is better than mushrooms? For me there is nothing better, but I just wish that food in DC and Northern Virginia wasn’t so expensive! I had intended to use a bunch of different types of mushrooms but that was not happening with these prices. The white button mushrooms were on a great sale for $1 a container so that was what I was going to use; the portobellos were $1 a piece so I got a couple token ones to add a little meaty depth to the soup. And I am calling it a chowder because the cauliflower makes the soup thick like a chowder – no flour or roux needed here!

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I used frozen cauliflower cause it was way cheaper, so I let it defrost overnight then roasted the cauli, mushrooms and one large yellow onion for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. I sprinkled grapeseed oil and poultry seasoning over the veggies and let it go. After they are out I let everything cool so I could chop the mushrooms and onions into smaller pieces. Cut the celery into small pieces and mince the garlic and dump into your big soup pot with about 1/4 cup of veg broth and let soften. Dump the cauliflower and brick of silken tofu into the blender – about half the tray and half the brick and blend along with the veggie broth (you will use the rest of the container for both purees so just be sure you keep enough in the container for the second blending), then pour into soup pot. Chop mushrooms and onions into small pieces and add to pot and let cook about 45 minutes. Enjoy!

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Roasted Mushroom and Cauliflower Chowder, 6 servings

3 Bags Frozen Cauliflower
3 Pkgs Button Mushrooms
2 Portobello Mushroom Caps
1 Large Yellow Onion
3 Stalks Celery, chopped small
7 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 Cntr Nasoya Silken Tofu
3/4 Tsp Poultry Seasoning
2 Tsp Dried Thyme
Tons Black Pepper
Grapeseed Oil
1 Cntr Pacific Foods Low Sodium Vegetable Broth

1. Set oven to 350 degrees.
2. Dump cauliflower on large baking sheet and mushrooms and sliced onion on another sheet. Pour a small amount of grapeseed oil and sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning over veggies. Mix with hands then bake for 45 minutes.
2. Take out and let cool to handle.
3. Chop celery into small pieces and mince garlic. Add celery, minced garlic, and 1/4 cup veg broth to soup pot. Turn to medium-high and let soften.
4. Pour half the baking sheet of cauliflower and half the container of tofu into blender. Let blend until smooth adding about half the container of veg broth to get things moving. Pour first batch into soup pot then do second batch and pour into pot. Add rest of poultry seasoning, thyme, and tons of black pepper and mix.
5. Keep pot on medium-low heat while chopping onions and mushrooms into small pieces. Add all veggies to pot as chopped.
6. Let cook about 45 minutes on medium-low heat, stirring because it will bubble up on you.
7. Enjoy!