Cauliflower Soup and The Schnauzers

It's a good day to clean out the fridge, have a bowl of soup and a good chat. No recipe today because it just isn't necessary. Bought some leeks and cauliflower and other vegetables at the market last week, but with all the traditional foods prepared first for Thanksgiving, other veggies just ended getting shoved further back in the fridge. Clean and chop the leek and 2 cloves of garlic sauteed in pan. In the meantime cut off the little black bits off the cauliflower, one was already getting those black marks. Separate the florets, dice 2 small potatoes and while I usually like to boil my cauliflower in milk I had around 5 cups of chicken broth left over from the holidays. Add everything to your pot season with salt and pepper and boil until tender. I cored and chopped 2 apples and added them to the soup a brought everything to a boil again for around another 10 minutes. Remove from heat, emulsify when cool add about 1 cup of heavy cream, again this was a left over, use milk if you are watching your weight. Lightly reheat and and adjust seasoning ,I added some nutmeg, then garnish with some sharp cheddar and chopped parsley. Lunch is served.



Meet Boo. Her real name is Blue Moon over Kentucky. Her mother's name was Tuck short for Kentucky. She is a miniature black schnauzer and she has a wonderful sweet, timid disposition. She is fiercely independent, but will come for a cuddle every know and then. The family connection is that she is the daughter of my sister's dog Skyler who was a champion and is her father.
Because of her good lines the breeder wanted her to have a litter and that was the condition of us being allowed to purchase her. Little did I know at that time that I would have 6 puppies in my home for 8 weeks after they were born. The short story is that Boo gave birth during a snow storm, my sons Ryan and Rob had to help with the birthing, and because of he weather there was no way these puppies were going home with the breeder, henceforth, our family room became a kennel for 8 weeks. Boo had 3 black schnauzer and 2 salt and pepper and 1 sort of salt and pepper puppy.




Meet her daughter Cherish (Cheri Pie as we call her). She was born not breathing, not quite sure what her coloring was and the breeder didn't think she was going to survive and as a result gave her to Ryan for his help with the birthing. Well she did survive, actually she is quite a butterball!. She is the total opposite from Boo. She is feisty, a talker, fearless, loyal, loves to give "kisses', is a ,"Cling-on" , and the laziest dog on the face of this earth. When she isn't in trouble, she sleeps under my bed and we literally have to drag her out from under there so that she can go out. She is forever looking for food and pretty much has her nose to the ground hoping that something will come her way. I could write a book about their escapades...but that will have to wait for another post. Gotta go and rake the leaves now.