Recipe: Apple Rosemary Cauliflower Soup

A healthy vegan soup with a rich and distinctive flavor

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Patience is a virtue that I wasn’t born with. A few years ago, I was listening to a Marianne Williamson lecture (Marianne Williamson is a best-selling spiritual author and lecturer), and she talked about leaving our lives up to the same force that turns the acorn into an oak tree. It finally hit me how powerful patience is. Whenever I feel my patience running low, I think about the acorn and remind myself that my patience allows the space for the magic to happen — I can trust that if I’ve planted the seed, nature will make the flower blossom.

Meditation

Kundalini Yoga Meditation for the Negative Mind

Sit in easy pose. Make a cup with your hands, your right hand cupped in your left hand, with both palms facing up. Close your eyes so that they are only slightly open, and look down toward your cupped hands. Place this open cup at the level of your heart center and allow your elbows to relax at your sides. Inhale deeply, taking a long, steady breath through the nose. Exhale in a focused stream through rounded lips, as if you were blowing a feather out of your hands. You will feel the breath go over your hands. Let any thought or desire that is negative or persistently distracting come into your mind as you breathe. Breathe the thought and feeling in, then exhale it out with the breath. Continue for 11 minutes, gradually building to 31 minutes. Close by inhaling completely and holding the breath out as you lock in your navel point. Concentrate on each vertebra of the spine until you can feel it all the way to the base, as if it is as stiff as a rod. Inhale powerfully, exhale com­pletely, and repeat the concentration. Repeat this final breath 3 to 5 times, then relax completely.

Apple Rosemary & Cauliflower Soup

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• Olive oil cooking spray, for greasing
• 1 head cauliflower, chopped
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 apples, thinly sliced (I prefer Pink Lady apples)
• 2 tablespoons (30ml) extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 white onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 3 cups (720g) unsweetened almond milk, divided
• 3 tablespoons (45g) Dijon mustard
• 4 rosemary sprigs, divided

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C, or gas mark 7). Grease a baking sheet with cooking spray. Add the cauliflower, sprinkle over the garlic and onion powders, and generously season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the cauliflower starts to brown.
2. In the meantime, grease another baking sheet with cooking spray and scatter across the apples. Bake for 5 minutes, or until the apples begin to brown.
3. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes until softened, then add the garlic and sauté for another minute.
4. Transfer the roasted cauliflower and apples (setting aside a few apple slices to garnish) to a food processor or high-speed blender, and then add the onions and garlic, 1 cup (240 ml) almond milk, and Dijon mustard. Pulse until puréed, gradually adding more almond milk to achieve your desired consistency.
5. Transfer the mixture into a large saucepan over medium heat, add 2 rosemary sprigs, and simmer for 10 minutes until warm and infused with rosemary. Remove the rosemary.
6. To serve, finely chop the remaining rosemary leaves. Ladle the soup into individual bowls, and then garnish with sliced apples and chopped rosemary.

Mantra

“My patience is precious.”

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You may also enjoy reading The Birth of a Book: Recipes and Meditations For A Life That Lights You Up by Cassandra Bodzak