Cauliflower, Carrot & Potato Soup

From a non-vegan recipe that started out as Cream of Cauliflower soup, I made a few changes and came up with a simple but tasty soup that I'll call "Cauliflower, Carrot and Potato" from here on out. I don't know that we'll eat it all the time like my favorite black bean soup. But I do think I'll make it again, as 3 out of 4 of us liked it enough to have seconds and thirds. :) Here is the recipe as I edited it...

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons Earth Balance buttery spread
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 4 carrots, sliced
• 2 (32 oz) organic vegetable broth
• 1 large head of cauliflower, chopped
• 2 cups non-dairy milk of choice
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup cheddar style shreds (I used Daiya brand) - optional

Directions: 

1. In a large pot, over medium heat, melt Earth Balance. Stir in garlic, cook approximately 5 minutes. Stir in potatoes and carrots and cook 5 minutes more. Pour in vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Stir in cauliflower, cover, reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender, 10-20 minutes. 
2. Stir in milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg, cayenne pepper and cheddar shreds. Stir and heat through.
3. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley before serving. (optional)

The vegetable chopping took me a while, but it always does. I did omit one additional step that the original recipe called for, and that was to puree about half of the soup after step one (before step two). It wasn't bad, but I've discovered that I really prefer my soups with a bit more 'chunk' to them. Pureeing it made it a little too smooth for us, even though I did leave some of the vegetables untouched. When I make this soup again I won't puree at all and I think it will be even tastier.

This is actually double the original recipe because I'm feeding three teenage boys, one of whom LOVES leftover soup for breakfast ;) and I always like to have leftovers for lunch the next day. A reviewer on the original recipe said this soup freezes well, though I know our batch won't make it that far. ;)

It's good {if a little simple} but two of three my children, who made all sorts of faces and noises when they saw the cauliflower on the counter, ate MULTIPLE bowls! I think that says something!