Of course, it's hard to go wrong with bacon...

"Put on a pot, set it on,

   And also pour water into it."

Ezekiel 24:3

I made something new for my family tonight.  Cauliflower and bacon soup.  It was awesome.

My daughter had volleyball practice this evening, and our routine is that the Apple of my Eye takes her to practice, and I have dinner ready for us all when they get home.

Tonight, I new I wanted to make soup, because my girl's got a bit of a sore throat, and I wanted to help soothe that.  So I started looking through my recipes for inspiration.

Minestrone?  Well, maybe...

Cream of Broccoli?  Nah....

Chicken Noodle?  Not her favorite...

Cauliflower?  Hmmm.... Now that's interesting!

I've been intrigued by the idea of cauliflower soup for quite awhile.  I love cauliflower, so soup seems like an interesting way to enjoy it, but I wasn't sure what it would look like.  Cream of?  Cauliflower and something?  What would complement cauliflower without overpowering it?

I actually had cauliflower soup several years ago, in a restaurant, but I didn't enjoy it all that much.  I didn't think they did it right.  Which is to say, they didn't do it the way I would have...  As I recall it was quite peppery.  The cauliflower was the foundation but not really the flavor of the soup.  I knew then the only way to have it the way I want it, would be to do it myself.  But then I had to find a recipe as a guide, and then think of it, on a night when I actually had cauliflower in the fridge.

My kids love cauliflower, and my hubby tolerates it quite well if I prepare it right, so I knew I had a good shot of pleasing them all, but it went even better than I expected.  They loved it, and so did I.

The funny thing was, I was actually working from three different recipes.  I'd collected them over time, and ended up making all of them.  Or none of them.  What I made was a fourth version.  My version. 

One recipe called for parsnip, which I like, but it didn't sound like the best complement to cauliflower to me.  One called for carrot, but I detest, loathe and abhor cooked carrots.  So that was out.  One recipe called for celery, but cooked celery usually doesn't go over well with my kids.  So no celery.

But the parsnip recipe also called for bacon.  Yes please.  And one called for parsley, which I thought sounded both tasty and attractive.  Half and half?  Don't have any.  Milk will have to do.  Chicken stock?  I could.  But since most of my recipes call for chicken stock, how about beef stock in here? Let's switch it up a little bit. 

It was a triumph.  I love it when that happens.  But I think what makes it so wonderful is that all of the details worked.  A combination of what I felt like cooking, and what I had in the house, but also taking into consideration what each of my loved ones would like.  There was love involved in the preparation of this meal, and it showed.

It was just like He said:  All of these things worked together, and it was good. 

~ "you shall rejoice in your feast" ~

Deuteronomy 16:14

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