Slow economy, slow food, slow down..

I was reading one of my cosmetic industry magazines and they had a small article about how women are stressed about the economy and state of the union. I feel this strain as well (especially after paying bills yesterday, and accounting our spending for four months, yikes!) they found that women splurge during these tough times on bath/cosmetics. While yay for me, and is it biased (it is a cosmetic mag after all) so I tried to think back on my own impulse purchases or wants since the first Dow free fall. Yeah I have wanted more bath stuff, I was able to swap my products with other Etsy sellers for some great products. I guess the cosmetics and bath product don't make us worry about our waistlines like chocolate, or how our bust line looks in a blouse. It's one size fits all, doesn't make you look fat, shouldn't make you break out, and should always make you look and feel better. Who doesn't want that while they watch their stocks move like a roller coaster at Islands of Adventure. While looking at that financial break down I also noticed a trend in our life, eating out. I'm not talking going to nobu for sushi, more like Carl's Jr for chicken nuggets, and I don't even like fast food. So I am back to the way my mama raised me cooking at home, there is even a whole movement behind it called Slow Food. Most meals can be made in half an hour with a little prep, and some sesame street on TV. Monday I made a cauliflower soup that was reminiscent of the baked potato soup from bennigans, and then revamped it last night with some saffron powder and an ounce of goat cheese. It does require some heavy machinery (a food processor or blender) but hey most of us have that in our kitchens. So here if you want an extra kick use one of the colored cauliflowers (I used one head of yellow and a normal white):
Serves six
2 heads cauliflower roughly chopped
1/2 sweet onion chunked
3 T butter
1/2 c heavy whipping cream
cooked crumbled bacon
shredded cheddar
sliced green onion, green part only
chicken broth to boil the cauliflower and onion in, about 20 min, or until tender
Spoon a third of the cauliflower/onion mixture and enough of the boiling liquid to blend to a nice puree. Add one tablespoon butter and some of the cream, blend smooth, and empty into a serving bowl and continue with the rest of the cauliflower mix (it took me about three fill/blend/empty reps with a standard Cuisinart) stir to combined all batches and serve each bowl with some crumbled bacon, shredded cheese, and slivered green onions. Leftovers refrigerate well, reheat on the stove with an ounce of goat cheese and a pinch or more of saffron powder, mmmmmm.