Fall feasting

I've been meaning to start cooking more often now that it's not 80 billion degrees outside anymore.  Two of my favorite things to make are no-knead bread and cheddar-cauliflower soup--they're both relatively easy (I don't do difficult when it comes to food) and together they combine to become the perfect meal that totally hits the spot on crisp fall days.  Before beginning, it's imperative to have some tunes to dance around to while prepping the ingredients as well as having a happy helper in the kitchen to lend a hand or two.

I cheated a bit and made the bread the day before; here's how it looks after it's just been taken out of the oven.  (It's best to make this on a cool day as the oven will totally heat up your entire house.)

After chopping up the onions and roasting them in the dutch oven (snicker), it's time to add the cauliflower.  Here's a cauliflower-browning action shot--can you feel the excitement?  Note the handle-cover thing-a-ma-jigs...if you use cast iron a lot, these are worth buying as they make it possible for you to actually hold onto the pot while you're stirring or using an immersion blender.  I think I bought the set at Williams-Sonoma.

Once you're finished adding the stock (I tweaked the recipe a bit and use vegetable stock rather than chicken), cream, blending and stirring in the cheese, this is what you will end up with.  I like to toast the bread to give it an extra little bit of crunch and dip it in my soup.  It's also been scientifically proven that Fiesta Ware actually increases the tastiness of all foods eaten off of it.