Cream of Cauliflower Soup- March is Winter's Bone

March is rough. It's fine to muse on the waxing and waning of the seasons and the cycle of life, but philosophy is not going to get dinner on the table. Nature isn't, either. Greece has a share of troubles now, but there is always the generosity of nature. It's hard to feel worried and poor in the abundance of the weekly market- heaps of sparkling produce, a bounty that makes your arms ache. Except in March- not quite cold enough to turn on the heat but certainly not warm. A low gray sky nearly constantly, and nothing yet is in bloom. Last week's market was a poor sight- tired, colorless produce of little variety, picked over and the tables half empty by noon, and everything very expensive. The apples are less crisp, the oranges getting hollow, the herbs without vibrance, or even much scent. 

So, lent or no lent, I'm breaking out a can of milk. At least once a week we dine on whatever is around- no extra shopping- just fresh things and a little innovation. This was a handful of limp carrots, two potatoes, an onion, and a head of cauliflower that had lost its ivory glow and gone grayish. Nothing was past usefulness. Cosmetically, the cauliflower was not fit for steaming; the carrots without snap were not for eating raw, but they were still full of the sweetness of the cold weather vegetables. The dill and parsley had gone limp, but not yellowed. Their fragrance had ebbed, but on the plus side there was plenty of it. The creamy canned milk would smooth it all together, and make it more filling- turn this handful of sleepy vegetables into a meal, and an elegant one.

I scrubbed everything clean, then put the peelings and trimmings from all the vegetables in a pot- that's the core of the cauliflower, the outer 2 layers of the onion, peels of carrot and potato. I threw in all of the herb stems and most of the leaves, setting aside just a few to pretty up the soup. Also some peppercorns, a bay leaf, a garlic clove, and some salt. It needed just 15 minutes to simmer and there was a surprising amount of flavor to this impromptu stock- the rich, sweet, soothing flavor of winter. It was a little cloudy from the potato and a warm orange from the carrot. 

While it was simmering, I sauteed the onions in some butter in a larger pot: 

then added the diced potatoes and carrots in largish pieces:

I added the broth, gave these slower-cooking vegetables a five-minute head start, then added the cauliflower florets and the handful of herbs:

When the vegetables were tender. I pureed it with a stick blender, leaving some texture, and shamelessly added a can of evaporated milk just like it was 1965. I'm sure cream would be better, but this was really just fine. Everyone was warmed and sated, and anyway, what are you going to do with cherries when the sky is still so low and cold? We were happy with what we had, and if not exactly wealth, this is at least plenty.

p.s. wine is not always brilliant in cream things, but a half of a shot of hard liquor- whiskey in this case- gave glamour and depth.