SqABQ2vaBiRwOmiKY86G4RLCZRM

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Loaded Low Carb Cauliflower Soup

Living a low carb lifestyle is a lot easier when you have a partner to live it with! Some moments are hard, but I have been working diligently to make meals, snacks and even desserts that are lower in carb, healthy and taste good enough that we don't miss the unhealthy things. Skillet Pizza, Crustless Quiche, and now a warm, hearty soup? The chances of staying on track are looking good!

We had another major snowstorm here in Michigan. There were two days in a row where we were able to go outside without a jacket... and we thought... SPRING IS HERE! Then BAM. 7 inches (at least) in one day. Let's just say that I was less than prepared for a snowstorm as far as groceries go. Then I remembered the head of cauliflower I had in the fridge that needed to be used up. So a loaded low carb cauliflower soup was calling my name!


This is simple, and fills you up easily. Here is what you need:

* 1 Cauliflower head
* 1 Large onion
* 1 Leek
* 1 tbs of olive oil
* 2 tbs of butter
* 3 1/2 cups of vegetable or chicken broth (or can do half and half)
* Food processor
* 6 pieces of bacon
* shredded cheese (your choice but I used colby jack blend)

Lets begin!
Chop the onion and leek. If you do not know how to chop a leek, never fear. Google it and watch the video and in seconds, you will know how. For speed, here is one you can use! Super easy and you want the flavor from it, so don't skip it if you can help it!
Saute the onion and leek together with the olive oil and butter for about 3 - 4 minutes. Do not brown
While those are sauteing, cut the cauliflower into florets, chopping the stem into small pieces. Toss them in with the onion and leek and saute them all together for about 2-3 minutes.
Pour in your broth. Bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer for around 20 minutes. You want the cauliflower very soft. While that is simmering, cook your bacon - crisp so that you can crumble it.
When finished, spoon into a food processor and puree until it is smooth. You may have to do this in halves. Mine didn't all fit in the food processor at once, so I spooned about half in, pureed, then poured that into a soup pot, and did it again with the second half. Be careful as you do not want to lose your broth all over the counter. So go slow.
Warm the soup, crumble your bacon and grab your cheese! You have a nice, low carb, hearty bowl of soup to keep you warm while we wait for winter to end!

Enjoy!

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Antique Booth Move



Sometimes, a change is good. And that's what we are hoping for with this antique booth move. A booth became available in a different part of the building, in a main aisle, and I just couldn't pass it up. There was a storefront design already built up in front of it, which I believe gives it an inviting, cozy feeling.  As usual, I forgot to take before pictures... I just can't figure out how to remind myself to do that! I will try to explain what it looked like before we got our hands on it. Below the blue, where the pink is around the windows... that was a bright bright red. The inside of the booth was a bright yellow. Since we were moving our shabby chic themed booth here, we decided on the pink. We have received a ton of compliments on it from staff and customers which has made me very happy!


I love the storefront look. We have lights coming down under the overhang to showcase some items. I thought the dress form would look lovely there, with a beautiful fur collar coat and a vintage shabby hat box to adorn.




We hung some light colored burlap on the top half of the booth, to give it some texture. I just love it!


Lighting is a must and we made sure to have plenty to showcase our items as best we could. 


So... what do you think? I just love it and I am excited to see where we go from here. Now, we just need it to stop blizzarding here in Michigan so that people can actually get to the antique mall!