Dark Days - Week #1

As we get into our first Dark Days meal, we find that this is going to be more difficult than first imagined. As we perused the vegetable aisle at our local "local" grocery store, the fall/winter vegetables that we figured would be from around here ended up not...So we had to improvise (have a feeling this is going to be a theme over the next 4 months).

Meal #1

Cauliflower-Apple Soup with Apple Cider Reduction
Baked Chicken
Washington Viognier/Roussanne

1 Cup apple cider (Hood River, OR)
2 tsp Olive Oil (Exempted - Tried to find local oil - Failed)
2 Cups chopped onion (Washington)
2 tsp Madras curry powder (Exempted)
1 tsp chopped garlic (Washington)
6 Cups Cauliflower florets (Willamette Valley, OR - Had to purchase frozen as all of the fresh cauliflower is from California)
5 Cups chicken broth (homemade stock from mad hatcher chickens and local root vegetables that we canned earlier in the year)
1 gala apple - peeled, cored and chopped (Washington)
1/3 Cup Half and Half (Kent, WA)
2 tsp Fresh Lemon Juice (Exempted)
3/4 tsp Salt (Bonaire, Caribbean - I know this isn't local, but we picked this up when we were on vacation so it feels more local than the stuff we'd get at the grocery store)
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper (Exempted)

1. Bring the apple cider to a boil in a small saucepan. Cook until cider is reduced to 1/4 cup (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat, and cool to room temperature.
2. Heat oil in a large Dutch over over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan; saute 3 minutes. Add curry powder and garlic to pan; saute 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add cauliflower, broth and apple, bringing to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes or until cauliflower is very tender.
3. Remove pan from heat; cool 5 minutes. Place half of cauliflower mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining cauliflower mixture. Return to pot. Stir in half and half; cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until throughly heated (do not boil). Remove from heat; stir in juice, salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Ladle about 1 cup soup into each of 8 bowls; drizzle each serving with 1-1/2 teaspoons cider reduction. Garnish with coarsely ground pepper, if desired. Yield: 8 servings. (Recipe taken from CookingLight: December 2008).

Preheat oven to 375. Place chicken breasts in a oven proof container. Sprinkle with turmeric, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Bake for appropriately 35 minutes.

Paired the meal with a Darby Winery 2009 "le Deuce" Columbia Valley Viognier/Roussanne