creamy vegan mushroom soup

today's chilly weather reminded me of the creamy vegan-friendly mushroom soup we had last week. like many people, i prefer to eat non-vegan friendly things because – to me – eating vegan is hard and sort of unnecessary ... so says the person who cannot eat meat, bread, pasta, DAIRY, eggs, starches, legumes, etc. anyways. i had little faith in the idea of a tasty creamy soup without cream or butter or anything.

ingredients

• 12ounces of mushrooms (we used three 4ounce mixed pkg of baby bella, oyster and shiitake) 
• 1 package cauliflower 
• 1 medium sized white onion
• 2 cups of vegetable stock
• Bragg's liquid amino (soy sauce substitute) 
• worcestershire sauce 
• garlic 
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard 

how 

• boil cauliflower until very soft; puree with some of the cooking water until completely smooth
• mince garlic and onion; spray pan with PAM, cook until translucent 
• add coarsely chopped mushrooms, cook on medium until the juice in the mushrooms completely evaporate, then begins to caramelize on the bottom of the pot 
• add cauliflower puree, stir and add veggie stock to a slightly water consistency, stir. the soup will thicken as it simmers - if it looks dry, add more stock or water 
• add salt and pepper to taste, 1/2 tsp worcestershire, 1/2 tsp Bragg's to taste – add desired amount of each 
• add 1/2 tbsp of dijon mustard, stir, simmer for at least an hour – taste and re season if necessary
• serve immediately (and with other veggies, if desired)  

makes just enough for two. also note that using 12ounces of mushrooms made the soup VERY chunky ... 8ounces is probably enough! we also topped ours with onion and tomato. 

in other news. i spent the past few days in miami celebrating my sister's bachelorette. if you're thinking i cheated: you are correct. i also missed my weigh in. OH WELL. here's to a successful next week!