Mushroom cauliflower

Start two cups of water boiling in a pot with steamer inserts. I have one like this that has two levels, which is handy. If you don’t have a steamer, you could just use a pot and put the vegetables straight into the water since you will be blending the cooking liquid into the soup anyway. Peel and coarsely chop the onion and garlic and add to the bottom steamer. Wash the mushrooms and cauliflower. Break up the cauliflower head into florets and add them to the top level of the steamer once the onion and garlic have been going for about 6 minutes. Wait about 2 minutes, then add the mushrooms and steam for another 4 minutes. These steaming times are not exact, and at the end you should check the cauliflower to make sure it is cooked. Here’s a schematic of my suggested steaming times: Once the vegetables are cooked, transfer them to your Vitamix or Blendtec pitcher. If you like you can set some aside for garnish. Measure the remaining steaming water, and top it off to 2 cups to make up whatever water boiled off during steaming, and add it to the pitcher. Then add the nuts, salt and pepper (I used 10 whole peppercorns). Make sure the lid is on tight, start on low speed, and ramp up to high and blend until smooth. Garnish with some vegetables, nuts, and chives.