Cauliflower Cheddar Soup

This little number is adapted from something Ricardo, everyone's favorite Quebecer, made. When it's finished, it tastes like the cheddary base of cheese n' broccoli soup. Next time I'm going to steam some broccoli, toss it in, and see how it goes. 

• 1 head cauliflower
  
• 1 c leek (one medium leek)
  
• 2 cloves garlic
  
• 1 potato (peeled)
  
• 2 Macintosh apples (peeled)
  
• 6 c "chicken" broth

Slice leeks, mince garlic. Sautee them in a soup pan. Cut up potato, cauliflower, and apples. Add potato, cauliflower, and broth to leeks/garlic. Cook for a bit. Add apples. Puree when all cooked up.

2-minute Chili Burger

This recipe originated from my failed attempt at Jessica's sultry chili. It makes an approximate eff-ton of chili and, having read the recipe wrong, I added about 4 times as much chili as called for. This made things a little spicy, shall we say. In order to cut the heat and use up some of my ungodly large supply of chili, I made these. I cannot emphasize enough how easy they are. 

Makes: 2 medium burgers

Ingredients:

• 1 can of your favorite vegetarian chili (or about a cup of home-made)
  
• about 1 c vital wheat gluten 
  

Pour chili into a bowl and mash up the beans; more mashed usually works a little better. Add gluten, mix thoroughly, and start kneading. If your chili dough isn't staying together, add more gluten. Knead it until the gluten is clearly doin' its thang (this will make the dough look stringy), then taste it and make sure it tastes chili-y enough (not all chilis are spiced the same). Then divide and form patties. Pan fry or bake. As a person of little patience, I bake on a high temperature, and sometimes fry and THEN bake. Once firm, those babies are ready to eat. I like mine on toast with vegenaise.