"Rock Soup"...

 For those familiar with the culinary fable "Rock Soup", a story that speaks of how a weary, hungry traveler is able to convince the inhabitants of a small village to contribute what they can spare to his offering of water and a stone, the making of soup can be easy. Little more than an onion, a bit of butter (or olive oil), and some of whatever vegetable is in season are all that's needed to create a satisfying warm pot. You can dress it up in numerous ways, but the base itself need not be complicated.

 San Francisco and the rest of the West Coast have had it relative easy this Winter compared to those further east, even going so far as to inspire firing up the grills only a couple of weeks ago. This all changed severely this past week as extensive rain swept through the Bay Area, giving way at times to hail and even some snow. A perfect time for a hardy soup or two. I couldn't resist a simple favorite of pureed cauliflower topped with a little mound of roasted golden beets. Just softened an onion in a cube of butter over medium heat, added the head of cauliflower (broken into small segments), covered with some  parchment paper, and let it "sweat"; slowly extracting the moisture of the vegetable, densifying the flavor, and making all more tender. Once soft to a pairing knife, added cool water to cover (using a chicken or vegetable stock would also work well), and simmered until the liquid came to temperature, then pureed with a hand mixer. Roasted the beets in a little butter, olive oil, salt, and pepper, while saving the green tops which were then sauteed in garlic and olive oil. When chopped and combined, the two made a nice topping for the silky white soup. A drizzle of olive oil over all, and... done.
 Soup can be made with nearly ANYTHING. Zucchini, broccoli, mushrooms, cardoons, celery root... Think it, and you can make it. Once set, a recipe can be played with by endless variations... some white wine or dry vermouth; slowly roast the vegetables first to further reduce the natural liquid, and thus intensifying the flavor; or come up with a topping to beak up the routine, etc. As to this last thought, Katie's pureed fennel soup with a crostini topped in Dungenous crab meat tossed in olive oil, lemon juice, and diced chive. In the midst of a great crab season, we use it whenever possible. (Often time's just covering the coffee table in newspaper, and tearing into the beauties!)

 A couple of day's into the storm, with hail bouncing off the roof tops that form part of our city view, Katie went all in: A hardy split pea soup with ham hock.  The result was rich and thick, chopped carrot and onion hidden about the peas, chunks of the smokey pork a treat when found. Little else to do but crack open a bottle of stout, and slice up a dry white cheddar. Soup... It is a good thing. (Recipes on request.)

(http://www.chez-gautier.com)