Creamy cauliflower soup

You know I really love Donna Hay Challenge. I was pretty excited about this month's challenge. It looked quite simple. I knew that I would have lighting issues, but this Sunday was such a bad day for me. And I don't mean only taking photos. Tears were streaming from trivial reasons, things I needed weren't there, everything was falling down or breaking down. So you see, there was no way I could do it. I mean I stood there with my tripod and a few photos that I took, and it wasn't the way it should. I wanted to get this impression that you are very close to a bowl of a soup. But I was stuck, angry, and sad, so I decide to give up this time. So I gave up tweaking, trying, looking for the best dark background, diluting the soup, trying to make paper napkin nicer. I just gave up and ate a bowl of the soup.
It was good idea. Sometimes it's just not the right time.
But the soup is very good. Even my boyfriend liked it, and he is actually fed up with creamy soups (especially one, that we were eating almost for a whole week). You would think that a cauliflower soup may be little bland, but this one is very balanced, mild but not bland, a little bit tangy (probably from crème fraîche I added). Enjoy it.

Creamy cauliflower soup

• 25 g butter 
• 1 brown onion, chopped (I used red one)  
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed 
• 1 bay leaf 
• 1,5 head cauliflower, chopped (leave 100 g for crumbs)
• 500 g potatoes, starchy potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 750 ml chicken stock 
• 500 ml milk 
• 125 ml single cream (I added crème fraîche)
• sea salt cracked 
• white pepper 
• 4-6 sprigs fresh thyme 

For parmesan cauliflower crumbs 

• 100 g cauliflower, chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil 
• 20 g parmesan, finely grated

Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat.
Add the onion, garlic, thyme and bay leaf and cook for 5-8 minutes or until onion has softened.
Add the cauliflower, potato, stock and milk, increase heat to medium and cook for 25-30 minutes or until cauliflower and potato is tender.
Remove from the heat and using a hand-held blender, blend until smooth.
Stir through the cream, salt and pepper.
While the soup is cooking, make the parmesan cauliflower crumbs.
Place the cauliflower, oil and parmesan in a bowl and toss to combine.
Heat a non-stick frying pan over high heat. Put the cauliflower, oil and parmesan in a bowl and toss to combine. Fry the cauliflower, stirring for 2 minutes or until golden and crisp.
Top soup with cauliflower crumbs to serve.

Cabbage rolls stuffed with minced meat and rice / Gołąbki [Polish food]

I don't know how it happens. Time just flies. It just feels like New Year Day was and it is the middle of the month! I wish days were longer.
We spent New Year's Day walking on a beach. It was beautiful, sunny day. How is your New Year going so far?

And later we cooked gołąbki.
I must admit I don't like to write about Polish cuisine. I feel that every statement I write can be denied. I know that somebody else can say at his/her home they do it differently. Even my parents don't agree when it comes to food, till this day there are things they eat differently or cook differently.
Gołąbki, literally means "little pigeons", but don't worry, it doesn't have anything in common with pigeons meat, don't worry. Apparently in Slav culture it was popular to name food (especially the ritual food) after animals.
Gołąbki are simple cabbage rolls stuffed with minced meat and rice or buckwheat (exactly buckwheat kasha/groats). I always thought it's quite difficult to make them, but actually it's very easy, the only tricky part is to lightly boil the cabbage and take off the leaves, when they are pretty hot, but that's it. The stuffing is pretty easy and the rest is done by boiling. They are perfect to freeze or to conserve in jars. My mum always makes a huge amount of them.
You can also buy a preprepared ones in Polish shops if you just want to try.
The sauce is important, without it you can find them a little bit bland. I love the gołąbki with tomato sauce, but mushroom sauce is also an option. You can serve it with potato purée, bread or enjoy them by themselves. 
It isn't the most photogenic food and it was to dark to make you step by step tutorial, but I hope you will enjoy them anyway.

Cabbage rolls stuffed with minced meat and rice / Gołąbki

• 1/2 cup rice
• 1 onion
• 1 cabbage 
• salt
• pepper
• 500 g minced meat (any meat will work pork, beef, lamb)
• water

Cook rice following the instructions on the package.
Sauté the onion in the butter for a short time.
Mix onion, rice and minced meat. Season it well with salt and pepper.
Wash a cabbage. Cut out its heart (leaves will be easier to remove).
Place the cabbage in a pot of boiling water (water shouldn't cover whole cabbage). Let it boil for a few minutes, just enough to make the leaves' stems soft enough to fold. Roll the cabbage and remove the outer leaves. Look out, they are hot.  Keep boiling and removing leaves until there are some.
If the stems seems quite thick, just trim them.
Layer a big pot with leftover cabbage leaves (i.e.. the one that were too small to stuff them). The cabbage layer will prevent rolls from burning.
Place a portion of the stuffing into the centre of each cabbage leaf.
First fold in right and left sides of the leaf and then roll it. Place in the pot.
Season every player of the cabbage rolls with salt.
Cover the rolls with a water.
Simmer for about 1 hour.
Prepare your favourite tomato or mushroom sauce. You may use a liquid from the cabbage rolls.