let's give the birthday boy some bacon love!

{don't be distracted by the new polka dot dinnerware -- this is a really good hearty soup!}

you all know my food twin, right? after all, he IS way more popular than i am! and you all know how much he loves bacon, so much that family bring him bacon as pasalubong! so, in honor of his anniversary (yesterday) and his birthday (today), i'm writing a second post for today and it's all about today's dinner which i made in his honor:

pototo, cauliflower, corn, and BACON chowder*

*recipe adopted from here! notes from me!!!

cauliflower, chopped (1 big head, or several small heads)

1 large potatoes, diced (the smaller the dice, the faster they'll cook)

chicken stock (2 chicken bouillion cubes in around 1.5 liters of water)

1 can of corn kernels, drained

crumbled bacon (a lot, like around 250 grams. btw - purefoods actually has this now!)

3 to 4 cloves garlic

1/8 cup butter

1 large onion

salt and pepper to taste

method:

1. in the pan where you'll make the soup, fry the bacon. no need to make it crisp, just cooked! remove from pan, set aside.

2. melt the butter in the same pan (which will have a bit of fat rendered from the bacon, yum!). add garlic and onions and lightly fry till onion is transparent. DO NOT BROWN.

3. add the cauliflower and the potatoes. add enough chicken stock till the cauliflower and potatoes are covered.

4. bring to a simmer and allow to cook until the cauliflower and potatoes are cooked.

5. using an immersion blender, blend the soup. OR, allow to cool a bit then transfer to blender to mix. 

    * now after blending, you'll know whether your soup is perfectly thick or too thin. mine was, so i made roux with butter, onions, and flour and added it to the soup. it thickened a bit!

6. add corn and bacon. season with salt and pepper. simmer for 15 minutes.

7. serve warm! to make the soup a bit more special (and since i had a lot of it), i sprinkled parmesan cheese on top which became a "soft crust" that you can break into.