Soup x 2

For my first time trying out recipes from Appetite for Reduction, I couldn't decide between the Butternut-Apple Soup and the Cauliflower Pesto Soup, so I made both.

While it was a little odd to have two different soups for dinner, the contrast between the green and the orange was nice.  Both soups were very simple and quick to make, and both tasted fine, but neither blew me away.  The butternut-apple soup wasn't as appley as I would have preferred; it basically tasted like every other butternut soup I've ever had, including the kind that comes in a box.  The cauliflower-pesto was more unique; the recipe involves simmering cauliflower in broth until it's soft, then removing it from the heat and blending in lots of basil.  I love the idea of blending basil into soup, but I thought it could have used more.  (Maybe I should just eat pesto as a soup?  Yum!)  Also, I prefer chunky soups so if I make this again I'll pulverize the basil before adding it to the soup, and leave the cauliflower florets in tact.  This soup did inspire me to try adding more herbs to soups, though, and I think I'll be making a potato-basil or potato-cilantro soup soon.