Creamy Cauliflower Soup

I adore cauliflower. In my book, it can do no wrong. As much as I love it, I can't believe I've never made a soup with cauliflower as the main ingredient. This soup's title is Creamy Cauliflower Soup and it is indeed creamy but the good news is---there's NO cream! How can that be, you ask? Read on......

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

2 T olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 medium cauliflower, cut in 2 inch chunks
1/4 cup raw cashews
2 T tahini
4 cups of water
1/4 avocado, chopped up
salt and pepper to taste
some chopped fresh parsley
a good hot sauce

Heat the oil in a soup pot and sauté onion for 5 minutes--throw in the garlic and stir around for a minute or so. Add four cups of water and the cauliflower, cashews, and tahini. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Let cool five minutes. Transfer to a blender (or use a hand-held immersion blender to puree the soup directly in the pot) and blend in the avocado until it's all smooth. An aside: if you don't already have one of these hand-held blenders--go get one! Season with salt and pepper. I garnished with fresh parsley and added a swirl of hot sauce-what could it hurt?