Cauliflower it's what's for dinner

Cauliflower recipes are everywhere. It seems you can do more with it than you can with chicken; which is great because I'm not a huge fan of chicken. For most of my life I had the notion that cauliflower should be eaten raw and broccoli cooked. For the past couple years however, I've used it as a replacement for dairy in sauces, grilled like a steak, as a "burger" and this past week; spicy cauliflower soup.

This soup is definitely a keeper. Let's start with the fact that an entire medium head of cauliflower has about 150 calories, it's low in fat, has no cholesterol and it's relatively inexpensive, – can you say healthy!  Of course you can.

Spices

1 Tbsp. olive or coconut oil

2 medium yellow onions, diced

1 bay leaf

1 1/4 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. ground turmeric

1/2 tsp. ground coriander

1/8 tsp. ground cardamom

Dash of ground black pepper

Sprinkling of crushed red pepper flakes

4 garlic cloves, minced

Sustenance

4 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1 large head of cauliflower, roughly chopped to the same size

Finish

1 cup canned coconut milk

1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium temperature. Add all the spice ingredients, except for the garlic. Sauté, stirring occasionally until the onions become translucent, about 10 minutes. Then, add the garlic and sauté another few minutes. 

Add the sustenance ingredients and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, until the cauliflower is fork tender. 

Remove from heat and transfer carefully to a blender. Blend on high (allowing steam to vent) for a few minutes, until silky and smooth. 

Return to the soup pot and stir in the coconut milk and vinegar. Bring back to heat over low, ensuring it doesn't boil. Serve with crusty French bread and a green salad.

Enjoy!

Relaxing with Chili

After spending the better part of last week in Dallas at a work event, I was happy to come home, sleep in my own bed, pet Camille and hang out with Dan. I really enjoyed the company meeting it was the first time I had the opportunity to meet all of my coworkers and I have to say - I work with a lot of very nice and very talented people.

The trip down had a bit of excitement tho, just after we took off the flight attendant asked if there were any medical personnel on board. After the 3rd call and no response we noticed that the plane seemed to be charting a new course. As it turned out, the sutures of a passenger who had recently had surgery had opened up and he needed medical attention so, off to Omaha we went.

I've never been on a flight with a medical emergency but I thought we would land, he would be taken off the aircraft and we would be on our merry way - not exactly the way things turned out. An ambulance pulled up next to the aircraft, the passenger was removed, put in the ambulance, sewed up, returned to the aircraft and after filing new flight plans and refueling we were back in the air!

We had some great sessions and fun events at our company meeting. We visited a nice brewery, had an awesome dinner at a farm to table restaurant and I attended my first ever rodeo - bucking broncos here we come. For those of you who know me and my love of "fair junk food" - yes I did break down and have a corn dog - I'm good for about 5 years now - but it was good and it had lots of mustard so delicious!

So after a week of indulgences I was hungry for chili - spicy chili. A couple weeks ago I stocked up on beans and I still had some frozen tomato sauce from the garden which I used up in this dish; it was worth it. The chili was spicy and filled with peppers, onions, tomatoes, 3 kinds of beans and  southwestern corn - it really hit the spot. I served it with with homemade sweet cornbread.

Vegetarian Chili
Olive oil
1 large red onion - finely diced
2 peppers (I used a combination of red/yellow and green) - chopped
4 cloves garlic - minced
cayenne pepper to taste
crushed red pepper to taste
cumin to taste
1 can southwest corn
2 cans diced tomatoes with green chills
4 cups tomato sauce
1 can black beans - rinsed and drained
1 can dark red kidney beans
1 can white beans
1/3 package Quorn crumbles

Directions
In a pot, heat olive oil, add onion and cook until translucent. Add peppers, garlic, cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper and cumin, cook until peppers are soft.

To the pot add diced tomatoes, beans, corn and tomato sauce, cover pot, reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes. Taste, adjust seasoning, add quorn crumbles and simmer for 15- 20 minutes. Garnish with avocado slices, cilantro, and chopped green onions, serve with cornbread.

Valentines Day is this weekend - remember to give your sweetie a hug and let them know how much you care. If you have any favorite Valentine Day dishes, send them my way; especially if they are sweet I'm looking for ideas.