Indian Whole Roasted Cauliflower

The new kitchen has been humming this week I’ve been working on preserving the harvest (to have summer in the dead of MN winter), searching for new recipes to try and making some favorites - I’m totally enjoying my new kitchen. 

I was at the farmers market last weekend and found a beautiful head of cauliflower. My initial reaction was to make buffalo cauliflower - because I have developed an intense like of buffalo cauliflower - but I decided I wanted to try baking/roasting in my new oven. 

Most of my adult life I’ve had an electric stove but with the remodel, Dan wanted to switch over to gas. I had my reservations, after all I had the steaming of veggies on my electric stove down to the minute to create the perfect result. It’s not tragic, I just need to devise a new “perfect system.” 

But back to the cauliflower. A few years ago I was riding back to the airport in Dallas with my then boss Anne Lapkin and she was telling me about this delicious recipe for a yogurt and spiced cauliflower. It sounded really good and I tucked the idea in the recesses of my mind to pull out for a rainy day. That day was last week. 

I was searching for a whole roasted cauliflower recipe on Pinterest and came across a number of them that looked delicious and then that memory returned so I refined my search a bit and found an amazing recipe on Pure Wow’s blog. I made some adjustments based on dietary and ingredients we had in the kitchen. The end result was delicious and we had the leftovers for dinner tonight. I even got a “You should make this again it was delicious” from Dan. 

If you want the Pure Wow recipe go here 

Here is my recipe with some changes.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 head cauliflower

1½ cups plain coconut milk yogurt

1 lime juiced (I had tiny key limes and used  1 1/2)

2 tablespoons chile powder

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon curry powder

2 teaspoons sea salt 

1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 400° and lightly grease a small baking sheet with vegetable oil. 

2.  Trim the base of the cauliflower to remove any green leaves and the woody stem.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the yogurt with the lime juice, chile powder, cumin, garlic powder, curry powder, salt and pepper.

4. Place the cauliflower in at the prepared baking dish. Slowly pour the marinade evenly over its surface making sure to cover the entire head. 

5. Roast the cauliflower for 40 - 50 minutes until the surface is dry and lightly browned.  The marinade will make a crust on the surface of the cauliflower.

6. Let the cauliflower cool for 10 minutes before cutting it into wedges and serving.

We served ours with a salad of corn, cukes, tomatoes, and a field roast sausage. On leftover night we served it with a green salad and fresh fruit. 

I’m so happy to be back to blogging and cooking - thanks for stopping by!

A Vegetarian for One Year is Back

I’m back and it feels so good. Never in my dreams did I expect a kitchen remodel to take 15 weeks. It’s been hell but I must say I love the end result. On the flip side, I’ve missed blogging and connecting with all of you. It doesn’t mean I’ve not been cooking, I have but it hasn’t been glamorous  - mostly microwave, toaster oven and some grilling. It’s so nice to have a stove and a dishwasher whose name is Whirlpool (Dan’s been excited to give up that role) who does all the work.

This years garden is doing well. We’ve been eating tomatoes for a while now - in salads, with feta, basil and balsamic, in bruschetta and on sandwiches. My last trip to the garden landed 6 beets, 3 cucumbers and a shirt full of tomatoes - thank goodness to friends and neighbors who like veggies. 

We tried a new cherry tomato this year; Rapunzel. It is a small cherry with a deliciously sweet flavor and a light skin. Our neighbors planted them last year and I had a few tastes while taking care of their dog. I was hooked and made a note of the type so that I was sure to get a plant or two for this year. They take a little longer to mature but they are worth it. 

We’ve made it through bean and sugar snap pea season - there are a few beans lingering out there which I’ll bring in with today’s run and we had our first cabbage, which we turned into curried cabbage and onions. My experiment this year was beets and they are delicious, I can’t wait to turn a few of them into Beet Rubens with my home made marinated vegetables (in place of sauerkraut). 

Our first entertaining in the new kitchen will be on Tuesday and we’re having the newlyweds (Alona and Nate) over. So stay tuned for my first food blog. In the interim I’ll post a couple pictures of what we’ve been eating since I’ve been away. 

A Cook Without a Kitchen!

Hello Hello, it’s been too long since my last post. LIFE. IS. CRAZY. BUSY! We’ve been working our way through the kitchen remodel, Dan’s daughter’s upcoming wedding, planting the garden, work travel and just normal everyday stuff. 

The remodel is going pretty well, demolition is done, electrician is nearly done and we’re waiting to iron out a few things with the plumber. Next up inspections and sheetrock. Once the walls are back up cabinets and countertops should go pretty quickly so we’re excited and looking forward to cooking in the new kitchen. 

In the mean time we’ve put together a make-shift kitchen in the bar downstairs and we’ve been using the grill, hotplate and microwave for our meal prep. A couple pictures of some of our cooking adventures are below; grilled salmon with onions and zucchini, veggie stirfry with vegetarian Field Roast sausages and our favorite - the giant salad.

We have eaten out a few times, although not as often as I thought we would and I’m happy about that. I also spent 3 days in Dallas for work, it was a nice construction break and I got to see my coworkers - new and old - who I haven’t seen for a couple years. 

On the wedding front, I am sure it will be a beautiful day, regardless what Mother Nature decides to give us. Alona and Nate have planned a lovely ceremony, at a local park, with a large picnic shelter. Dresses are purchased, food is organized, flowers and cakes are ordered all that is left is the fun part. 

I’ve been asked what is the first think I will make in my new kitchen - aside from a mess I’m thinking I’ll roast some seasonal vegetables, make some vegan cheese and a loaf of focaccia - I can taste it already. I’ve also been eyeing some vegan sausage recipes on Pinterest and of course by the time the kitchen is ready the garden will be in full swing. 

We’re looking forward to getting back to normal and posting regularly on the blog again. 

Thanks for stopping by.

Making the Best of a Bad Situation

Remember last week when I said Mother Nature was in a bad mood and it was snowing - well this week she is PISSED.  Not sure why but we’ve got one hell of a storm heading our way with predictions of 12 inches of snow, ice, sleet - well you name it, it’s coming. 

So I guess the only thing to do is cook right? In anticipation of Snowmageddon I took a trip to the grocery store yesterday and got some groceries and this afternoon I cooked up a batch of vegetarian tortilla soup and vegan gluten free sweet potato flat bread - nom nom nom delicious. 

Before I get into recipes, what is it about bad weather that drives people to the grocery store - because honestly if you are like me you have enough food in your freezer/pantry to get you through weeks or the zombie apocalypse (which ever comes first). 

I was talking to my friend Irene (who lives in Texas) today and she said they were looking at tornados and bad storms, which she says always empties out the bread, milk and eggs out of the store - we both had a good laugh.  

So back to food and recipes :-) 

The tortilla soup was easy to prepare, chopping and dicing took about 15 minutes and the rest was crock pot magic. To be honest I broke my number one rule - saute onions in a pan before putting them into the crock pot - and at 5pm I was annoyed. I ended up pouring the soup into a stock pot, putting it on the stove and cooking it until it was done. Next time - do not skip the golden rule - saute onions first!

The sweet potato bread was an experiment - while we are not gluten free - the recipe looked interesting and it did not disappoint. While Dan likes his fluffy bread I love the dense texture and the flavor of the sweet potato and spices. I will definitely make this again.

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

2 cans pinto beans (if you are a purist you can make them from scratch in your nifty  instant pot)

1 onion - diced

3 - 4 cloves of garlic - thinly sliced

3 cups tomatoes - diced

1 -2 jalepeno peppers - thinly sliced

4 - 5 cups veggie broth 

1 T chili powder

1 tsp cumin

tortilla chips (optional)

avocados (optional)

Instructions:

Saute onion in a pan with 1 T of olive oil until translucent. Add onion and all ingredients into a crock pot and cook on high for 3 - 4 hours. Serve with tortilla chips and avocado

Sweet Potato Flatbread

First, thanks to The Healthy Apple for the recipe, you can find the full version with totally awesome photos here

Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato peeled and diced

1 Tbsp. ground flaxseeds

3 Tbsp. water

2 1/2 cups almond flour

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. fresh chopped rosemary

1/2 tsp. sea salt plus an extra pinch

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.Steam the sweet potato in a steamer basket in a pot on the stove top until tender, about 10 minutes over medium high heat.

Combine the flaxseeds and water in a small bowl and set aside for 10 minutes or until the mixture becomes gel-like then mix well.

In a large bowl, mash the cooked sweet potatoes. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well to form a 'dough'. Transfer the 'dough' to a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet and flatten with your hands into a ½ inch thickness.

Bake for 35 minutes or until the flatbread is golden brown and the edges turn golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 20 minutes.

Cut into rectangle pieces and serve.

Braving the Cold with A Vegetarian for One Year

Mother Nature is obviously in a very bad mood; it’s April 8th and snowing in Minnesota. A few minutes ago a snow plow went down the street - the plow was up but at the ready should it be needed. I need Spring SOON!

We had a great hike with Dan’s sister Sue and her husband Brian today. We walked for a little more than an hour and then headed over to the falls. They were beautiful (see below), the falls were free flowing but there were beautiful what I will call stalactites and stalagmites on either side. There was a beautiful blue hue to the ice; - the photos do not do it justice. 

Cold weather always makes me crave something warm with a bit of spice, soups and stews are the ticket. I’d been saving a head of cauliflower for either a curry or buffalo wings but opted for a Thai oriented dish - it was a good choice. 

Dan was at a meeting so I had lots of time to pour myself a glass of wine and spend some quality time in the kitchen alone. I put on some music and chopped, sautéed and simmered. 

Cauliflower, Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew

Ingredients:

1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

4 cloves garlic sliced

1 tsp ground cumin 

1 tsp turmeric

6 tomatoes chopped

1 can coconut milk

1 cup water

1 sweet potato peeled and cubed

1 small cauliflower chopped

1 tsp sea salt

3 tbsp crunchy peanut butter

Juice 1/2 lime

1 tsp soy sauce

Chilli flakes

Fresh cilantro

Directions

Add the oil to a large pan with a lid and heat to a medium heat then add in the onion. Fry for approximately 8-10 minutes until soft and browning. Add in the garlic, cumin & turmeric and stir for 30 seconds.

Add in the chopped tomatoes and cook for 5-6 minutes then add in the water, coconut milk, sweet potatoes and cauliflower. Simmer for 20 minutes covered until the sweet potatoes and cauliflower are tender.

Stir in the peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce, a healthy sprinkle of red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Simmer for a 5 - 10 minutes. Serve in bowls and top with fresh cilantro. 

We served this with avocado toast and a glass of wine - it was relish. 

Baba Ganoush Sans Tahini

We did it - we hired a contractor to remodel our kitchen. It’s exciting, a bit freaky and unnerving and of course there is the construction. To be honest, I never realized how dated our kitchen was until I saw it on the big screen at the remodelers office - yikes. In May that will all change - new kitchen here we come. I’ll start with a little preview of color and materials that we picked out. 

If you know me, you know that navigating through any kind of remodel/construction is not something I do well - I hate a mess, especially one I have little to no control over. We’ll have to take it one day at a time and hope for the best - as Dan says “Let’s hope we’re still married at the end” ever the optimist I say!

We’re planning to move our microwave, toaster oven and hotplate to the basement, where we have a wet bar and we hope to do a fair amount of grilling - with luck we’ll be good. I’m envisioning 6 weeks of interesting and creative blog posts. If you have suggestions/recipes for cooking in limited circumstances please send them my way. 

I love eggplant and Dan is a huge fan of Baba Ghanoush - which is tasty but for me the tahini takes over the entire dish. In my opinion a little tahini goes a long way. I was a the grocery store the other day and noticed a brand of hummus I hadn’t seen before; Lantana - they had some delicious flavors such as Siracha Carrot and Spicy Black Bean all sans tahini. It got me thinking; what if I made Baba Ghanoush without tahini? So I gave it a shot and it’s delicious and I don’t miss the tahini. Actually the smoky eggplant flavor comes through in a delicious way - I encourage you to give it a try!

This recipe makes about 1 cup has 6 ingredients and after you roast the eggplant it takes minutes to put together. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds of eggplant

3 T. extra virgin olive oil

1 T. fresh lemon juice

2 - 3 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 t. coarse sea salt

A few grinds of pepper

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 F. Wash and dry eggplant before pricking several times all over with a sharp knife. Place on a baking sheet and place in oven to roast for about 45 minutes or until eggplants are soft to the touch and look deflated.

Allow roasted eggplants to cool completely.  You can even roast them the day before and store them in plastic wrap at room temperature until ready to use. Cut off the stems, slice lengthwise and remove the flesh and place in a blender.

Add the oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper.  Blend on high until smooth and creamy.  Serve at room temperature or chilled with wedges of pita bread. Also good as a spread for sandwiches.   

Enjoy!

There Once Was a Noodle Called Buckwheat

Happy Tuesday - I hope everyone survived St. Paddy’s Day. Every St Pat’s day in my youth was celebrated by family with corned beef and cabbage - by me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I was  never a fan. To celebrate the day I baked a couple loaves of bread; Irish soda and Guinness and honey. They were both good but I have to say the Guinness was my favorite. We went to a St Paddy's Day, 60th Birthday, 34th wedding anniversary party where, as luck would have it for Dan, there was plenty of corned beef and cabbage. He was in heaven.

Fast forward to Sunday and it’s time for another cooking adventure - Sesame soba noodles with broccoli and tofu - it was so delicious. If you are looking for a gluten free version substitute tamarin for the soy sauce and be sure to use 100 pure buckwheat noodles. Buckwheat is not a wheat but a plant in the carrot family (who knew), it is the seed kernels of the flowers, and is low in fat, high in iron, and gluten free. 

This recipe took approximately 35 - 40 minutes to prepare. It’s great as a main dish or you can leave out the tofu and serve it as a side. You can mix up other vegetables like carrots, peppers or zucchini - you are only limited by your imagination. 

Ingredients:

6.5 ounces of 100% buckwheat noodles

1 - 2 Tbsp of oil of choice - I used chili oil

1 head of broccoli - broken into florets

1/4 onion thinly sliced

1 - 2 tbsp white sesame seeds

1 package of extra firm tofu

Cilantro 

For Dressing:

1 tbsp maple syrup

1 tbsp sesame oil 

4 tsp rice vinegar or lime juice

3-4 tbsp tamari (for GF version) or soy sauce

1-2 tsp freshly grated ginger, adjust to taste

Instructions:

Prepare the noodles according to the instructions, stirring them a few times during cooking to avoid clumps. When the noodles are cooked refresh them in cold tap water and drain.

Drain the tofu and remove excess moisture with paper towels. Cut into 1 inch cubes and stir fry until the outside is lightly crisp. 

Divide broccoli into similar size florets. Heat up 1-2 tbsp of chili oil (or other stir-frying oil) and stir-fry the broccoli florets until tender yet still crunchy – about 3-5 minutes depending on the size. Add the onion and stir fry another minute or two.

Gently roast the sesame seeds on a dry frying pan. Remove them from the heat when they are fragrant and a golden brown.

In a separate bowl, mix all the dressing ingredients together, taste and adjust the amount of ginger to your liking. Place the cold noodles in a large bowl. Mix the dressing through it. Add broccoli/onion mixture and tofu; sprinkle with sesame seeds and cilantro. 

Thanks for stopping by!