Cauliflower Two Ways

Raw Mashed Cauliflower (Substitute for Mashed Potatoes)
Courtesy of Kimberly Snyder
http://www.kimberlysnyder.net/blog/2010/02/21/raw-cauliflower-mashed-potatoes/

Modified for 1 serving

1.5 cup chopped small cauliflower florets
tblspoon olive oil
sea salt to taste
pepper to taste
dash of onion powder
sprinkle of rosemary
sprinkle of parsley flakes

Blend til smooth.

My boyfriend absolutely hates raw cauliflower. In fact, he despises this vegetable. Calls it the poopy version of broccoli.  The only other time that he will eat cauliflower is when I use it in an Indian Cauliflower Soup.  He tasted this raw cauliflower mixture and claimed it was pretty good!! It does  uncannily taste, look and feel like mashed potatoes. There is a slight cauliflower finish but it isn't as aggressive as when you bite into a raw cauliflower floret. Overall, I suggest that any non-cauliflower believer will find themselves liking this so hated vegetable in this raw recipe, the Indian cauliflower soup and roasted.


Roasted Spicy Cauliflower
Courtesy of Kirsten's My German Kitchen
http://www.mygermankitchen.com/2011/01/spicy-cauliflower-pasta-with-garlic.html

I modified this recipe according to a former co-worker's suggestions, who used to serve this dish in a restaurant. I only made enough for a single serving and I didn't measure anything.

chopped cauliflower florets
olive oil
sea salt
black pepper
chopped anchovies or anchovy paste
red pepper flakes or dried red chili peppers with seeds

Preheat the conventional oven to 400 degrees. Place chopped cauliflower florets in a zip-lock bag and add olive oil, anchovies, and red chili pepper. Shake and coat the cauliflower in mixture. Place on aluminum covered baking sheet. Roast for about 20 minutes. When using anchovy paste or anchovies, you do not need much as a little goes a long way. If you do not like anchovies, have no fear, as you cannot taste them once the cauliflower has cooked.

After I roasted the cauliflower, I decided to add it into an ad-hoc mac and cheese that I was making for myself. I used a box of Annie's white cheddar shells, added some preshredded Monterrey jack and cheddar cheese, a dash of Parmesan cheese, a tablespoon of butter, a little bit of almond milk, blanched broccoli and mushrooms. I also added red chili pepper flakes, and some onion salt to taste. The cauliflower was delicious in this creamy pasta! Next time I will try a recipe that uses cauliflower as a substitute for the macaroni in a mac and cheese recipe.

Brocolli Dill Salad and Orange Couscous

dill
brocolli florets
fennel
radishes
goat cheese

dressing
rice vinegar
white wine
ginger powder
onion powder
tarragon
parsley
pepper
salt

This was my boyfriend's creation but I had to share it because it was delicious! I paired it with the sizzling squid over orange couscous (cook couscous with orange and chicken broth).

I was elbows deep in paperwork at my new full time job when I got a surprise delivery of my favorite flowers.

Homemade Samosas!

I tried two dough recipes for making samosas and I tried to make a few using chickpea flour. I ultimately decided that it was best to use all purpose flour and I preferred the second recipe for dough as described below courtesy of Manu's Menu. I favored the filling at Sound'Spicy. You can try making samosas with beef or chicken but I prefer the traditional and vegetarian potato and pea filling.


Courtesy of Sound Spicy
http://soundspicy.blogspot.com/2011/04/samosa.html


Samosa Dough (with all purpose flour)
Makes:12 Serves:6

Ingredients:

Dough/Coating: 

• Maida / All-purpose flour - 1-1/2 cup
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• Ajwain/Carom seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Oil - 1 tbsp
• Yogurt/Curd - 1 tbsp
• Warm Water - 1/4 cup

Filling/Stuffing:

• Potato (medium size) - 3 
• Fresh green Peas - 1/2 cup
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Ginger - 1 inch piece
• Green chilly - 2
• Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
• Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
• Chaat masala - 1/2 tsp
• Amchoor powder - 1/2 tsp
• Lime juice - 1 tsp
• Cilantro - handful
• Salt

Chaat masala spice mix
Courtesy of the Epic Centre
http://www.theepicentre.com/Spices/chaatmasala.html


Ingredients


4 teaspoons amchur powder
3 teaspoons roasted cumin seeds, ground
3 teaspoons ground black salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pinch asafetida powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon roasted coriander seeds, ground
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon roasted fennel seeds or anise seed, ground
1/2 teaspoo ajwain
1/4 teaspoon ground dried mint
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika 


Samosa Dough from Manu's Menu 
http://www.manusmenu.com/samosas

Ingredients (makes 8 samosas):
1 cup flour
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
½ cup lukewarm water (to add little by little as required)
½ tbsp ajwain/carom seeds or cumin seeds (optional)

Grilled Vs. Stone Baked Pizza

Grilled pizza is quick, requires little to no prepping or preheating but if you aren't careful, you can easily ruin a pizza that you've spent hours making. The trick is to be precise, vigilant and to oversee the pizza while it is being grilled.

 Cooking on a stone gave my pizza a calzone feel to it because it literally folded in half when I tried to transfer the pizza to the stone. It was a little more time consuming and it also did not cook the pizza evenly. This is probably because the pizza had improperly fallen onto itself. However, it was delicious and had a nice crispy doughy crust. 

Margarita pizza with homemade marinara sauce and roasted garlic. 

 American Style Pizza Dough (for grilling)
 Courtesy of The Cooking Photographer, Adapted from a Wolfgang Puck recipe http://www.thecookingphotographer.com/2009/04/lets-talk-dough-pizza-dough.html 

Potato Pizza with Balsamic Onions and Goat's Cheese

  Potato Goat Cheese Pizza Courtesy of The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook
Prep time: 40 min. + standing
Total Cooking time: 55 minutes
Dough
1/2 cup warm milk
50 g (1 2/3 oz) fresh compressed yeast or 2x7g (1/4 oz) sachets of dried yeast
1/2 tsp sugar
3/4 cup mashed potato
1 cup plain flour
2 tblsp chopped parsley
ground black pepper


-Mix milk + yeast with sugar and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Leave in warm place for 10 minutes until frothy.

-Stir mashed potato, flour, parsley, salt pepper and yeast mixture in a large bowl until soft dough forms. Knead on floured surface for 10 minutes or until dough is smooth and springs back when pressed.

-Put dough back in greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place until it has doubled in size.

-Preheat oven to 415 F. Knead dough for 2 minutes on floured surface. Oil a pizza tray/baking sheet. Press on tray to fit.

-Add toppings.


Topping 
1 kg (2 lb) red onions (thinly sliced)
1 bulb of garlic
200 g (6.5 oz) roasted red pepper cut into strips
1/2 cup black olives
50 g (1 2/3 oz) goats cheese cut into small pieces
black pepper

-Add sliced onions to a bowl and pour balsamic vinegar over to cover. Leave onions in bowl overnight or until they've caramelized. Preheat oven to 475 F. Wrap garlic bulb in foil and leave in oven for about 25 minutes or until soft. Mash roasted garlic. Add coarse salt (I used sea salt) to the top of your pizza crust. Spread garlic mash over crust. Push in balsamic onions into the crust. Add strips of red pepper, olives, and goat cheese. Sprinkle with black pepper.

I  personally preferred the grilled pizza with the other kind of cheese as opposed to the potato pizza with goat cheese. Now that I've made homemade pizza, I'm impressed by how easy and amazing it can taste. I used to order from a gourmet pizza place in town called Anastasia's but now I know I can make any specialty type of pizza I want without compromising flavor. Give it a try! You may surprise yourself!

Raw Marinated Asian Style Mushrooms

Raw Marinated Asian Style Mushrooms
Courtesy of Gone Raw
http://goneraw.com/recipe/asian-inspired-marinated-portebello-mushroom-steak

Here is the recipe as shown on the Gone Raw website.

4 large sliced portabello mushrooms 

2 Tablespoons of Sesame oil

2 Tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinager

1-2 cloves of garlic

1 Tablespoon of chopped ginger

1-2 Tablespoons of tamari or braggs

2 Tablespoons of raw, unhulled sesame seeds

Place into a mixing bowl and add all the ingredients then gently massage the mushrooms until they are evenly covered. Put into the fridge and allow to marinate for 2 hours or more. The longer you leave them the more the flavours will soak into the mushrooms. 

These made for a great raw substitute for stir fry. I served them over cauliflower rice. I would happily eat this over a salad or as a side whether or not I was on a raw diet. 

Cauliflower Rice
Food process cauliflower florets until resembles a grainy mixture. You may season it however you wish. I chose to use Borsari Seasoned Sea salt, a few leaves from my thai basil plant, parsley flakes and onion salt.

Ridiculously Delicious Roasted Tomatoes

To be honest, I chose this recipe for dinner because of it's healthy appeal but it took me a few days to really feel excited about cooking it. I mean, how many people can actually say that they get excited for a meal of roasted tomatoes?

Well after making this recipe, I can say that I do now.

This is probably the most delicious, flavorful roasted tomato recipe I have ever tasted or come across. The tomato juice was so good that I couldn't help myself from sucking on the core of the tomatoes before throwing them out!

I tossed this recipe with some assorted pasta and roasted blue and regular fingerling potatoes and onions with rosemary and sea salt, which I served as a pasta salad. There was so much juice from the tomatoes that I think I'll make rice or couscous instead of pasta next time. Maybe with some grilled kebabs. Yesss.

Roast Tomatoes with Raisin and Feta
Courtesy of My Best Days Blog
http://www.mybestdaysever.com/roast-tomatoes-with-raisins-and-feta/

Ingredients
80 grams, 2.8 ounces(¼ cup) natural almonds
12 perfectly ripe, juicy vine-ripened tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra to serve
105 grams/3.7 ounces (¾ cup) large golden raisins
6 garlic cloves, unpeeled, bruised
6 pieces lemon peel, removed with a peeler, pith removed
2 long red chillies, seeds removed, thinly sliced
8 marjoram sprigs
2 fresh bay leaves
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, lightly crushed in a mortar and pestle
150 grams/5.3 ounces Persian feta, coarsely broken

Preheat oven to 220C. Spread almonds on an oven tray and roast until golden (4-5 minutes). Set aside to cool, then coarsely chop or coarsely crush in a mortar and pestle.

Meanwhile, place tomatoes in a roasting pan in a snug single layer. Drizzle with olive oil and scatter with raisins, garlic, lemon peel, chilli, marjoram, bay and fennel seeds, season to taste and roast until tomatoes blister and bleed their juices (15-20 minutes).

Remove from oven, pour pan juices into a small saucepan, reduce over high heat until thick and syrupy (3-5 minutes), then pour over tomatoes to glaze.

Scatter tomatoes with feta and almonds, drizzle with extra olive oil, then season with freshly ground black pepper and serve hot.

*I used 4 dried red chilis with the seeds instead of a fresh red chili, especially because I don't mind the extra spice. I also used dried marjoram instead of the fresh stuff. I also toasted the almonds in a pan with no oil briefly instead of roasting them seeing as I was also roasting the potatoes and tomatoes at the same time. I also did not make a sauce with the juices from the tomato. Maybe next time I will try that...

This post was created on July 14, 2011.