Cauliflower with almond, raisin and curry vinaigrette

I had this delicious dish from Lemonade and was determined to try making it myself soon as I could get to a kitchen. To make the curry vinaigrette, there are more steps than I'd like for every day cooking, but once you've made a batch, you can put it in quinoa or practically anything that can soak up it's rich flavor. 

Ingredients:

• 1 head cauliflower cut into florets
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 cup toasted almonds
• 1/4 cup golden raisins or dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup Curry Vinaigrette 

Ingredients for the Curry Vinaigrette:

• 1 cup olive oil
• 1 granny smith apple, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 Tbs turmeric
• 1 Tbs curry powder
• 1 Tbs Dijon mustard
• 1 Tbs honey or maple syrup
• 2 Tbs apple cider vinegar
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 Tbs orange juice
• salt and pepper

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400 - 450 degrees F. ( I like my cauliflower slightly charred so I prefer 450.) Put the cauliflower in a large baking pan, drizzle with oil. Season generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 20-30 minutes till charred and tender. Turn the cauliflower once or twice. 

To prepare the curry oil, put a small pot over medium-low heat and coat with 2 Tbs of oil. When the oil is hot, add apple and onion. Cook and stir for 2-3 minutes. Add turmeric and curry powder and cook for about a minute or 2, till the spices begin to darken but not burn.

Pour the remaining oil and stir everything together. Increase the heat to medium and bring the oil to a boil. Boil for 1 minute , then remove the oil from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

Strain the oil into a container and discard the pieces of apple and onion.

To prepare the vinaigrette, in a mixing bowl, combine the mustard, honey, vinegar, lemon and orange juices. Gently blend with a whisk. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in the curry oil, lightly whisk until the ingredients just come together.

Put the roasted cauliflower in a mixing bowl. Add the almonds, raisins or dried cranberries. 

Toss with the curry vinaigrette to coat evenly. Serve warm or cold. 

Keep any leftover vinaigrette in an airtight jar and refrigerate for up to a week. Shake it up just before you are ready to use it.

Kelp Noodles

I have been obsessing with kelp noodles lately. They are called noodles but are actually not noodles at all! They are made from kelp, a sea vegetable instead of a grain. They are clear, crunchy and tasteless, much like the Chinese glass noodles.

You can use kelp noodles to substitute for any noodle or pasta dishes or in a variety of salads with different dressings. I also love to saute them with ginger, shitaki mushrooms, cabbage and whatever veggies on hand to make a delicious stir fry dish.

Depending on whether you desire a raw, crunchy or soft texture, you can soak them either in warm water or boil them for 10-20 minutes. Cut them with a pair of scissors to break them apart as they tend to be quite long. Rinse and dry.

To make a salad, julienne some fresh veggies like carrots, red bell peppers, scallions or cilantro. Add them to the kelp noodles.

Make a dressing, toss in with the noodle and veggie mix.  The dressing will soften the noodle further if you let it sit for a while. Here are my 2 favorite dressings that go really well with a kelp noodle salad.

Almond Miso Dressing

• 3 Tbl. smooth almond butter
• 1 tsp. miso paste
• 1 Tbl. sesame oil
• 1/2-inch chunk of fresh ginger, grated
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 Tbl. apple cider vinegar
• water to thin out dressing if needed

Walnut Miso Dressing

• 1/4 cup miso
• 1 cup toasted walnuts
• 3-4 cloves of garlic
• 1/3 cup white vinegar
• 1 cup olive or sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Combine ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth.

Sauerkraut making - introduction to lacto-fermentation

Contrary to what most people think of what sauerkraut and pickles are, lacto-fermentation does not involve vinegar. In fact, vinegar kills the good bacteria that we are trying to grow and eat here! So in this fermentation process, the acid comes from the naturally occurring lactobacilli on the vegetables that have the ability to convert the sugars in the foods into lactic acid.  Lactic acid is a natural preservative that inhibits the growth of harmful and putrefying bacteria and promotes the growth of healthy bacteria. It also increases the vitamin and enzyme levels of the foods.

In this sauerkraut recipe, only 2 ingredients are required - cabbage and salt.

It was April 2nd, my friends Liane and Emma came over for a sauerkraut making party.

We had 5 heads of cabbage. We patiently chopped them into thin shreds and put them in the biggest bowls I had in the kitchen.

We added sea salt to it (about 1-2 tsp for each head of cabbage) and gave the leaves a good massage. The salt draws the water out of the vegetables and creates a natural brine.

The fun part began - we started packing the cabbage down into a 1.5 liter ball jar with our fists to create an anaerobic environment by getting all air bubbles out. You can see that the cabbage was already softening and the moisture was coming out.

 We were pushing and pushing until the brine started to rise to the top of the cabbage. Can you believe that we pushed almost 2 heads of cabbage into this 1.5 liter jar?

Finally after much muscle building exercise, we created these 3 little musketeers, 2 big and 1 small. To keep the cabbage under the brine so that no molds could form, we put a jar filled with water to weigh the content down.

Done! We covered each jar with a cloth secured by a rubber band so no bugs could get inside. The best temperature to ferment sauerkraut is 55-65 degrees and the ideal fermentation time is 2-4 weeks.

For the first couple of days, the cabbage was bubbling nicely - a good indication that the bacteria was feasting on the veggies, producing lactic acid to preserve the food. Now we'll just have to wait!

Summer Bock, a fermentation guru once said, "If I had to pick one thing, one assignment for everybody to go out and do, it would be to learn how to make your own sauerkraut."

Salad Jars

If you want to move away from processed food and gain control over what you put in your mouth, packing lunch to work is the way to go. But who wants to wash and chop veggies in the morning when you are half awake and barely have time to even eat breakfast?

Here is the solution - PLANNING, if you want to win in the kitchen. Make 3 or 5 of these on Sunday night and you'll have lunch the rest of the week. How about too tired to make dinner at night when you come back from work? Pop open one of these and you get something way better than a mediocre take-out.

Will the salad get gross after a few days? Honestly.... I've tried up to 3 days, even the avocados stay fresh in these air-tight jars!

But there is a technique in layering. I am giving you more of a formula than a  recipe. Be creative with your combinations!

Use a quart size mason jar, layer in this order from bottom to top - dressing, hard veggies, protein, grains, soft veggies or fruit, nuts, seeds and greens.  When you are ready to eat the salad, shake and toss and empty content in a bowl. 

Jar Recipe 1:

• Creamy basil dressing*
• Radish
• Carrots
• Celery
• Red Bell peppers
• Cucumbers
• White beans / chickpeas
• Avocado
• Arugula mix / spinach mix
• Pumpkin seeds / walnuts

*Blend 1/2 cup of olive oil, 1/2 cup of tahini, 3 cups of fresh basil leaves, 2 tsp of ground ginger, 2 tsp of garlic powder, juice form 2-3 lemons, 1 1/2 tsp of salt.

Jar Recipe 2:

• Thai peanut dressing*
• Cucumbers
• Radish
• Carrots
• Tomatoes
• Cooked cabbage
• Cooked quinoa
• Tofu
• Spinach leaves
• Sesame seeds

*Combine 6 Tbsp of almond or peanut butter, juice of 1 lime, 2 Tbsp of tamari, 3 Tbsp of sesame oil, 3 Tbsp of water.

Jar Recipe 3:

• Ranch dressing* (Dairy Free)
• Beets
• Carrots
• Radish
• Celery
• Cucumbers
• Steamed broccoli
• Avocado
• Cooked lentils
• Baby kale leaves
• Walnuts

*Blend 1 cup of raw cashews, 1/4 cup of olive oil, 1/2 cup of water, 1/2 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1 Tbsp of dried parsley, 1 1/2 Tbsp of dried dill, 2 tsp of onion powder, 1 1/2 tsp of salt.

Noodle-less Pad Thai

If you love noodles but fear carb , here is a perfectly satisfying "noodle-less" noodle-like dish for you.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground pork (or other ground meat) marinated with salt, tamari, white pepper and sesame oil.
• 1 small head of cabbage, sliced into flat noodle like thickness.

Cooking method:

• In a large pan, add pork, break it up with a spatula and let it brown a little.
• Add cabbage. Cover and cook for about 15-20 minutes, depending on how "al dente" you like your cabbage to be. Add salt to taste. If there is excess water, cook uncovered for a few extra minutes.

Pad Thai sauce:

• Combine 6 Tbsp of almond or peanut butter, juice of 1 lime, 2 Tbsp of tamari, 3 Tbsp of sesame oil, 3 Tbsp of water.
• Pour sauce over cabbage mix, serve with sesame seeds, ground peanuts, scallions, cilantro, lime wedges and favorite hot sauce.

Simple quinoa tabouli

This is so....simply delicious and light! Think lemon and parsley....

Ingredients:

• cooked quinoa
• tomatoes
• red bell peppers
• cucumbers ( which I ran out of that day, but it was still delicious)
• parsley

Dressing:

• olive oil
• squeeze of lemon juice
• salt to taste

Mix and serve. You can't go wrong with this recipe.

Quinoa fiesta with mango curry dressing

This recipe reminds me of the "sweet curry" U.K. style I used to love when I was a university student in London. It is slightly fruity and not at all spicy. I had something like that at a Whole Foods salad bar and had been trying to replicate it ever since.

Ingredients:

• cooked quinoa
• quartered grapes
• chopped mangoes
• chopped red bell peppers
• chopped cashews
• cilantro
• scallion (or coriander as they call it in the UK)

Dressing:

• 2 tsp of olive oil
• 1/3 inch cube of fresh ginger
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 tsp of curry powder
• pinch of cumin
• pinch of paprika
• juice from 1/2 a lemon
• salt to taste

Mix everything together. Go easy with the dressing, you might not need all of it. If grapes and mangoes are not ripe or sweet enough, add dried cranberries for extra sweetness.

My new kitchen toy

Sometimes a fun kitchen utensil changes the way you cook. I've always preferred to eat my vegetables raw, baked or lightly sauteed. But ever since I bought this bamboo steamer, I've been steaming everything from kale to broccoli, carrots to green beans.

Here is how you do it - fill up a saucepan with about two inches of water. When it is boiling, put the bamboo steamer on top of it.  Cover the lid of the steamer. Turn down the heat to low/medium.

Create a double decker for steaming 2 or 3 kinds of vegetables at the same time. I usually put hardier root vegetables at the bottom tier and leaves at the top. It takes 3-5 minutes.

When the veggies are done, add your favorite salt, oils, seeds or dressings. Olive oil, sesame oil, walnut oil, sesame seeds, hemp seeds are a few of my go to choices.

Massage your kale and it will love you back

Step 1: Take the stems off the kale leaves. Wash and dry your kale really well. Add a pinch of salt, a drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.

Now roll up your sleeves and get ready for work. Massage the leaves like you are giving a back rub to someone you love. Secret ingredient here - LOVE!

Massaged kale can keep in the fridge for a few days. When you are ready to eat it, add your favorite toppings.

Mine are cooked quinoa, grapes, toasted pinenuts, red onions and dried cranberries.

With a touch of my favorite O&Co. cherry balsamic vinegar, I can eat this everyday.

How to get your kids to eat kale

This Baked Kale Chips recipe will convince the most resistant child and skeptical husband to try and fall in love with kale.

• Wash and dry kale thoroughly.
• Spread kale out on a baking sheet (single layer only).
• Drizzle with olive oil.
• Sprinkle salt and parmesan.
• Bake at 400 degrees F for 10-15 minutes (check on it to avoid burning).