Broccoli Slaw

Occasionally, I pick up a bag of broccoli slaw.  It is a nice change from the more traditional cabbage slaw.  Seeing this recipe on Smitten Kitchen helped me make a yummy recipe.

Broccoli Slaw  (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

1 bag of cabbage slaw

1 carrot, sliced thin

1/2 cup thinly sliced almonds

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1/2 small red onion, finely sliced

 Dressing
1/3 cup Tofutti sour cream

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Toss the sliced broccoli with the carrots,  almonds, cranberries and red onion in a large bowl.

Whisk the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.

Pour the dressing over the broccoli and toss it well.

Summer Salad Sundays     See Ya in the Gumbo     Yummy  Inspirations Breakfast     My Meatless Monday  Mop it Up Mondays    Mix it up Monday     Mealtime Monday Recipe Link  Makin’ You Crave Monday    Melt in Your Mouth Mondays      Mangia Mondays      On the Menu Monday

Power Foods – Asparagus

You might remember, last week, I learned how to handle an artichoke, a brand new vegetable, to me.  This week, I learned how to  hide asparagus, in a recipe so that my husband, who has refused to eat it, since he was a child, wouldn’t know it was there.  When, we married, there were three foods, he would not eat, tuna, chicken and yes, asparagus.  Twice, I tried to have him see the light and made asparagus, the first as a newlywed and the second. twenty years later.  Both times, he soundly rejected the asparagus with moans and groans and a matching facial expression.

I knew, this was going to be a challenge.  I made a stir-fry, hoping to camouflage the asparagus, in the midst of other delicious vegetables. 

Camouflage Stir Fry  – done in great trepidation

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 thin asparagus spears, cut into small pieces (about an inch in length)

1 cup cauliflower florets

1 cup broccoli florets

1/2 cup carrot slices

1/4 cup sliced mini orange peppers

1/4 cup onion slices

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 teaspoon ground ginger (fresh is best)

2 tablespoons brown sugar or honey

Procedure:

Combine, in a small bowl, soy sauce, ginger and brown sugar or honey.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat.  Add vegetables to skillet and cook for 4 minutes.  You can add the asparagus for just the last minute, if you would like it to retain a slight crispness.

Add soy sauce combination to skillet and mix in with the vegetables.  Cook, stirring for an additional two  minutes.

*** I didn’t tell my husband, there was asparagus in the stir-fry but I figured, he would recognize it.  He didn’t.  He cleaned his plate completely.  I have to add that the soy sauce did camouflage the asparagus taste so that he ate with relish.  Can you imagine?  He was not perturbed when I told him those green “sticks” are asparagus.  He just kept eating.  Does that mean, he will eat asparagus, in the future?  I doubt it.   It is deeply ingrained in him that he despises it.

You are entitled to a giggle.  I made him this, the following night and he ate it.  Recipe at a later date…

 

Please check the following blog to see what they did with the asparagus.

Second Course: Asparagus with Morels (Photo credit: ulterior epicure)

Alyce – MoreTimeAtTheTable.blogspot.com afmorgan53@yahoo.com

Ansh – SpiceRoots.com  ansh@spiceroots.com

Casey – bookcasefoodie.wordpress.com Bookcasefoodie@yahoo.com

Jeanette – JeanettesHealthyLiving.com Jeanette@Jeanetteshealthyliving.com

Jill – SaucyCooks 2girls@saucycooks.com

Martha – Simple-Nourished-Living.com MarthaMcKinnon@mac.com

Mireya – MyHealthyEatingHabits.com Mireya@MyHealthyEatingHabits.com

Sarah – Everythinginthekitchensink sarah.toskanoski@gmail.com

Potatoes and Onions

It was a moment of  pure desire for a potato.  I didn’t care if it was boiled, baked or fried.  I wanted potato.  I followed my inner guide, cooked this up and had my potato.

Potatoes and Onions

3 medium potatoes, sliced thin (almost as thin as for potato chips)

1 large onion, sliced thin

spray olive oil

chopped parsley

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Spray a baking pan with olive oil.

Layer potatoes and onions in baking pan.

Spray the top later with additional oil.

Bake at 400 degrees fro 20-30 minutes, until it is golden brown.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and chopped parsley.

 

Garlicky Bok Choy on Tomato

Before, you tell me how clever, I am and pat me on the back……..   Before you throw out all those praises for my creation……. Before there are accolades for this special dish and before you run  to emulate me, I must share that this was all unintentional and just seemed to happen.  Happenstance! 

I am not really familiar with bok choy.  I have used it in recipes once or maybe even twice but that is about it.  I wasn’t sure if you could eat the leaves and stalk and ended up throwing out the leaves, when I didn’t have to.

Bok Choy hails from China and you will find it in stir fries, soups and main dishes.  It is a healthy vegetable with lots of Vitamins and few calories.  It is from the cabbage family but it doesn’t have the strong taste of the green cabbage, we use.  The stalk is very much like celery but I like it better than celery.

Tonight, after some checking, I decided to cook it in soup with garlic.  This is one of the easy recipes that is rewarding.  Basically, you cook the garlic in margarine or butter for a minute, add soup and bok choy.  Cook for another 6 – 8 minutes until soups disappears.  Plop it on a tomato slice or half a tomato and serve.  You could heat the tomato for a minute if you would like.  You could mix a little Parmesan in with the bok choy.  I imagine, as I cook with it more, I will discover some of its secrets.

Since my husband doesn’t eat garlic, I made enough for one person.

Garlicky Bok Choy on Tomato

Ingredients

1  baby bok choy

1 tablespoons minced garlic

1/2 tablespoon margarine 

1/4 to 1/2 cup organic vegetable broth

1 tomato slice

salt and pepper to taste (I didn’t use either.)

Procedure

In a small skillet, melt margarine.

While it is cooking, dice bok choy and slice tomato.

Add garlic to margarine and cook for 1 minute.  Add bok choy and cook for another 6-8 minutes until soup is absorbed.

Put tomato slice on a plate. Cover with bok choy mixture.  Add salt and pepper, if you choose.

I wonder if this could be used as an appetizer.  Maybe with a little feta or some sliced mushrooms…….  On a piece of fish….

This is linked to  Hearth and Soul Hop     Slightly Indulgent Tuesday      Traditional Tuesdays,       Fat Tuesday    Tuesday Talent Show at Chef in Training       Naptime Creations Tasty Tuesday Link Party     Tuesday To Do List   Real Food Wednesday        Success U-Wednesday Link-up                Whatcha Whipped Up           Made from Scratch Monday        This Week’s cravings at Veggie Converter

Ignorance at Work – Cauliflower with Fennel and Red Pepper

Fennel (Photo credit: Satrina0)

There was a recipe for a broccoli dish, several years ago, in Bon Appetit, served with fennel.  Fennel is the secret word.  I picked up some, in the supermarket, and wasn’t even sure, it was fennel.  I had to find a You Tube video on “how to cut fennel”, to discover that I picked up the right green.  I have never cooked with fennel, as I am sure, you now realize and this was to be a new experience.

I had no idea what to do with fennel but I wasn’t worried until I searched for something, we would enjoy, and could not find it.  Then, I discovered the old recipe from Bon Appetit.  Of course, I had cauliflower, not broccoli.  Powers of deduction told me the recipe, with some changes would work for other vegetables and I made it with the cauliflower.

Working with a new ingredient, slows me down, not knowing what is supposed to happen.  Fortunately, the video had demonstrated how to cut fennel, slice it and dice it.  I was safe on that count.

Cauliflower with Fennel and Red Bell Pepper

 Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 1 fresh fennel bulb (about 1 pound), halved lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise
• 1 large red bell pepper, cut into long strips
  
•  3 cups cauliflower
  
• 1 /2 teaspoon basil
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon cut fresh oregano
• 1 cup organic vegetable broth
  

Preparation

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. 

Add shallots and sauté until golden, about 3 minutes.

Add sliced fennel bulb and red bell pepper and sauté until just tender, about 3 minutes.

Add cauliflower.

Stir in seasoning.

Cover with vegetable broth.

Stir and cook on low for 8 minutes.

This is linked to Fabulous Fridays

See Ya in the Gumbo     Seasonal Inspiration    Muffin Monday   Yummy  Inspirations Breakfast     My Meatless Monday                  Mop it Up Mondays    Breakfast Ideas Monday   Mix it up Monday     Mealtime Monday Recipe Link            Melt in Your Mouth Mondays      Mangia Mondays      On the Menu Monday         Made from Scratch Monday

How To Rush A Meal

The decision was made – salmon would be for dinner.  We love salmon and I wanted to make a side that we care about as much.  That meant pasta or potatoes and the latter won out.  I had the desire for comfort food and that meant potatoes and cheese.  There is something about noodles or potatoes that fills me up emotionally.

When I opened the refrigerator to get the cheese, I saw a little fresh cauliflower left, less than two cups.  That is when the recipe took a turn, for the better, in my opinion.  That is also when the alarms went off …….roaring symbols in the background.  I had about twenty minutes to get dinner on the table and ten minutes prep and probably an hour bake time.  Not going to happen……

You might ask why I had to get dinner on the table in twenty minutes.  Hubby and I have a humorous Q and A.  He calls, when he is on his way home and I ask him, when he will be home.  He gives me an exact time, like 5:23 or 7:16,  My goal becomes getting the meal done by that time.  I usually don’t but I give it the college try.

I am not being totally honest.  When I get home from work or home from shopping, I check my email and the blog.  You are bloggers.  You know how time flies when you are doing these.  It repeats itself, daily…..good intentions and bad timing.  When, I finally get into the kitchen, if I haven’t prepped, in the morning, I move very quickly.

Tonight, it mean cutting potatoes to be close to hash browns, chopping onions, shredding cheese, measuring and solving problems.  Here is my recipe and I will share how I cut down the time, not to 20 minutes but to something more reasonable than 60.

Creamy Cauliflower Potato Bake

4 medium potatoes (I had Idaho), sliced with a mandolin

2 cups cauliflower, broken into little pieces

salt and black pepper to taste

1 onion, chopped

1 cup vegetable broth, more if needed

1 cup light sour cream

2 cups Mexican cheese or cheese of choice

1/4 cup fresh chives or 2 teaspoon dried chives

1 – 2 cups crumbs (taco, corn chips, bread, cracker – your choice)  I used tortilla chips

Procedure

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Spray a casserole or baking pan with olive oil.

Layer chopped onions on the bottom of pan.

Place paper thin potato slices (the mandolin took no time to make this happen) on top of the onions.

Cover with sour cream and mix everything slightly.

Cover with half of the cheese and again mix slightly.

Pour cauliflower pieces on top and once again mix gently.

Add remaining cheese and give it a slight mix.

Finally, cover with crumbs and spray olive oil on top of crumbs.

Now the way, I made this happen.

Put the casserole or baking dish into a microwave for about 10 minutes, depending on the power of your microwave.

It will be very hot when you remove it so please  take care.  Place it in the 400 degree oven.  Bake, starting to check at 10 minutes.  The top will turn a golden brown when it is done or should be done.  If the potatoes are not cooked through, microwave for another few minutes.

I did not care if the cauliflower cooked through.  I like it crisp and it gives a little crunch to the dish.

This was delicious and went well with the salmon and a tossed salad.

This is linked to  Frugal Food Thursdays       Recipe of the Week – Anything Goes     See Ya in the Gumbo     Seasonal Inspiration    Muffin Monday   Yummy  Inspirations Breakfast     My Meatless Monday  Mop it Up Mondays    Breakfast Ideas Monday   Mix it up Monday     Mealtime Monday Recipe Link  Melt in Your Mouth Mondays      Mangia Mondays      On the Menu Monday

Roasted Cauliflower – Pioneer Woman

When I began this blog, my stress was on cookbooks, magazines, foodie blogs and food websites.  Although, most of my recipes have come from different sources, I think I have fallen short in reviewing books and magazines.  I am blessed with a good cooking library and I do keep pulling books off the shelves and yes, using them.

I realized, if I don’t have the time to share all the dishes, I cooked, I can review the books.  Sometimes, for me, a review is the best way to inspire me.

Today, was the first time, I even looked at the Pioneer Woman’s new book, Pioneer Woman Cooks.  Reading through the names of recipes, I see dozens that I want to make.  The book is filled with photos as is Ree’s blog and that is a great help, even to the experienced cook.  If one has her own way of doing something, the pictures can be ignored.  I find that many photos on the page confusing.  On the other hand, when I had a question about a recipe, I always found the answer because of the photos.  What I didn’t like, and this may just be me, was the darkness of the pictures.  It is not going to stop me from cooking from the book.  There are too many great sounding dishes to pass up.

Tonight was leftover night.  I have been making a new item whenever we have leftovers.  It means little work but a spark for the meal.  The only requirement tonight was to use cauliflower while it was still nice and fresh.  I opened up the Pioneer Woman Cooks, looked up cauliflower and found a soup and roasted cauliflower.  Since, I was matching this with the leftovers, roasted cauliflower was my choice.  Instead of Panko, I used tortilla chip crumbs.

The prep time was short.  The hardest part was breaking the cauliflower into small pieces and that really is not a challenge.

Roasted Cauliflower – adapted from the Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

1 cauliflower, cut into pieces

spray olive oil

salt and black pepper, to taste

2 teaspoons onion powder or any spice

1  cup tortilla chip crumbs or Panko crumbs

2 tablespoons butter

Procedure

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Spray a baking sheet with olive oil.

Spread cauliflower over the baking sheet and spray the top of the vegetable.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake for 20 minutes until golden.

While cauliflower is finishing baking (last five minutes), microwave butter or melt in small saucepan.

Pour butter over crumbs in a small bowl.

Place cauliflower in small baking dishes (individual sized) and mound crumbs on top.

Bake for an additional 5 minutes or until crumbs brown.

Eat and enjoy each bite.  This is delicious.  For so little work, you get big taste.

Serve with fish, poultry, meat or vegetables.  This is going to become a favorite dish.

This is linked to Allergy Free Wednesday       Newlyweds

Noodles and Cabbage

I hope, I have not already posted a noodles and cabbage recipe.  I love it and make it often.  I made it for the holiday.  I think, this is based on a Hungarian recipe.  I remember it, from my childhood.  My mother made this and it was one of her more festive dishes.  She was a plain cook, meat and potatoes and always a green vegetable.  When I was a child, we ate our green vegetables plain and Mom did not try to disguise them.  For some reason, we understood, we eat the food, put in front of us.  This was a special dish for us and I have fond memories of it.

Despite my love for this, I did add some broccoli slaw and added a new dimension to the dish.

Noodles and Cabbage

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup broccoli slaw (carrots included)

1 16 ounce bag shredded white or green cabbage

1 1/2 cups gluten-free brown rice spaghetti

1 large onion, diced

1 tablespoon black pepper

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

Heat olive oil in pan over med high heat.

Saute onions till golden brown, 5-10 minutes.

Add cabbage and cook till soft, 10 minutes.  Stir occasionally.

Add broccoli slaw and cook for another 5 minutes.

Mix in noodles .

Season with black pepper and if you use salt, add to taste.

Cook 2 minutes or until heated through.

This is linked to Friday Food

Indian-Spiced Cauliflower

My desire to make this dish came from the beautiful cauliflower florets, I purchased, and couldn’t wait to use.  They were large and white and beautiful.  This recipe also called for eggplant but I skipped this so I could build on the cauliflower.  I like Indian flavors and the cauliflower is pretty tame and I figured would spotlight the flavoring.

Indian-Spiced  Cauliflower Stew

adapted  EatingWell:  September/October 2007, EatingWell for a Healthy Heart Cookbook (2008)

6 servings, about 1 1/3 cups each 

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
• 3 cups cauliflower florets
• 1 large tomato, diced with seeds and juice
• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
• 1/2 cup water

Preparation

Add oil, onion, garlic, ginger and salt to the pot and cook, stirring, until softened, 3 to 4 minutes.

Stir in cauliflower, tomatoes, chickpeas, water and the reserved spices.

Bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Top each serving with a dollop of yogurt, if desired.

This is linked to You’re Gonna Love It Tuesday
  Friday Food   What’s Cooking Love

Fruit and Veggie Muffins

I have done little baking here and I must add some recipes.  I made these wonderful muffins, using my food processor to do the chopping, making this an easy recipe to achieve.  I debated making mini muffins because they are so cute  but there is so much goodness in these, I decided on the full size.  

Pears and carrots may sound odd together but they are not.  They went together like peanut butter and jelly and were much more delicious.

Making muffins always presents a problem for me.  There are so many muffins, I want to make, with a multitude of combinations of ingredients.  When, I decide to make one, I can’t make a decision.  I really wanted to make a cheesy muffin and owe myself that opportunity.

Fruit and Veggie Muffins  (adapted from Recipe for Living)

Ingredients

• 2 cups. shredded cored, peeled pears
• 1-1/3 cups sugar
• 1 cup chopped cranberries  (the food processor did not do a great job chopping these but it makes no difference)
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 2-1/2 cups gluten-free flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 large eggs, beaten, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup Canola oil

Method:

 Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Line muffin cups with paper liners.

In a large bowl, mix pears, cranberries, carrots, and nuts  Stir gently to combine.

Sift dry ingredients.  Add to sugar mixture and stir well.

Stir in eggs and oil and mix gently but thoroughly.

Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Bake 25 to 30 minutes. Cool 5 minutes; remove to wire rack.

 Makes 12 large muffins.

This is linked to Hearth and Soul with Alea    Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays with Amy