Things I love - Zesty Cauliflower with Lentils

There are so many foods that I love to eat. They all have one thing in common; fresh food.

I've been thinking about all the different recipes I have tried over the last few weeks. Some absolutely superb, others not so. Now it might not be the recipe that has anything wrong with it, but not to my liking. And one of those recipes gave me the biggest bout of indigestion I have ever had, causing me undue belly pain for a large number of hours. Yes, I can laugh about it now, but when its happening, you think you are going to die.

I'm linking here to some of my favourite recipes on some other blog sites to give you a taste of what I like to eat.

Homespun Capers  is run by Liberty from Melbourne. One of my favourite dishes is Lentil and Leek Ragu. This is a hearty, flavoursome dish you can serve with rice, pasta or quinoa.

Cookie + Kate from Oklahoma, USA - Sweet Potato and Black Bean Taco - Yummy and spicy and very filling.

Amy from South Carolina hosts, She Wears Many Hats and has some interesting recipes, but this one is to die for - Grilled Cheese with Gouda, Roasted Mushrooms and Onions.  Scrumptious served with a bowl of soup for dinner or on its own for lunch. Yum!

I mentioned in my last blog post that I needed to find new ways using black lentils because I bought some interesting ones from Goodies and Grains at Adelaide Central Market. I was immediately drawn to the huge sack of black lentils, they were small, round and shiny, like black crystals. And the spoke to me, "buy me!"

These lentils are a variety called "Black Beluga Lentils' (named after the Beluga Caviar they resemble). They hold their shape really well and have at chewy, nutty, consistency. 

 And so I did buy them  and I have cooked them together with cauliflower rice to make this dish. You could use any black, green or brown lentil in this dish, so don't worry if you can't find the black ones. 

Cauliflowers are growing thick and fast in the veg plot so I needed to use them up too. The combination of cauliflower and lentils is deliciously creamy. It a quick recipe to prepare but it tastes as though you have been slaving over the cooker all day. Eaten straight away this dish really worked well, but eaten cold the following day, I was astounded at how good it tasted as a salad.  

Before you decide to try this recipe make sure you have a lime or too, because substituting lemons in this dish doesn't work so well. 

ZESTY CAULIFLOWER WITH LENTILS

INGREDIENTS

1/2 head of cauliflower (a whole one if it is small) 

1- 2  cups Black lentils if possible but green or brown are good substitutes,  cooked*

2 tablespoons Oil 

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2  a red capsicum, diced

1 onion, diced

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

a knob of fresh ginger, grated or finely chopped

1/2 cup frozen peas

salt and pepper

2 tablespoon soy sauce or Tamari

2 Spring onions, finely sliced

2 limes, zest and juice
salt and pepper

* To cook lentils quickly, place in a bowl, cover with boiling water and leave for 15 minutes. Drain the water. Put the lentils in a saucepan, cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 - 20 minutes. Drain and use.

You can either grate the cauliflower or pulse it in a food processor until it is the size of rice grains.

In a large frypan, heat the oil. Add onion, garlic, sesame seeds and ginger and cook, stirring frequently until the onion is a golden brown.

Add the cauliflower and cook for around 10 - 15 minutes until it has turned the colour of honey.

Stir in the lentils, peas, red pepper, soy sauce, salt and pepper and continue to cook until the peas are heated through.

Add the zest and juice of one lime and stir through.  Serve immediately garnished with spring onions and with a quarter of lime extra.

If you have any left over - serve as a cold salad. Or make it earlier in the day and keep covered in the fridge until ready to eat.

Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry with Coconut

I could smell spring in the air last week! The first sign is budding on the almond tree, but then we had a day or two of high winds and torrential rain. Damn! And its's cold, so cold my bones ache.

Just as I was preparing for some warmer weather and getting my head into some salads, the rain came back. What a sluggish winter I've had - ugg boots, blankets and scarves and that's inside! Ha ha! So with that spring smell, that first bud, maybe that first blossom, its time to shake off the winter blues and set myself some monthly challenges. Here goes!

August Challenges: - 

Food - Finding new ways with black lentils. Develop new salad combinations topped with a Tahini dressing.

Fitness - Renew my fitness  regime - 10 gym sessions, 40  kms walking or hiking.

Diet - No desserts, chocolate or cakes. (Oops I had a beautiful Chocolate Brownie for my birthday yesterday - so counting from today) 

Am I up for this challenge - hell yes. What's your next challenge?

And because the winter chills are still with us I am starting off August with a favourite. Cauliflower is so versatile and I have found myself using it a lot for roasting and curries and salads. I just can't seem to get enough of it. 

Add another of my favourites, chick peas and this dish is calling my name. You can add as much or as little chilli to this recipe as you like. Depending on the strength of your chilli powder, you may start with a little and add more as it cooks. 

I also prefer to use fresh turmeric root but if you don't have that available then turmeric powder is fine.

Ok, here's the recipe.

CAULIFLOWER, LENTIL AND COCONUT CURRY

1 onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated

1 teaspoon ground turmeric or 11/2 teaspoons turmeric root, grated

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2  teaspoons cumin seeds

1 teaspoon garam masala

1/2 - 1 teaspoon chilli flakes

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 400g can chick peas, drained

1 400g diced tomatoes

1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets

2 tablespoon coconut oil

freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup water

handful of fresh spinach leaves, chopped

1 400g can coconut milk

Add coconut oil to a large pan then add onion, garlic and ginger and cook until the onion is transparent. Add turmeric and rest of the spices and heat until the spices are aromatic. If they start to stick add a tablespoon of water.

Next add cauliflower florets and coat it with the spices. Add coconut milk, water and can of tomatoes and simmer covered for 15 minutes. Check seasoning, add salt and pepper and more chilli if required.

Rinse chick peas and add to the curry. If the curry is too thick add a little more water and cook until the cauliflower is just tender.

Add the chopped spinach leaves and cook until just wilted.

Serve with popadoms, rice of your choice and plenty of chutney.

A New Year - Time for Salads

Happy New Year to you all. A big THANK YOU, to everyone that has been so supportive over the last 12 months especially my family and friends and the many visitors and comments from people I do not know. 

Winners of the Birthday Celebration Cook Book Give Away are: -

Diana from Geelong, Victoria - the 'Organic Book' is on its way and Malcolm from Plympton, South Australia - just posted 'Spain,' to you - enjoy! Thanks to all of you that entered, it was fun selecting winners!

I hope you had a great Christmas, Hanukkah, festive holiday or just plain absence from work. Are you enjoying the sunny summer in the southern hemisphere or skiing, log fires and Gluhwein in the north? Either way I hope you have safe and happy holidays and a great 2015!

I spent a lovely Christmas with my family in the mountains near Sydney - it was hot, rainy, foggy and cold ,all in one day! Here's a few photos showing how lovely the area is. We stayed at this place, nice, comfortable and plenty of room to spread out.

 Foggy start to the morning, Blue Mountains

Echo Point, Katoomba at dawn

Dawn, Echo Point, Katoomba 

Sunlight on a Banksia

Planning 2015 things to do! Do you make a list every year, month, week? I love lists, they keep me focussed. I haven't yet got into lists of lists, but maybe one day I will get that crazy!

In 2015, I plan on spending more me time with my cameras. Time to play, explore and have fun.

The gym will also be seeing me a lot more - gosh, that sounds like a chore - but it isn't really!  Then there is food! Yes of course I will be spending more time testing out ideas and recipes. But I am back into a 5:2 fasting period, so I will be posting a few photos of what I eat on my 500 calorie days.

But enough about that. We needed a salad in a hurry over Christmas, this is what I came up with. - It has great flavour,  easy to prepare and very low in calories. A good salad to start off the New Year!

Roasted Cauliflower and Chick Pea Salad

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 brown onion, finely sliced
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
handful of pine nuts
3 tbls basil, chopped
1 400g tin of chick peas
dash of olive oil
knob of butter
salt and pepper
juice of 1 lemon

Pre heat oven 180º fan forced/350º degrees.  

Take one cauliflower and slice across it into 4 or 5 slabs and place into a baking dish. I used about 3/4 of  large cauliflower. Add a sprinkling of olive oil, salt and pepper and cinnamon and roast until it has a nice golden colour, approximately 30 - 35 minutes.

Take out of the pan and let it cool.

While the cauliflower is roasting, dry fry the pine nuts until golden and set aside.

Add knob of butter and olive oil to fry pan and add onions and garlic and cook on a very low heat for around 20 -30 minutes or until the onions are golden and caramelised. Set aside.

In a large serving bowl, add drained chick peas, basil, onions and garlic, pine nuts. Break up the cauliflower and add this to the bowl. Adjust seasoning. Add lemon juice, so the cauliflower is pretty tangy.

Add a sprinkling of olive oil and toss thoroughly and you are ready to serve.

Serves 6 as a side salad.

Cauliflower, Leek and Fennel Gratin

Once the seasons begin to change, it's the time we think about changing our menus. Not just because we are tempted with new seasonal fruit and vegetable but because the weather often dictates what we feel like eating. That beautiful Pumpkin Tagine we enjoyed only a couple of weeks ago now seems too heavy for a 30º day and our body longs for something lighter.

Adelaide summer has started early this year and we have already had some mid to high temperatures. Salads of some kind or another will play a huge role on my menus in the next few months but i am avoiding peaking too early!!!

I've been playing around with ingredients that combine well together in a dish that you wouldn't consider too heavy at this time of year. Something light yet satisfying and this is the combination I came up with. Team this with a green salad, some lightly cooked asparagus or a dish of green beans and you have a very quick and easy meal that will satisfy the taste buds as well as the wallet.

Cauliflower, Leek and Fennel Gratin

Ingredients

1 cup sour cream
2 small leeks finely sliced
2 cloves garlic minced
small bulb of fennel sliced using a mandolin
1/4 cauliflower, cut into florets
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
2 tbls  flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup white wine
1 tbls olive oil
1 tbls butter

This made 6 little gratins but you could make just one big one.

• Combine the breadcrumbs with the chopped parsley and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese and set aside.

• In a large pan heat butter and oil, add fennel, garlic and leek and continue to cook on a low heat for 5 - 10  minutes until the leek starts to brown.

• While the leeks are cooking, either steam or microwave the florets of cauliflower until they are barely cooked. 2- 3 minutes in a steamer/25 seconds microwave.

• Add white wine and cauliflower to leeks  and cook for 5 minutes. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste. Take off the heat and mix in parsley, sour cream and remaining Parmesan.

• Spoon this into greased dishes/pie plates and cover with a sprinkling of the reserved breadcrumbs and Parmesan mixture.

• Cook in a preheated fan forced oven 180º/370º for approximately 25 - 30 minutes until the topping is golden. Serve immediately.

Cauliflower - Make it Your Hero.

 This vegetable can either smell wonderfully fresh or like a room full of dirty feet. Incredible then, that it is been given 'hero' status by many famous chefs. And we follow suit. Embracing this weird looking vegetable which can be transformed into  'rice',  'mashed potato', 'pizza pastry', and anything else you can think of.

Despite it's odd look, cauliflower, when treated respectfully, can be a rather charming vegetable. Different varieties can be white, creamy yellow or purple. When it is in season it is incredibly cheap - a big one I bought the other day cost just $3.00 and there is rarely a time when cauliflower is out of season because it grows in so many places

I am celebrating the cauliflower this week - yes, you are my hero because you are  - low in calories, high fibre, high vitamin C, B6, B1, B3, calcium, iron, manganese, copper and a plethera of other good things. Budget wise, it's cheap and a little goes a long way. So what is there not to like about the Brassica oleracea? 

This soup is so much better when you grate your own nutmeg . I have a small nutmeg grater which was very inexpensive and so easy to use, however just using a normal grater is fine.

Roasted Cauliflower Soup with Croutons

Ingredients

1 large cauliflower (about 1kg)
1/2 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
1 shallot, chopped or 3 spring onions chopped
1 clove of garlic
1 teaspoon of dried thyme
600ml of vegetable stock
1/2 cup of cream
1 teaspoon of white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon of verjuice
fresh thyme for garnish
shaved Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 190ºC/375 degrees.
Take a large roasting pan and line base with baking paper.
Chop the cauliflower into bite sized florets and place in a single layer on the baking
paper.

Add a tablespoon of olive oil and coat the cauliflower. Grate some nutmeg on the cauliflower, using about 1/2 teaspoon. 

Bake in the oven until the cauliflower is cooked and starting to brown on the top. This will give it a lovely caramelized flavour. Half way through baking, take the cauliflower out of the oven and turn the cauliflower over. Bake in total for around 40 minutes.

While you are waiting for the cauliflower to cook, take a large saucepan and add a tablespoon of olive oil, heat on a low heat, add the chopped onion and garlic, cook for 4-5 minutes until the onion starts to soften. Add the stock, thyme, vinegar and verjuice and heat through.

When the cauliflower is cooked allow it to cool a little in a bowl. Add  the cooled cauliflower to the stock and using a stick blender or a  conventional blender, blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If you are serving immediately, stir in the half cup of cream and put it back on the heat to warm through.

Serve with some shaved parmesan and fresh sprigs of thyme. If you wish to serve some bread with this, either make some home made croutons or slice up a Baguette.

If you prefer a thinner soup, just add extra stock before blending.

Serves 4 people. Total cost $5.00 making it just over $1.00 per person.