Yummy eggplant! I must admit I have a kickin’ eggplant Parmesan recipe, however, it would not be compliant for this blog! Although I had lightened it up over the years, I’m always looking for ways to reduce ingredients. Sometimes we make it hard to find …
Falafel has been popping up all over the place and rightly so. It’s yet another yummy way to enjoy the versatile chick pea. Falafel hails from the Middle East and is made using mashed chickpeas with herbs and spices which are then formed into balls …
I’ve been seeing all of those cauliflower pizza crusts popping up on my social channels so I thought I’d take a stab at making it. Have you seen the prices of those! What’s great about this is you don’t have to cut up a large head of cauliflower now that you can buy frozen cauliflower “rice.”
Most of the recipes for crust are the same using an egg to bind and then some other ingredient that will help keep the cauliflower together. I decided to use some falafel or chick pea and wheat flour I had on hand, but you can use regular flour or almond flour if you’d like. Some recipes use goat cheese or mozzarella if you are on a low carb plan.
The biggest tip is to make sure you squeeze all of the cauliflower “dry” so it’s not a wet texture.
Recipe – Serves 1 to 2
1 bag of Hanover cauliflower rice
1 egg
1/4 cup of flour (chick pea, almond, wheat will work)
1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning
1/2 teasoon of garlic powder
Dash salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Cook cauliflower per package directions and let cool.
Remove cauliflower from packaging and wrap in a towel or blot with paper towels until the cauliflower is very dry. Add cauliflower and remaining ingredients in food processor and mix until thoroughly blended. If too wet, add a little more flour.
Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Shape your crust and make it as thin as possible. The thinner you can make it without breaking, the better it will harden.
Bake for about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and gently slide pizza crust to a rack so it can continue to crisp. Add back into oven for 5 – 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and add your favorite toppings. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes longer.
TIPS:
Save time by using cauliflower rice in your freezer section
Squeeze or pat dry caulflower to remove excess liquid
VEGAN: Use egg substitute or aquafaba for the egg; almond or chick pea flour for the dry binding ingredient
LOW CARB: Mix in mozzarella or goat cheese for the dry binding ingredient
It’s not surprising that in Charleston, South Carolina, you are inspired by the food. One of the top destinations for foodies, I am always looking forward to all of the new restaurants this city has to offer. On my second night, I ventured to a …
On this food and cooking journey, I recently enrolled in a plant-based cooking class in conjunction with Forks Over Knives and the Rouxbe Cooking School. It was a great opportunity to learn new techniques and get better at some basics in the kitchen, like knife …
When I think of bruschetta I think of warm summer days…dining outdoors…with a glass of wine…and this yummy appetizer. Traditional Italian bruschetta is garlic that’s rubbed on bread with some variation in toppings. Usually it consists of tomatoes, basil and balsamic glaze. I wanted to replicate those flavors without the bread but with spiralized noodles or Zoodles.
I had purchased a small spiralizer a couple of years ago but decided to invest in an upgrade that mounted to my kitchen counter top. It makes making the noodles (or Zoodles) a breeze.
You may think you have a ton of Zoodles from even one squash, but they will shrink when they cook so the more, the better…it’s not pasta so you don’t have to worry about eating too much!
A few tips:
I like to dry cook the noodles to keep them from getting soggy. If they do get a little “wet” for your liking and you are adding sauces, you may want to press them with a paper towel to get out the excess water.
Strangely enough as I was creating this recipe I noticed a bruschetta topping from Trader Joe’s in my pantry. This gives the dish nice additional flavor with added basil, garlic and a small amount of oil. It’s not necessary but gives it a more traditional bruschetta flavor.
Roasted tomatoes are a flavorful twist, especially this time of year. In a few months it will be fresh diced tomatoes straight from the vine!
Recipe: Serves 2
2-3 medium squash or zucchini (peeled and spiralized)
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
2 teaspoons of oil or broth
1 cup of grape tomatoes
1 cup of chick peas
2 tablespoons of Trader Joe’s Bruschetta topping (optional)
1/4 cup of chopped basil
Balsamic vinegar for finishing
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Add tomatoes to a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes or until browned and wrinkled. Set aside.
In a nonstick pan heat oil or broth over medium heat. Stir in garlic and cook for a minute or two until softened. Add zoodles to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes until slightly softened. Add chick peas and roasted tomatoes and stir to combine. Add bruschetta topping and basil and stir. Cook a few more minutes until warmed. Plate with additional basil and a drizzle of balsamic.
My husband likes to say “Where did quinoa come from all of a sudden?” That’s kind of how I feel about overnight oats. All of a sudden I’m seeing overnight oats – everywhere. My exposure until now has been the really thick, goopy oatmeal I …
It’s amazing how many granolas there are on the shelves of your favorite grocery store. If you are like me, you pick them up, look at the fat and calories and immediately put them down….how sad, right? I’ve always loved granola but never buy it …
What do you do when you have a head of cauliflower staring at you when you open your refrigerator? Sure you can go for the typical mashed cauliflower or cauliflower soup. But how about a sweet and sticky bit of goodness with a little kick!
These bites would be the perfect addition to the big game this Sunday. Some egg whites and bread crumbs make a great base for whatever sauce you use (Buffalo sauce with some blue cheese crumbles come to mind).
If you want to go the vegan route, you can replace the egg whites with almond milk or aquafaba. What is aquafaba you ask? Aquafaba is the thick, syrup that surrounds a can of chick peas or white beans that has recently been used in cooking as a substitute for egg whites. I like it better than almond milk since it has a gelatin texture similar to egg whites.
For the sauce you can also use honey rather than maple syrup. I didn’t have honey on hand but it may give you a thicker glaze. I also added a bit of heat from chili garlic sauce. If you don’t have that you can use sriracha or leave it out all together.
These bites are hard to put down! Great over a bed of rice or tucked inside a lettuce wrap, you can create a number of ways to use these nuggets. Enjoy!
Recipe – Serves 2 to 3
1 small head of cauliflower cut into medium size florets
2 egg whites, whipped
1 1/2 cups of breadcrumbs (See NOTE)
1/4 cup of maple syrup or honey
1/4 cup of lite soy sauce
2 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons of sesame oil
2 teaspoons of chili garlic sauce
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray or line with parchment paper. Set up a breading station with egg whites on one plate and the bread crumbs on another. NOTE: By adding the bread crumbs a little at a time rather than putting them all on the plate at once you can avoid them getting too wet and not adhering properly. Dip cauliflower in the egg whites, then in the breadcrumbs and place on the baking sheet.
Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until the cauliflower begins to brown and cooked through.
In a small bowl combine remaining ingredients. Remove cauliflower from the oven and toss with sauce. Place cauliflower back into the oven for 10 to 15 minutes longer as they continue to brown and caramelize.
Date night with my husband this past weekend had me thinking about what I would post for this week’s blog. We visited a new restaurant where I spotted a dish on the menu that was filled with sweet potato gnocchi. There’s something about those soft, …