Curried Cauliflower with Chick Peas and Roasted Tomato

This is a modification of a wonderful recipe from Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking.  It is terrific as a side dish or over rice as a main dish.  For non-vegetarians, a terrific modification is to add consider adding peeled, deveined shrimp rather than the chick peas.

INGREDIENTS
1 medium or large head of cauliflower, stemmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 14-oz can garbanzo beans (chick peas), well-rinsed and well drained
4-5 T canola or regular olive oil (a splash of mustard oil is nice if you have it on hand)
1T black mustard seeds
1T fennel seeds
14-oz roasted diced tomatoes
approximately 14 ounces water
a pinch of cayenne pepper or chili powder

PREPARING YOUR INGREDIENTS

Rinse and drain the chick peas.  Allow them to sit until they are fairly dry, shaking off excess water.  Canned or softened from dry will work fine.  A 14-oz can or 1 1/2 cups is a perfect amount for this recipe.

One secret to cooking delicious cauliflower is to allow it to off-gas prior to cooking or serving.  Cut the cauliflower into bite sized pieces.  Place in a large bowl and cover with water.  Allow the cauliflower to sit like this for at least 1/2 hour.  Then drain well.

RECIPE
While the cauliflower is soaking, put oil in a large skillet on high heat (one which you have a cover), a stock pot or dutch oven.  The oil should be about 1/8" thick in the pan. Whatever will hold the ingredients so that the cauliflower is spread as thinly as possible is best.  Use a thick bottomed pan if you have one because you want to control the heat of the pot.  It is very easy to scorch the food in a thin pan. I used my enamel coated cast iron for this recipe.

Throw in the mustard and fennel seed.  When the seeds begin to pop, add the drained and dry as possible chick peas.  Note that the water on the surface will cause the very hot oil to splatter, so be very careful.  You may want to wear an oven mitt so that you aren't burned.

Allow any water to boil off and the peas to fry and brown lightly in the oil, stirring occasionally.  Once they have begun to brown, add the cauliflower and stir thoroughly.  Allow the cauliflower to slightly brown in the oil, stirring only occasionally (but keep your eye on it because you are on high heat).  Once it begins to brown, add enough water to coat the bottom of the pan.  Add your tomatoes and mix through.

Now, you are going to steam the cauliflower. Add enough water so that you can easily steam the cauliflower (should be about equal in total to the amount of tomato you added).  You might also choose to add some tomato sauce if you prefer this dish to be more tomato-y.  Add a pinch (1/8t) or more of cayenne pepper, depending on your taste.  A tiny bit of heat is nice.  If you are out of cayenne or it is too hot for you, chili powder will work fine.  You still only want a small amount or the dish will be bitter.

Leaving the heat on high, over the pan and allow the cauliflower to steam for 8-9 minutes.  Be mindful of the amount of liquid in the pot to avoid burning the cauliflower.

Serve over saffron-lemon rice or simply as as side dish. If you would like to add shrimp, they are best added during the steaming portion of cooking.

Enjoy!

Hot (habanero-coriander), Medium (jalapeno-basil) and Not-So Hot Sauce

 [pictured is the jalapeno-basil sauce.  Great sweetness; awesome sauce]

What you need is several ball jars and a good month's worth of patience.  Homemade hot sauce is well worth the work.  The trick is to tightly pack the jars with the ingredients for each type of pepper sauce.  Cover with distilled plain white vinegar and ensure that all ingredients are completely submersed in the vinegar. You may need to put the lid on and gently turn the jars over a few times to get all of the air pockets out and add more vinegar. Turn the jars over daily to move the spices through the veggies.  After a minimum of 4 weeks passes, you are ready to puree the hot sauce in a blender.  If you prefer thin, shakeable hot sauce, seperate solids from liquid using a strainer or cheese cloth.  solid paste mixed with a little olive oil in freezer.  Store liquid in an airtight container and refrigerate if you like.  It will discolor over time because I don't recommend using color maintaining additives.

You also may be aware that the heat of store-bought peppers fluctuates tremendously throughout the year.  Peppers grown at home or purchased in August-September will peak at the peak of their heat; those bought during the winter will be more mild.

HABANERO-CORIANDER Pepper Sauce (HOT)
Enough habanero's to appear to mostly fill the number of containers you choose.  I prefer to use 32 oz ball jars.

Prepare the ingredients by slicing long sections of white onion and carrot. I like to cut the onion in 8ths and the carrot in about 3" sections. Peel 5 or more garlic cloves for each 32-oz jar.  Slice the tops off of the hot peppers, wearing gloves if you are sensitive to the hot pepper oil and be certain to wash your hands immediately after handling the peppers.

Put 1T of black pepper corns and 1T coriander seed into the bottom of each jar.  Line the sides of the jar with the veggies, making sure to alternate for best results.  Pack full with peppers and a couple of the remaining vegetables.  Overall, my sauce is about 1/4-1/3 vegetables other than peppers by volume.  Cover with vinegar, place lid on jar and store in a cool place where you will remember to turn the jars over every day.

JALAPENO-BASIL Pepper Sauce (Medium Heat) (shown in pictures)
Following the same process as above, use the following ingredients: Jalapeno peppers (sliced lengthwise), garlic, fresh basil (about 3/4-cup for 2 ball jars); white onion; 1T black peppercorns; 1/2T coriander seed.

POMEGRANATE-LEMON Pepper Sauce (Mild)
Use a combination of orange bell pepper, ahaheim pepper (if you want any heat) and ajeio peppers.  Seeds from one pomegranite, thinly sliced lemon (about 1 lemon per 32-oz ball jar); garlic; 1T coriander seed, 1T black peppercorns.

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

INGREDIENTS
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and chopped
1 large russet potato, peeled and chopped
1 medium spanish onion, chopped
1 1/2 inches ginger, minced
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1T extra virgin olive oil
1T hot madras curry powder
1/2 T tumeric
1 bay leaf
6-8 cups filtered water
small pinch grey salt or sea salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste

RECIPE
Peel and seed your butternut squash.  My preferred method is to use a chef's knife to remove about 1/4 inch off each end of the squash, set it on the now flat large end and slice it in half lengthwise.  Remove the seeds and stringy pith then slice each length in half cross-wise.  Use a peeler or paring knife to remove the skin, then chop into 1/2 inch pieces.  Peel and chop the potato into 1/2 inch cubes.

Place the chopped squash and potato into a dutch oven or heavy stock pot and cover with water to about 2 inches above the vegetables.  Bring to a rolling boil on high heat and immediately move to strain and set aside. (See roasted vegetable variation below.  The process fits into the recipe right here)

Bring the stock pot back to temperature over medium heat.  Add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and your onion to the pot, adjusting the heat to allow the onions to cook gently and slightly caramelize. Once the onions have caramelized, add the bay leaf and dried spices.  Stir through to coat the onion well with the spices adding a slight bit more oil if necessary. Add the ginger and garlic. Continue to allow the onions to cook in the curry spices for another couple of minutes.  Add the  squash and potato and combine thoroughly with spiced onions.  Season with a small pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Cover with water, about 1 inch above the level of the vegetables and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Reduce the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, allowing the spices to meld.

Allow the soup to slightly cool.  For a wonderful consistency, puree 1/2 -3/4 of the soup in a blender being very cautious with the hot liquid.  Fill the blender only half way and hold the lid down with a dish towel during each blend.  Set aside in a heat proof bowl until you have pureed half or more of the soup.  Return the pureed soup to the pot and mix through.

OPTIONAL GARNISHES

Hot mustard and fresh tomato chutney (2T yellow or black mustard seeds heated in 3T canola oil until they begin to pop; 1/2 cup fresh tomato, chopped; 1/4 chives, chopped; 1/4 cilantro chopped.  Mix together)

Yogurt with coriander seeds and lemon  (1/2 cup plain yogurt, strained through cheesecloth to remove water;  1T whole coriander seed, freshly crushed; zest and juice from 1/2 lemon; 1/2 T honey)

VARIATIONS
Roasted vegetables.  Preheat your oven to 450.  Spread the briefly boiled squash and potato onto a cooking sheet and coat lightly with extra virgin olive oil.  Add a pinch of grey salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.  Combine to cover and roast for 20-25 minutes or until the vegetables are slightly caramelized.  Add to the onion/curry mixture and continue the recipe as described and omit adding additional salt and pepper.

Phyllo Phabulous

My friend Gail made something like this for NYE a couple of years ago. It is simple to make, but looks impressive.

NOT a low-fat recipe....

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter, melted
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 carrots, chopped
1/2 cup peas
1/2 cup corn
1 cup frozen spinach, thawed
1 bar Neufchatel cheese, melted
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup cheddar, shredded
salt and pepper to taste
any nice bouquet garni or italian seasoning with extra herbs (basil, rosemary)
phyllo dough

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425. Place a tbsp. of butter in the pan, and fry the onion and garlic. Add other vegetables and cook until fragrant and soft, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, defrost phyllo dough and place on flat workstation.

In a separate bowl, place melted neufchatel and other cheeses. Take cooked vegetables and add to melted cheeses and mix until fully blended. Add herbs. Test for needed salt.

Lay out the phyllo dough on wax paper. Brush the edges of the dough with melted butter and overlap. The edges will stick together. Scoop two tablespoons of mixture onto the phyllo dough and spread, leaving lots of room on the edges of the phyllo dough for folding. Fold one corner in, covering the vegetables, and the flip over the pastry repeatedly to cover the entire piece with dough. Liberally brush the dough with butter and place on cookie sheet. Repeat with as much dough and vegetables as you have, then bake for 25 minutes in the oven. You will know it is done when the tops are crispy and golden brown.

Let cool before serving. Enjoy!

Mom's Pasta

Our mother came to visit and made this pasta dish for me last year. She was all agog with excitement because she rarely cooks, yet she created this dish, and she was so happy to be able to share it.

1 lb. whole wheat spaghetti
2 cans diced and seasoned organic tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced and smashed
1 can or jar artichoke hearts
2 Morningstar "sausage" patties, crumbled
1 lemon
hot peppers, to taste
parmesan, to taste
salt, pepper, to taste

In a large pot, cook the spaghetti.

In a large pan, heat the oil, saute onions and garlic until tender. Meanwhile, chop artichokes. Add tomatoes, paste and "sausage" patties and to the pan. Cook down. Add artichokes, stir. Add cooked pasta to the pan. Meld the flavors together, and squeeze the lemon onto the mix. Toss and liberally add parmesan, salt, pepper, and hot peppers if using.