I had picked up a bag of fresh cauliflower rice this week and there were plenty of new and old recipes to try.
First there was spicy southwestern cauliflower rice recipe
Then there was cauliflower rice puttananesca
Then there was stir fried veges with cauliflower rice
All turned out great and perfect for weekday lunch choices!
Since I discovered Cauliflower rice, I have been enjoying trying different recipes. My favorite so far is the Cauliflower Fried Rice I posted previously.
Whenever I bring a bag of Cauliflower rice, I usually try a couple of recipes. This time wasn’t different. This recipe is loosely based on this one.
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups of Cauliflower Rice
1/2 cup diced orange and yellow peppers
1-2 tbsp chopped onion
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 jalapeno, chopped
1 tomato chopped
olive oil
salt to taste
dash of cumin
dash of paprika
lemon juice
chopped cilantro
Saute onion, garlic and jalapeno in a pan till lightly golden. Add tomatoes, salt, paprika and cumin and cook for another few minutes. Add peppers & cauliflower rice and continue cooking on a low flame for 5-10 minutes or longer until cooked, and the moisture evaporates.
Drizzle lemon juice and garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve warm with sliced avocado, sour cream, and pico del gayo.
Perfect for a workday lunch!
Links:
Cauliflower rice and Kale soup
I love all green leaf vegetables. There is always kale and spinach in my fridge at the minimum. Or other greens such as chard greens, mustard greens, collard greens, amaranth leaves, and red sorrel leaves.
But fenugreek leaves is a whole different story.
While I admired the patience with which my mother extracted, cleaned, chopped and used them in cooking and enjoyed the end product, I am lazy when it comes to following the arduous process involved!
I rarely buy fenugreek leaves, but on a rare occasion I do commit and often regret, which was the case this past week. Good news is, these days you can buy fenugreek leaves in the frozen section of an Indian grocery.
The most common recipe that we used to make at home was to cook fenugreek leaves with toor dal (pigeon gram). I scoured the web for other ideas and finally decided to also try a curry recipe with it.
Here’s how I used my bunch of fenugreek leaves.
Peas, Methi Malai (Creamy Peas & Fenugreek Leaves Curry)
3/4 bunch of fenugreek leaves, extracted, rinsed and chopped
1 cup frozen peas, washed
1 small onion chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, chopped
small piece of ginger, chopped
2 Roma tomaotes, blended
3-4 tbsp of sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
salt to taste
1-2 tsp oil
dash of tumeric
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
Extract, rinse, chop and set aside the fenugreek leaves.
Heat oil in a pan. Add tumeric and cumin seeds and fry till lightly brown. Add onion, garlic and ginger and fry till lightly brown, about 5 minutes. Add peas, and fenugreek leaves and continue flying for another 1-2 minutes. Season with salt and spices as desired.
Add milk, sour cream and a cup of water. Bring to boil, and reduce flame and continue cooking for another 15-20 minutes until the curry thickens. This is very lightly seasoned, always adjust seasoning to personal preference. You can also add paneer if desired.
Garnish with cilantro and serve with naan, roti or a bowl of rice.
Methi dal
I previously posted the recipe for Methi dal and you find the recipe for Methi dal here.
Note: Fenugreek leaves have a very strong flavor, and unlike other greens, using a whole lot of them in dal can make it bitter. I usually like to err on the lighter side and use less rather than more!
This recipe is adapted from here.
Ingredients:
1 Japanese Eggplant, sliced into wedges
1/2 Cauliflower cut into florets
1-2 tbsp red curry paste
1 cup chickpeas
1-2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 small piece of ginger grated
olive oil
salt to taste
a few fresh basil leaves
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
If using dry chickpeas, soak in water overnight and steam. If using canned, rinse and set aside.
Toss eggplant, cauliflower, ginger, garlic, oil, salt and curry paste. Roast in oven for 30-40 minutes until lightly brown.
Add chickpeas and mix well. Continue to roast for another 5-10 minutes.
Garnish with basil and serve warm over a bowl of rice. Perfect for that office day meal.
This recipe is loosely base on this one.
Ingredients:
1/2 head cauliflower
1/4 chopped onion
1 bag Brussels sprouts
1/2 cup quinoa
salt and fresh ground pepper
olive oil
1/2 cup coconut milk (I used lite)
coconut oil
red pepper flakes
curry powder
cardamon powder
Turmeric
Ginger
lemon juice
kale or other greens (optional)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Trim and rinse cauliflower florets. Toss in oil, salt and pepper and red pepper flakes in an oven safe bowl.
Trim and slice Brussels sprouts. Toss in oil, salt and pepper. Transfer to an oven safe bowl
Bake for 30-40 minutes until lightly browned.
Meanwhile, heat 1 tsp coconut oil, add onion and cook until translucent about 5 minutes. Add turmeric, curry powder, ginger and cardamon powder and fry for an additional 30 seconds. Add coconut milk, 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup quinoa. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 15-20 minutes until cooked. Season with salt.
Fluff the quinoa, top with roasted cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts. Top with green onions, drizzle lemon juice and toss in some greens such as green onions and chopped kale!
Perfect for a guilt free, week day, office meal!
So, last weekend, I met up with my old co-workers for a bagel brunch….
I baked fresh home-made bagels: sun-dried tomato, olive and jalapeno.
and visited the Smithsonian Zoo to see Bao Bao, who was leaving 😦
We will miss you, Bao Bao!
As soon as I came across this soup recipe, I was propelled to try it! Here’s how I made mine.
Ingredients:
1 small Cauliflower, separated into florets
1 bunch of Tuscan Kale, chopped
1/4 red onion chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 carton of light coconut milk or use Almond milk
cumin powder
paprika
curry powder
red pepper flakes
salt and fresh ground pepper
olive oil
lemon juice
3-4 cups of broth or water
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Toss Cauliflower florets in olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Layout in a baking pan and bake for 20-25 minutes.
Meanwhile prepare other vegetables. Â Heat a little oil in a large pan or dutch oven. Lightly fry onion and garlic till translucent. Add carrot and kale and lightly fry. Add seasoning, coconut milk and broth or water and bring to a boil. Reduce flame and let simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Process the roasted Cauliflower in a food processing, pulsing lightly to create Cauliflower rice. Transfer to the soup pan and continue cooking for another 4-5 minutes.
Season with salt and fresh ground pepper. Sprinkle croutons or pumpkin seeds. Drizzle lemon juice. Sprinkle herbs as needed and serve warm!
I am a little late in posting this. Following the tradition from the last few years I made black eyed peas and collard greens on New Years Day.
For lunch, I made these Mediterranean flavored wraps with steamed black eyed peas seasoned with salt, sun dried tomatoes in oil, black olives, sliced cucumber, sliced orange pepper, banana peppers and roasted pepper hummus.
For dinner I made soup loosely following the recipe here.
Ingredients:
2/3 cup black eyed peas, soaked over night and steamed
2-3 large collard greens
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 bay leaf
1 inch ginger, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup broth (or use use water like I do)
1/2 tsp berbere spice
touch of turmeric
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
cilantro to garnish
squeeze of fresh lemon juice (optional)
If using dry black eyed peas, soak in water overnight. Steam in a pressure cooker with twice the amount of water.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a large dutch over or pan. Add bay leaf, turmeric, onion, jalapeno, ginger and garlic and fry till lightly golden. Add berbere, salt, fresh ground pepper and tomatoes and continue cooking for five minutes.
Add broth or water, coconut milk and bring to a boil. Reduce flame to medium low and continue to simmer for 20 minutes. Add the cooked black eyed peas. Add more broth or coconut milk as needed and continue to simmer for another 15-20 minutes.
Add chopped greens and mix well. Keep cooking for another 5-10 minutes.  Garnish with some cilantro, drizzle of lemon juice  and serve warm with some rolls.
See Also:
Black-Eyed Peas for Prosperity in the New Year
Hoppin’ John
Black-eyed Peas and Greens with Navrattan Spices to start the New Year
Black-eyed Peas and Collard Greens
I slacked off in 2016. But that is understandable. My schedule was so busy, that I had less time to try new recipes. I did try some new, retried several old, and tasty recipes!
Here are some favorite recipes from 2016.
In January, I Â kicked off the year, Â with some another fun Black-eyed Peas and Collard Greens recipes. This one is a keeper!
I even tried two roll recipes: Jalapeno, Scallion and Garlic and Sun-dried Tomato and Jalapeno. Both were so delicious, that I continued to make them throughout the year!
I attempted the 21-day beach body diet in early 2016, and here’s my version of Bulghur Wheat Upma, designed to meet the container requirement (Disclaimer: I am not a certified Beach Body coach, so use at your own discretion!)
Another fun recipe in February from the beach body diet was the Brown Rice Paella.
March was all about Cauliflower Nirvana. Period!
Come April, I put all else aside for a two week vacation down under. What an incredible trip!
May is always, typically about Cherries.
I also experimented with other recipes like Mango Coconut Scones
And learnt to make Bagels… Sun Dried Tomato and Jalapeno bagels, of course 🙂
Summertime, to beat the heat, I experimented with many Popsicle recipes, many of them with mango or cherries: my two favorite fruits.
I maintained a scant patio garden this summer, which was plagued by over zealous squirrels. The most exciting vegetable from my patio garden this year  was zucchini!
August was about Savory Sun-dried Tomato Kalamata Olive and Jalapeno bread.
Two fun recipes from September included, plunging into Cauliflower Rice and Stir Fried Vegetables.
And these delicious Cherry Friands!
And another variation of the Quinoa Bisibele Bath.
October, I found Mango Chia Pudding, and it was terrific. It has fast become my go-to breakfast items!
November was incredibly busy. Come December, I did try the Tian.
But, December is all about the holidays… about Airplane Cookies!
Have a very Happy New Year!
Hope to see you back here next year!
I have been wanting to try this bread for sometime. While I was reluctant to turn on the oven considering the temperatures, I am glad  I finally did recently…
The only change I made to the original recipe, is to add 1 chopped jalapeno and reduce the cheese in the recipe.
It’s savory, fun and delicious with some soup for that office day meal!
Go here for the recipe.
Enjoy!
Links:
Check out A Soup A Week for some delicious soup recipes!
Fly 'n Cook 