Cauliflower Carrot Mash (Healthy Alternative to Mashed Potatoes)

I'm (hopefully) traveling to Italy this week!

Hopefully... because our airline just went on strike and cancelled our outbound flights. We are rebooking as I write this post. The reason for the sojourn to Italy?

I was accepted to the Sirenland Writers Conference held in Positano, Italy. I'm thrilled to announce that I'll be working with Meg Wolitzer, one of my favorite writers. Her latest book, The Interestings, is just out on paperback and it's fantastic. I highly recommend picking up a copy.

That is... assuming we actually can get there!

I should have lots to report back on in terms of food, wine and travels. I've even managed to find some gluten free restaurants that offer pasta and pizza selections.

If I post on the trip while I'm away, I'll post on my writing blog:

www.jenniferdawnbrody.com

In the meantime, I wanted to share this recipe before I left. It's for Cauliflower Carrot Mash. It's super delicious. It's a healthier alternative to mashed potatoes. It's also much more interesting, though it still has that great mashed texture. There is butter in it. Copious amounts of butter.

Grassfed butter.

I'm not apologizing.

Butter is back.

Cauliflower Carrot Mash
Serves 4 to 6 people
Cooking time: about 30 minutes
Gluten-free; vegetarian (if using vegetable broth)

Ingredients
1 large head of cauliflower, chopped
1 bunch of carrots, peeled and chopped
1 or 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
3 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tablespoons butter, plus more for mashing if desired
salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions
1. Place the cauliflower, carrots, stock and 2 tablespoons of butter in a large pot. Bring the broth to a boil and then reduce the heat to low and cover. Simmer the vegetables until tender (about 20 minutes).

2. Once the vegetables are tender, remove then from the heat. Add more butter into the pot if desired, or even a good dash of olive oil. Using an immersion blender or masher, mash the vegetables together with the cooking liquid until they achieve the desired texture. More stock may be added as needed. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Enjoy!

Cherry Almond Roasted Cauliflower

Rainy Los Angeles endures...

...but I kind of enjoy it. This is our version of winter, I suppose, and I shouldn't complain. Only the Adorable Monster's fluff does not do so well in the rain. No dog park runs for him lately. He's currently snoozing on the sofa, the first of many naps he'll take today.

My day consists of revising. I'm hard at work wrapping up my new novel for my agent. Doing my final polish pass. I'd love to finish it before the holiday, so I'm hunkered down working a ton.

But I am still cooking—a girl has to eat, right?

Here's a delicious recipe for cauliflower, quietly one of the most versatile vegetables. In this case, I roast it in the oven, then toss it with curry powder, lemon juice, dried cherries, and slivered almonds. The resulting dish is spicy, a little sour, sweet, rich, and crunchy—all at the same time.

How can you say no to that?

While it works great as a side dish, it's substantial enough to be stand alone too.

Cherry Almond Roasted Cauliflower

Serves about two people
Cooking time: about 30 minutes
Vegan; gluten-free

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower, cut into smaller florets
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons curry powder
juice of one lemon
1/4 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup roasted slivered almonds
chopped cilantro for garnishing (optional)
salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. Toss the cauliflower with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for about 20-25 minutes, until tender and slightly browned.

3. Remove from the the oven and toss right away with the curry powder and lemon juice. Check seasoning for salt and pepper, adding more if needed. To serve, toss the cauliflower with the almonds and cherries and garnish with the cilantro. Enjoy!

Slow-Cooker Curried Chicken & Cauliflower

Happy Monday & Happy November!

This is a big week with so much in flux. The East Coast still grappling with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. A huge election tomorrow. The holiday season approaching.

When the weather turns colder and everything gets hectic (though it seems to be ninety degrees in LA), I turn to my slow-cooker to provide healthy, homemade comfort food. I love throwing my ingredients in there first thing in the morning and smelling them cooking all day long. I also love feeling like somebody else cooked me dinner, even though I did the work.

This is an easy, healthy slow-cooker dish I threw together last week. The main ingredients are chicken thighs and cauliflower, but I also threw in curry spices, green peas, and red bell pepper. I served the dish over brown rice for a warm, tender meal.

Slow-Cooker Curried Chicken & Cauliflower

Serves 6-8 people
Prep time: 20 minutes; Cooking time: 4-6 hours on high (6-8 hours on low)
Dairy-free; gluten-free

Ingredients

1 pound organic chicken thighs
1 head of cauliflower, chopped
1 cup frozen peas
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup tomato paste
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons curry powder (any curry blend will work)
salt and freshly ground pepper
chopped cilantro for garnishing (optional)
brown rice for serving (optional)

Directions

1. Whisk the tomato paste and curry powder into the chicken broth. Place all of the ingredients into the slow-cooker, stirring to combine.

2. Cook for 4-6 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low, until the chicken is cooked through and very tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. To serve, ladle the Chicken & Cauliflower Curried Stew over brown rice and garnish with a little chopped cilantro. Enjoy!

Cauliflower Olive Chicken Stew

Stew.

I love stews.

Comforting. Warm. Healthy. Great leftovers.

That's what I think when I think of stews. I got the idea for this Greek-inspired iteration of chicken stew from the fabulous New York Times column Recipes for Health: Chicken Stews to Savor, or Store Away. In it, Martha Rose Shulman writes about how her niece is about to give birth. She provides several chicken stew recipes that work great frozen (the article is worth checking out for all of them). My good friend just gave birth to twin girls.

This made me want to try out a stew recipe.

What made me choose this one over the others offered was the interesting combination of cauliflower, chicken, and cinnamon. I also loved that she finished it with crumbled feta, though it's great without it, too. She also uses chicken legs and thighs (which I always do), as they don't try out like breasts when braised. Also, they tend to be less expensive.

The resulting dish was everything that you wanted a stew to be (see my list above), yet it was also imbued with a touch of the exotic (this came from the cinnamon). It kept great in the fridge and tasted even better the next night for dinner. I would like to try freezing a portion in the future, too.

The next time I make it, I may try doing a version in my slow-cooker. I love my slow-cooker. And I have a feeling that this stew would taste even better after simmering away all day long.

Cauliflower Olive Chicken Stew
Adapted from Recipes for Health by Martha Rose Shulman
Serves 4-6 people
Cooking time: about one hour
Gluten-free

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large red onion, chopped
• 2 to 4 garlic cloves (to taste), minced
• 6 to 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 28 oz. can of chopped tomatoes, with juice, pulsed in a food processor
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, or 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 small or 1/2 large cauliflower, cored, broken into florets
• 12 pitted kalamata olives (about 45 grams)
• 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 to 2 tablespoons feta cheese, crumbled (optional)

Directions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat in a large, deep, heavy lidded skillet or casserole and brown the chicken, in batches if necessary, about 5 minutes on each side. Remove the pieces to a plate or bowl as they’re browned. Pour off the fat from the pan. Add the vinegar to the pan and scrape up all the bits from the bottom of the pan.
2. Add the remaining tablespoon of the olive oil to the pan, and turn the heat down to medium. Add the onion and a generous pinch of salt and cook, stirring often and scraping the bottom of the pan, until it begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Turn the heat to low, cover and let the onion cook for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time, until it is lightly browned and very soft. 
3. Add the garlic and stir together for a minute or two more, until the garlic is fragrant, then add the tomatoes and their juice, the cinnamon, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer and simmer 10 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the mixture is reduced slightly and fragrant.
4. Return the chicken pieces to the pot, along with any juices that have accumulated in the bowl. If necessary, add enough water to barely cover the chicken. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes. 
5. Add the cauliflower and kalamata olives and simmer for another 20 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender and the chicken is just about falling off the bone. 
6. Stir in the parsley, taste and adjust seasonings. Serve with grains, with the feta sprinkled on top if desired.

Advance preparation: The stew keeps for 3 or 4 days in the refrigerator and freezes well. With leftovers, make a delicious rice casserole by spreading cooked rice over the bottom of a baking dish and topping with the chicken and sauce. Heat through for 20 minutes at 325 degrees.

Smoked Paprika Cauliflower Puree (pictured with Pork Chops with Apple-Ginger Relish)

Did anybody get a Sous Vide Supreme for the holidays?

Judging from my blog traffic, I'm guessing that you did! 

I've written about mine at length and love the way it renders meat exceptionally tender and moist. It's especially great for lean cuts that might otherwise dry out with conventional cooking. I'll be positing a fabulous recipe that I made for Sous Vide Bison Steaks in the coming weeks. 

The other day, I made a Smoked Paprika Cauliflower Puree to go with my recipe for Sous Vide Pork Chops with Apple-Ginger Relish. The puree was light and flavorful. It paired perfectly with the sweetness of the apple-ginger relish and earthiness of the pork chops. 

So I decided that it was worthy of sharing here today. The puree would work beautifully as a side dish to almost any meal. It's lighter than mashed potatoes, but provides similar satisfaction. 

If you don't have a Sous Vide Supreme, then the pork chops can be prepared conventionally, too. Just rub them with herbs, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Then, fry them up in a pan.

Either way, it will be delicious.

Click here for the recipe for Sous Vide Pork Chops with Apple-Ginger Relish

Smoked Paprika Cauliflower Puree

Serves 4-6 people

Cooking time: about 30 minutes

Vegan; gluten-free

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• one head of cauliflower, roughly chopped
• 1 russet potato, peeled and roughly chopped
• about 3 cups of chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (pimenton)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Place the cauliflower, potato, and chicken broth in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
2. Puree the cauliflower and potato with the paprika, olive oil, and the chicken broth. Begin by adding about 2 cups of the broth and then add more to desired consistency.
3. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Enjoy!

Meatless Monday: Roasted Cauliflower With Dried Cranberries

Before I dive into this week's Meatless Monday recipe, let me first just share that yesterday's Stir It 28 Fundraiser for Haiti (Los Angeles) was a smashing success!  My "White Trash" Bacon & Egg Salad Sandwiches went over like gangbusters (the recipe is forthcoming this week) as did my Bacon Brownies With Bourbon Caramel Sauce (a recipe which I originally created for Eat My Blog).  Everyone made so much fabulous food and so many fabulous drinks that the event with positively overflowing with fabulousness!

Thanks to Chrystal from Duo Dishes for organizing the event and to Greg fro Sippity Sup for letting us use his house and sully his unbelievable kitchen!  Fundraisers were held simultaneously in several other cities, too, and donations are being collected for the rest of the month, so it's not too late to help out!  Click here to check out the Facebook page for more info!

Now onto this week's Meatless Monday recipe: Roasted Cauliflower With Dried Cranberries!  This is another great vegetable recipe that I created for my book club this month.  One of my favorite vendors at the Hollywood Farmers Market had the most stunning, oversized heads of organic cauliflower.  I simply couldn't resist them.  I prepared the cauliflower by roasting it in the oven.  I love combining savory with sweet, which I did by tossing the cauliflower with dried cranberries.  They also provide a nice tartness to the dish.

This is a great side dish to accompany almost any main course - it's beautiful to behold with the dark red cranberries contrasting with the white cauliflower - and it tastes scrumptious, too!  My book club was happy - and you will be, too!

Roasted Cauliflower With Dried Cranberries
Serves 4 people
Cooking time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients
1 head organic cauliflower, cut into big pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup dried cranberries (sweetened)
1 tablespoon Italian parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons parmesan reggiano, grated
salt and pepper

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Place the cauliflower in a roasting pan and toss with the olive oil, salt and pepper.  Roasted for 15-20 minutes, or until tender and slightly caramelized (parts of the cauliflower will be browned).  Remove from the oven.

Toss the cauliflower with the cranberries, parmesan and parsley.  Adjust seasoning (salt and pepper) if needed.  Enjoy!

Source For Ingredients
organic cauliflower and organic Italian parsley from Hollywood Farmers Market

organic dried cranberries and parmsan reggiano from Whole Foods

Dried Cranberry

Music On Tap

Spoon - Transference
On their new studio album, Spoon, indie rock veterans from Austin, Texas, really deliver the goods!  This album hearkens back to their early work.  I've been listening to it on heavy rotation for the last two weeks!

Meatless Monday: Slow-Cooker Cauliflower And Potatoes With Indian Spices (Aloo Gobi)

Here we go for Meatless Monday!

Not only am I always looking for fast, healthy meals, but I'm also a fiend for Indian food.  I simply can't get enough of the tumeric, cumin, corriander, ginger and garlic.  Oh, the flavor!  It's like a party on my tongue.  And oh, the health benefits!  I could write a thesis on just about every one of these glorious spices.  Ginger is great for digestion, reduces inflammation, may help lower cholesterol and even fight cancer.  Tumeric is considered to be a powerful anti-inflammatory that may protect against arthritis, heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer's disease.  So put that in your pipe and smoke it!  Err... I mean, eat it!

This recipe is my take on Aloo Gobi, a traditional dish made with cauliflower, potatoes and Indian spices. I also added green peas to the mix. To make this a complete meal, I tossed in garbanzo beans (high in protein) and served the whole kit and caboodle over a long grain brown rice (whole grains people!).

Oh yeah, and this dish is a snap to make!  Just throw all the ingredients into your slow-cooker (click here to view) and let it go.  That's it.  No cooking actually involved - just chopping.  How's that for a fool proof meal?

As I settled into my first bite, I was in heaven - Indian food heaven!  Now this is my idea of comfort food.  Forget the burgers and pizza and fries, this was warm and soothing, flavorful and filling, so good in fact, that I was scraping my bowl and quickly downing seconds.  I even caught Kuzak, a self-proclaimed dissenter when it comes to all things Indian food, sneaking into the kitchen for more!  This recipe is so tasty - and so easy - I promise, you'll want seconds, too.

Slow-Cooker Cauliflower and Potatoes with Indian Spices (Aloo Gobi)
Serves 6-8 people
Cooking time: 4-6 hours in a slow-cooker

Ingredients
1 head of cauliflower, chopped
1 cup frozen peas
2 cups potatoes, chopped
1 14 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons curry powder
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
salt and pepper

optional
2 cups long grain brown rice, cooked
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions
Place all of the ingredients except the salt, pepper and rice into the slower cooker.  Stir to combine.  Cook on high for 4-6 hours, or on low for 6-8 hours, or until the vegetables are tender.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To plate, scoop some brown rice in the bottom of a bowl or plate.  Top with a generous portion of the Aloo Gobi.  Sprinkle with the cilantro.  Enjoy!

Source for Ingredients
organic cauliflower, organic purple potatoes, ginger and organic onion from The Hollywood Farmers Market

organic elephant garlic, organic canned garbanzo beans, curry powder, tomato paste, organic vegetable broth and organic long grain brown rice from Whole Foods

Music on Tap

Muse - The Resistance

Not only does Muse have a reputation of being one of the best live bands around (and they better be considering they've been touring for the better part of the last seven years), but on this album they finally show their full potential!  Part pro-rock, part-Radiohead, part-Depeche Mode, part-electronica, part-Queen, this album defies categorization.  However, it will rock your socks off!  If you ask me, it's worth buying for hit single "Uprising" alone. 'Nough said.

Click here to check out this album!

Curried Cauliflower Soup

Hey Divas! I'm back from a whirlwind weekend at the Greenbrier, a beautiful hotel right over the border in West Virginia that dates back to 1778. The brief reprieve from was much needed, but I'm happy to report that I'm back at the stove and ready to bring you tons more great recipes this week. First up, I'm blogging one of the best soups I've made in recent memory - Curried Cauliflower Soup. This recipe is vegetarian, so as promised, I'm continuing to bring you great meatless recipes at least once a week!

This soup is a cinch to throw together after a long day at work and it's filling enough to eat for dinner. Oh, and did I mention that it boasts awesome health benefits? Curry, a mix of different herbs and spices, has been shown to be one of the most powerful anti-inflammatories you can consume. This is primarily due to the presence or tumeric, the spice that lends curry it's bright yellow color, which is both a potent anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory. Tumeric has also been used in lab studies to treat cancerous tumors. In other words, the more curry you eat, the better, and this soup is a great way to get more tumeric into your diet!


Curried Cauliflower Soup

1 head organic cauliflower, chopped
2 small red potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 yellow onion, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons curry powder
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
salt and freshly ground pepper

optional: garlic chives or parsley for garnishing

Directions:

Warm the olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. Add the onion and celery and saute until cooked, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small frying pan, toast the curry powder over medium low heat for a few minutes until it becomes fragrant. Be careful not to burn. Add the toasted curry powder to the pan and mix with the onion and celery. Cook for another two minutes.

Add the cauliflower, potatoes and stock and bring to a bowl. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the cauliflower and potatoes are cooked through.

Puree the soup until smooth and then return to the stove top. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve, ladle the soup into bowls, drizzle with good olive oil and sprinkle with chopped garlic chives or parsley. Enjoy!

Organic Cauliflower Soup

The Diva coming to you with another great recipe idea! Today was a cold, cloudy California day as the marine layer shifted inland, and nothing warms me up more than a nice, simple soup. After perusing my fridge, I found that I had a lovely organic head of cauliflower. So for lunch today, I decided to make a pureed cauliflower soup. Cauliflower is a wonderful vegetable with tons of health benefits. Heralding from the same vegetable family as kale, broccoli and collard greens, it's low in fat, high in fiber, folate and vitamin C. Like other members of the brassica family, cauliflower has phytochmeicals considered to be anti-cancer compounds. It also has certain anti-estrogen cancers that protect against breast and prostate cancers. What's more, cauliflower contains gluconsinolates which may improve the liver's ability to detoxify carcinogenic substances.

Now that's a nutritional punch if I've ever seen one! I topped my soup with chopped Italian parsley, not to be dismissed as a lowly garnish. In addition to packing great flavor, parsley also is a nutritional powerhouse. My lunch was positively divalicious! I paired the soup with an open-faced tuna salad sandwich. With out further ado, here's the simple recipe.

Domestic Diva's Organic Cauliflower Soup

1 head of organic cauliflower chopped
1 yellow onion chopped
1 celery stalk chopped
1 carrot chopped
4 cups vegetable stock
2 tbsp Italian parsley chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp good olive oil for drizzling
1 tsp chili flakes
salt and pepper

Directions:

In a heavy bottomed stock pot, heat the 2 tbsp olive oil. Add the onion, carrot and celery, sauteing until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the chili flakes and garlic and saute for one additional minute.

Add the cauliflower and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender.

Puree the soup in a blender until smooth. Salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, ladle the soup in a bowl. Top with the chopped parsley and drizzle with the good olive oil. Enjoy!