Better Cauliflower Crust

Here’s another installment of my Make It Better series. I’m not intolerant to gluten or even sensitive for that matter. I just eat a lot of too much bread and have been looking for alternatives to clean up my diet. So, in my adventures, I’ve made several recipes for cauliflower crust pizza in the last couple years. And I absolutely love it. Some of the recipes have indeed been great. Others, OK. Yeah. Horrible.

Along the way I’ve picked up a few tricks of the trade.

// Pulse in Processor

You may encounter a recipe that instructs you to grate your cauliflower. That’s going to make a huge mess. Instead, chop up florets and pulse them into “rice” in your food processor. It’s faster, the “rice” gets much smaller, and you’ll spend less time cleaning up.

// Microwave Fast

I know some of you will disagree with me, but I find it much easier to just microwave my cauliflower “rice” while I’m getting other parts of my meal ready. We rarely use the microwave, so I revel in the convenience of it for those 7 minutes. That way, you can keep it all in the same bowl and skip the step of draining from added water. It’s the little things . . .

// Drain + Drain Some More

Once you’ve cooked your cauliflower, let it cool almost completely. But never, and I mean NEVER, skip draining the moisture out. You’d be surprised how much is in there, too. I usually use a clean tea towel and work on my “rice” in batches. I’ll squeeze as much as humanly possible . . . and then return in five or so minutes to squeeze any last bit of water that remains.

If you think it’s done, try again.

// Season Well

Don’t forget to add salt, pepper, and even herbs or other spices. You want it to taste freaking amazing, right? My favorite recipe calls for a good amount of cheese in the crust, and I think it’s worth the add-in. So, I just skimp on any added cheese atop the pizza and opt instead of lots of roasted veggies and good sauce. Versus where the bread is sort of in the background in a lot of pizza recipes, the cauliflower can be one of the highlights of the entire meal.

// Use Parchment, Not Foil

A few of the recipes I’ve followed have said to use greased aluminum foil as a surface for cooking. Please, please don’t do this. Ever. I’ve tried twice with disastrous results. You will likely be so sorry. Parchment (or maybe a silicone pizza baking mat) will keep your pizza from sticking. If you’re out of parchment (like I often am) try a well greased baking pan before skipping to aluminum.

// My Favorite Recipe

Like I said, I’ve tried several different recipes, but this one on PopSugar is by far my favorite. Usually we’ll make two pizzas -- one for me + Ada, one for Stephen -- and I’ll cut the cheese almost in half when doubling. For toppings, we often use BBQ sauce for sauce, a medley of roasted veggies (I roast while preparing the crust // before putting them on the pizza), fresh tomatoes, a little ricotta, and then chopped basil from the garden.

Do you have any cauliflower crust tips to share?

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Cauliflower + Eggplant Mash, Two Ways

If you’d rather skip the traditional mashed potatoes this year in favor of a more veggie-filled side -- this recipe is for you. Not only that, you can transform any leftovers into a delicious veggie burger! Actually, you can do the veggie burger with any mash you might have on hand, but first I’ll cover making the roasted mashed veggies.

Chop.
Season.
Roast.
Blend.
Enjoy!

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER + EGGPLANT MASH

Makes around 4 cups total.

What you’ll need . . . 

• 1 head cauliflower, chopped
• 1 medium eggplant, skin peeled + chopped
• Handful nutritional yeast
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Olive oil
• Water
• 1 tablespoon Earth Balance

Method . . . 

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Place veggies on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with the nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper.
3. Roast for around 1 hour -- stirring every 20 minutes until everything is browned and soft.
4. Transfer to a food processor and add water 1/4 cup at a time until you reach your desired consistency. I used around 1-1/4 cups water total.
5. Mix in the Earth Balance and serve in a large baking dish.

LEFTOVER MASH BURGERS

A wonderful way to use the rest!

What you’ll need . . .

• 2 cups Cauliflower + Eggplant Mash (cold)***
• 1 cup texturized soy protein
• 1 cup rolled oats, uncooked
• 1/2 cup sunflower kernels 
• 1/4 cup flax meal

Method . . . 

1. In a large bowl, simply mix all the ingredients together by hand until well incorporated.
2. You can add any extra seasonings you might want, but I found the original mix to be quite flavorful on its own.
3. Then shape into patties -- about 8 in all. 
4. *** Alternatively, if you didn’t quite have 2 cups of mash, you can use just one cup and half the other ingredients for 4 burgers.
5. Then cook in a fry pan with some olive oil over medium-high heat until browned on both sides.
6. I even froze my burgers using these instructions.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING -- and don’t forget dessert!

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Baked Autumn Samosas

I ate Indian food at least twice a week when I was in college. I would pick it up on my way home from the bus stop at this amazing joint in the Commons (I think it's Sangam -- they have a location in Collegetown, too). I call it a "joint" because it was almost like fast food, just way better.

I always bought two samosas with my plate of to-go veggie curry and rice. I'd eat one right away and save the other for later. Potatoes, peas, fried dough, spices. So good. My favorite part of the meal.

This recipe is far from traditional and is baked, not fried. Still satisfies my nostalgic craving, though. I know I'll be making these again soon!

BAKED AUTUMN SAMOSAS

Filling

• 2 to 3 cups butternut squash 
• 1 head cauliflower 
• 1 white onion 
• 3 large cloves garlic 
• Olive oil 
• Salt 
• Pepper 
• Curry powder 
• Smoked paprika 

Crust

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup unbleached bread flour
• Pinch salt
• 1/2 cup Earth Balance (cold)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Water (cold)

Method for veggies . . .

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Get a rimmed baking sheet ready.
2. Chop all veggies coarsely -- into approx. 1-inch cubes. Then place them on your rimmed sheet.
3. Drizzle with olive oil (a few tablespoons) and then sprinkle with your salt, pepper, and spices. Use as little or as much as you like. I kept ours relatively tame since I wanted to give Ada some of the filling for dinner.
4. Roast in oven for an hour, stirring every 20 minutes. Then refrigerate until you're ready to make your samosas. If that's right away -- proceed to making the crust.

Method for crust . . . 

1. In a food processor, combine the flours and salt. Pulse.
2. Then add in the butter in chunks and the olive oil. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
3. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time -- pulsing again -- until the dough starts to form together.
4. Then roll into a ball and store in the fridge until you're ready to bake.

Putting it all together . . . 

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly spritz a baking sheet with olive oil. Set aside.
2. Basically, you roll out the dough between two pieces of wax paper, cut it into a circle using a pot top, cut that in half, fold, fill, and press shut. See this video tutorial for details (as well as for a gluten-free and more traditional samosas recipe). It's exactly how I did it.
3. Then arrange samosas on baking sheet and prick each with the tines of a fork.
4. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Until the crust is golden.
5. Let cool and serve with your favorite barbeque sauce.

These photos of the finished samosas aren't really my best, but you might be interested to know I shot them in total, complete darkness. Yeah. We're at that time of year when dinner is eaten long after the sun goes down.

I used my DIY light box to photograph in the past. But now I'm using my bounce flash. Stephen bought it for me for Christmas two years ago, and I'm only now getting around to using it. Not too shabby at all.

Today on Writing Chapter Three, I wrote about the magic hour when Stephen gets home from work. I feel like Ada merely tolerates me all day until she can see daddy again.

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Easy-Peasy Potato Curry

Remember our garden project? The sad patch of rocky soil that looked more like a pit than a potential home to healthy veggies and herbs?

Well, I'm excited to say it went from looking like this:

To looking like this!


Hahaha. OK. That was a REALLY lazy attempt to trick you. We didn't get to working on the garden last weekend. We had all the best intentions to. Saturday afternoon turned out beautifully sunny. But we had movie plans with some friends. By the time we got out of the theater, it was POURING. Strike! Then on Sunday, it was iffy on and off all day.

This weekend doesn't look promising as it's my high school reunion. (10 years!) I have Monday off for the holiday weekend, though. So, we'll see if we can squeeze garden time in there somewhere. We need to get those herbs homes -- and fast!

You guys gave us some great ideas for things to plant, like:

• Lettuce
• Kale
• Carrots
• Tomatoes
• Zucchini and other squashes
• Green Peppers
• Cucumber
• Etc.

We're also looking forward to learning some preserving processes. Like canning and freezing (it seems to me like freezing should be a no-brainer, but somehow we destroy our foods with freezer burn). Anything to gain at least a little independence from the grocery store. Plus, there's just something awesome about growing your own!

Speaking of freezer-eats, our dinner last night made use of bulk potatoes and onions AND frozen peas and cauliflower. It wasn't a 10 meals for $10 kind of masterpiece like our veggie lasagna (which, truth be told, lasted only three nights), but it served as one big meal for Stephen and dinner and today's lunch for me.


EASY-PEASY POTATO CURRY

What you'll need . . .

• 2 cups chopped waxy potatoes
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 to 3 cloves crushed garlic
• 1 inch fresh ginger, minced
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon yellow curry powder
• 2 cups frozen cauliflower
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 can vegetable broth, low sodium
• 3 to 4 tomatoes, skinned and quartered (I bet canned would work, too

Method . . .

1. In a large pan, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat and add the potatoes and onions. Cook for several minutes -- until onions are soft.
2. Add the garam masala and curry powder. Stir until well coated. Take your minced ginger and squeeze it well so just the juices make it to the pan. Then toss in the crushed garlic (I used the side of my knife to give each clove a good press).
3. Then toss in the frozen veggies, tomato quarters, and broth. Bring to a boil, then drop to a simmer for 45 minutes.
4. Serve with 3-hour naan, 5-minute naan, or rice.

And if you're in the mood for dessert -- pregnant or not, you'll love this egg-less (so, SAFE), vegan cookie dough recipe over on (never home)maker, baby! Today's post is all about cravings, which -- for me -- have started early in my 13th week.

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Vegetable Korma -- Thai Style

When we want a fast, delicious dinner in a flash, we look to Indian food. Though traditionally, I'm pretty sure most dishes are carefully simmered and fretted over for hours upon hours, you can still make something great in far less time. Like this dish, to which we gave some Thai flair without the fuss -- adding coconut milk and peanut butter.

No, kids. This isn't your mom's vegetable korma. (Excuse the dirty stove-top.)

THAI STYLE VEGETABLE KORMA

What you'll need . . .

• 1 cup chopped cauliflower
• 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon shredded ginger
• 1 tablespoon coriander powder
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 can (1-1/2 cups or so) coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter

Method . . .

1. In a large pan, heat the oil on medium-high heat until hot. Then toss in the garlic and onions. Cook for several minutes until softened/glassy.
2. Toss in the spices and bay leaves. Stir around until everything is well coated.
3. Add the cauliflower, green pepper, and chickpeas. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes until softened.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the peanut butter and coconut milk (we used that spicy peanut butter . . . but you can just use regular). Then add the mixture to the pan.
5. Cook for another 10 to 20 minutes. Then serve and enjoy with naan (new recipe to come!)!

Yeah, that's right. From chopping to eating, this takes around 30 minutes. That's why we love Indian food so much! Well, it's also insanely delicious.


So, it appears the comments section hasn't been working well since last night. Not only that, I just recently discovered that some of you have tricked the system and been able to comment using Blogger versus Disqus. The downside: I don't get to respond to your comments. I just know they're there. And they are much appreciated.

I can't believe to describe the level of frustration I feel! GRRRRRR! Please, dear readers, know you are loved. Your comments are so very, very, very much appreciated. And we'll be working on a better system ASAP.

Promise.

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Crock Pot Meals: FAQ Response

The question: Do you guys have any good recommendations for prepare-in-advance and/or crock pot meals? I often have some free time in the morning and less in the evening, so I'm all about getting dinner ready in advance!

We love our crock pot. Especially when we were training for the marathon, we used it to make soups and other meals at least once a week. Here's my original post (from the METHOD archives) about this juicy, slow cooker vegetable curry.

This week has indeed been an experiment of how to get the most variety of healthy foods into my diet. I've found that using our slow cooker has (tremendously) helped me achieve success with this quest. It all started on Sunday, after I ran my weekly long run. I mused for those 2+ hours about how I'll ever be able to run 26.2 miles. I wasn't concerned cardiovascular-ly, really, because I'm devoting so much of my time and energy to that aspect. More nutritionally, I'm lacking these days. My diet has consisted mostly of white bread and cheese because I've become incredibly lazy (OK, and busy with work, tired with aforementioned running, etc.). So, Monday morning, I took charge -- throwing a rainbow of vegetables into the slow-cooker pot . . . seasoned it all with some spices and vegetable stock to make a soup that has lasted for lunches all week.

Tuesday, I made the vegetable curry (above) . . . and it stretched out to two dinner for us!

I've also discovered through all this veggie-love that I heart cauliflower. I don't know why exactly -- I always figured the white stuff was devoid of nutrition. But I was wrong, and if you'd like more information on why you should be eating cauliflower, just click here.

And here's what you'll need . . .

• Slow cooker/crock pot
• 2 medium-large sweet potatoes, skinned and cubed
• 2 cups cauliflower, chopped
• 1-1/2 cup frozen or fresh peas
• 1 package veggie Chik'n Strips (optional, but highly recommended)
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 1 cup coconut milk (I used light)]
• 1 teaspoon raw sugar
• 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
• 1 small jalapeno, finely chopped
• Bunch of cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• Soy milk (optional, see below)

Method . . .

1. Place the cubed sweet potatoes, chopped cauliflower, and peas in the slow cooker.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the vegetable stock, coconut milk, sugar, garlic, jalapeno, cilantro, turmeric and curry powders.
3. Pour this mixture over the veggies and mix around a bit to coat.
4. Turn the slow-cooker on the LOW setting and cook for 4 to 5 hours. If you're in a pinch and would rather wait only 2 to 3 hours, you may use the HIGH setting. However, I've read that that makes it all a bit more mushy.
5. You may find that you want more liquid in the pot. If so, feel free to add splashes of soy milk as desired. However, note that the veggies will cook down.
6. If you plan to eat the meal the day you make it -- once it is ready, add the Chik'n Strips and heat until they are warm. I decided to add these last so they didn't get too soft. And, actually, we ate ours the next day . . . so I poured the vegetable curry into a big pot, heated it up again (on the stove) and THEN added the Chik'n strips.
7. Serve with naan (recipe coming later today!)
   

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