Purple Cabbage Garlic Knots

Without planning to, I've set a new goal for myself. I'd like to create pizza dough in all colors of the rainbow, naturally. As you already know from the millions of recipes, our favorite dinners involve either pizza or garlic knots, so we've made an effort over the years to find a way to make it a healthier option. Using purees has really transformed this process.

So far, we have:

• RED with Beet Pizza Dough. 
• ORANGE, obviously, with my favorite Pumpkin Garlic Knots. 
• We could count our Chickpea Crust as YELLOW -- but I'll work on that one. 
• GREEN is in the form of delicious Pesto Dough made with homemade pesto.

And now PURPLE!


As I mentioned in yesterday's Curious George Juice post, I actually juiced the cabbage for this recipe instead of pureeing it. However, I'll give the puree option as well -- since it would be more like the other recipes we have on this site (in other words, if you'd like to try a similar dough, but don't have a juicer).

What's different with juicing versus cooking + pureeing is that the flavor is far more intense and concentrated. I'd describe purple cabbage knots as sweet and earthy. What I can't necessarily tell you is the difference with regard to nutrition. Obviously when juiced raw, the cabbage retains most of its nutrients, but loses the fiber. I don't know how much is lost in the baking process, but I am thinking more remains than with pureeing.

As you can imagine, the color is more vibrant, too.


PURPLE CABBAGE GARLIC KNOTS
works equally well as a pizza crust recipe

What you'll need . . . 

• 2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/2 warm water
• 1 tablespoon Sugar in the Raw (or sugar)
• 1 cup cabbage juice (room temperature or warm, not cold)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3-1/2 cups bread flour

Method . . .

1. To make our cabbage juice, we set our Breville Juice Fountain on high and juiced quartered purple cabbage until we got 1 cup. Set aside.
2. Mix the yeast into the 1/2 cup of warm water + the sugar. Let sit until frothy -- proofed -- about 10 minutes.
3. Mix in the cabbage juice and olive oil until well combined.
4. Add in the flour a cup or so at a time until you reach 3 cups, then start kneading and add more as needed. You may need more or less flour, depending on a lot of factors. Just knead until you form a smooth, elastic ball that isn't sticky . . . but not dry either!
5. Cover with plastic wrap or a wet tea towel + let rise for at least 2 hours in a warm place.

My prettiest knots to date!


// PUREE ALTERNATIVE

If you'd rather use puree, just steam cabbage and puree in a food processor until smooth. You can experiment with using just a 1/2 cup puree . . . up to a full cup for the juice in the recipe above. Adjust your water content accordingly until you reach the same smooth, elastic round. All else should be the same.


// COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

• For knots: Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F, preferably with a pizza stone inside. Divide dough into two large balls and save one for another day. Divide one of these balls up into between 10 and 16 knots, depending on size preference. Roll and knot your dough and then bake for up to 12-15 minutes. Top with a mixture of olive oil, minced garlic, salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese (or nutritional yeast for a non-dairy option).
• For pizza: Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F, preferably with a pizza stone inside. Divide dough into two large balls and save one for another day. Spin or otherwise stretch your dough into a crust that will fit on your stone. Then bake for a few minutes before taking out of the oven + topping with your favorites. Bake for another 12-15 minutes.

Happy Friday!

Have you tried any of our colorful pizza dough recipes? Which one is your favorite? And do you have a suggestion for BLUE?! My mind briefly wandered over to a sweet blueberry recipe, which I might just have to try, but I'm not sure about that.


And don't miss our 90 healthiest recipes of 2013! Lots of delicious, wholesome foods for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and beyond. Includes both vegan and vegetarian recipes to please the entire family -- even toddlers!




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Curious George Juice

I'm a fruits + veggies artist now.

Portrait of Stephen in carrots, romaine, cabbage, apples, and lemons.

Mix this up to make a colorful beverage that serves 2-4.


This combination was inspired by a Curious George episode I watched with Ada. George becomes interested in a local juicer's recipes and decides to create his own. One of his mixes is a huge hit. His special ingredient? Cabbage! And it's really quite delicious and beautiful, isn't it?

Now, the baby carrots aren't a usual staple in our house, but we had a huge bag leftover from the holidays/entertaining . . . so, no better way to use them up, right? (Oh, and if you've seen some nasty news about baby carrots, I found this post that puts a lot of that misinformation to rest, at least with regard to the organic varieties.)

As you can probably tell from my recent explosion of juice posts, the whole process/drink is addicting. I'd say we drink homemade juice every three days or so. We try to keep it as veggie-heavy as possible to cut down on excess calories and sugar. A little lemon zest or ginger can go a long way toward brightening the flavor of vegetables. And beets, for example, have their own natural sweetness, all while boasting high levels of potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, vitamins A, B & C, beta-carotene, beta-cyanine, and folic acid.

Anyway, purple cabbage.

George is such a clever little monkey.

I might just have to try out his actual recipe from this episode!



I'll be back tomorrow with an earthy garlic knots/pizza crust recipe featuring pure cabbage juice. This one is a KEEPER, you guys! We're in love with it -- plus, it's PURPLE!


And don't miss our 90 healthiest recipes of 2013! Lots of delicious, wholesome foods for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and beyond. Includes both vegan and vegetarian recipes to please the entire family -- even toddlers!




Like what you just read? Browse more of our posts + recipes on Pinterest. You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

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Eat Your Colors?

I've always read that my dinner should be as colorful as the rainbow. Color means nutrients. Good choices. Health. So, imagine my surprise when -- unplanned -- dinner ended up in all shades of white/brown tonight.

Thing is, white doesn't need to be so bad. Especially when you consider the variety of stuff on this plate.

Brown rice is a great grain to accompany any meal.


Our favorite Baked Tofu -- cooked in the oven extra long tonight -- for an entire hour. Don't forget to flip a few times.


And something new! Roasted napa cabbage with onions. Absolutely delicious.

ROASTED NAPA WITH ONIONS

What you'll need . . . 

• 1 head (is it called a head?) of napa cabbage 
• 1 medium cooking onion 
• 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil (or other favorite oil, we used this stir-fry variety) 
• 1 teaspoon chili oil 
• 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes 
• Salt and pepper to taste 

Method . . . 

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Find a rimmed baking sheet. 
2. Chop the napa into chunks and the onions, too. There's no right way. Then place atop the cooking sheet. 
3. Mix together the oils, pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Pour mixture over the napa and onions. 
4. Then toss around to coat well. Bake in oven for 15 minutes. Then stir. Bake for another 15 minutes. Stir again. 
5. And continue a bit longer until cabbage is browned to your liking. Serve warm and enjoy!

Ada's been eating solids for, well, a solid week now. Surprisingly, her plate was more colorful than ours was tonight. Check out what she's eating over on Writing Chapter Three.

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