Guilt-Free Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Guilt-Free Garlic Mashed Potatoes

 

Another couple of good recipes to share with you from my latest cookbook read.

 

 

I didn't set out to fool my family into eating vegetables, so I was surprised when my 3 boys thought this dish was just potatoes. 

They almost seemed disappointed when they found out parsnips and cauliflower were also involved.

  They never did taste the parsnips.

 

This is a good side dish that heats up well the next day too.

 

Start by roasting a bulb of garlic in the oven.

Remove any loose garlic paper, then snip off the pointed end of the bulb, exposing the cloves.

Wrap the bulb in foil and roast for 30 minutes.

 

While the garlic is roasting, peel and chop 2 russet potatoes, 2 parsnips, and chop up a head of cauliflower.  Boil the vegetables in generously salted water, then reduce to medium and continue cooking until tender.

Drain the vegetables and return them to the pot.

Squeeze the garlic juice and cloves over the vegetables, and add a little butter (or margarine or olive oil), milk or vegetable stock, and sea salt to season.

 

Mash well.

Season with sea salt and black pepper and serve warm.

 

Double click to print as a 5x7 recipe card.

 

Enjoy!

 

Blanched Salad

Blanched Salad

It's always great for me to learn new ways of cooking up vegetables.

This technique of blanching a variety of vegetables to create a salad is probably not new to many people.

But I don't normally blanch my vegetables and then combine them into a salad.

My salads usually include raw vegetables, so this was intriguing.

The technique instructions come from The Great Life book.

You can use just about any kind of vegetable, but the author recommends using a leafy green, a round vegetable, and a root vegetable, or a combination of these types of vegetables.

I had to go back in the chapter to remember which was which!  (See below)

You fill a pot half-way with water and add a pinch of sea salt.  Then you bring it to a boil.

You blanch the vegetables by placing them into the boiling water just until their color brightens, about 2 minutes.  Then you remove them with a slotted spoon, placing them on a serving dish, covered until all the vegetables are done.

You start with the lightest in color and mildest in flavor.

We made our salad with cauliflower, Napa cabbage, and carrots, and blanched the veggies in that order.

And when we were done, we had a great salad that was tasty, but was better with a little lemon juice, a spritz of olive oil, and a little more Kosher salt. 

David and I both liked this cooking technique as a nice change to raw vegetable salad.

And it's so easy to use whatever you have in the fridge!

Green Leafy Veggies:  bok choy, carrot tops, Chinese cabbage, collard greens, Daikon greens, dandelion greens, kale, leeks, mustard greens, parsley, scallions, turnip greens, watercress

Round Veggies:  acorn squash, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, buttercup squash, butternut squash, cabbage, cauliflower, onion, pumpkin, rutabaga, turnips, Shiitake mushrooms

Root Veggies:  burdock, carrots, Daikon radish, dandelion roots, jinenjo, lotus root, parsnips, radishes

Double click to print as a 5x7 recipe card.

Enjoy!

Roasted Cauliflower with Ras el Hanout Tahini Sauce

Roasted Cauliflower with Ras el Hanout Tahini Sauce

This recipe in Vegetarian Times (June 2012) caught my eye because I have a jar of Tahini that I keep on hand for hummus, but would like to use it more often. 

I purchase this brand at Kroger.

As is often the case with my recipe choice for the evening, I had cauliflower that I needed to use up, so this recipe was perfect!

The only issue was I had no idea what Ras el Hanout was, so I googled it.

It's a Moroccan spice blend, and that intrigued Brennan.  I took a chance that our Spice/Vinegar/Olive Oil specialty shop might have it, but she did not.

So we found the recipe online here, and I put Brennan in charge of making the spice blend.

Ras el hanout means "top of the shop" in Arabic, meaning that the vendor's top spices would go into this mixture.  According to research online, every chef has his/her own ras el hanout recipe with 10-100 spices in the mix. 

I then cleaned and chopped the cauliflower into florets and coated it with olive oil, tahini, and ras el hanout.  Then I roasted the coated cauliflower at 400* for 20 minutes.

While the cauliflower was cooking I made the Tahini Sauce from tahini, lemon juice, and more ras el hanout. 

Just before serving, you drizzle the sauce over the cauliflower and garnish with lemon wedges.

We liked this dish, except for Brennan.

He likes cauliflower a lot and I think the flavors took away the cauliflower flavor (which is OK for some!)

This is a dish the rest of the family would like to have again though.

One note - the Tahini Sauce that you drizzle on top as you're plating is not necessary, but it's good.

If you just coated the cauliflower in the olive oil, tahini, and ras el hanout before roasting it, I think that would be enough flavor.  Maybe a little sprinkle of lemon juice. 

Double click to print as a 5x7 recipe card.

بالهنا والشفا

(Arabic for Bon Appetit!)



8 Side Dishes in a Pinch

I usually plan ahead each week so that I have recipes and ingredients for several Main Dishes for our evening meals. 

That works well for me and I'm rarely at a loss for what to make each evening.

But I don't always plan for the Side Dish to go along with it.

Many of my main dishes have vegetables built in like this dish, this one, and this one, but I usually want to add another vegetable to our meal, and sometimes a starch.

So below are options I try to always keep on hand that are quick to prepare and make delicious, rather healthy Side Dishes in a pinch.

1. Garden Salad

source

If I don't serve it every single day, then everyone in the house likes a good garden salad.

2. Frozen or Canned Vegetables

David and the boys like canned vegetables, but I prefer fresh or frozen. 

I always have Steamfresh vegetables in the freezer, and lots of canned in the pantry.

3. Fresh Vegetables to Steam

I almost always have a head of broccoli and/or cauliflower in the fridge for a fast steamed side dish.

4. Fresh Vegetables to Flavor and Bake

Or a flavored variety of steamed vegetables if I have a few extra minutes.

5. Fresh Vegetables to Season and Roast

Or a fresh vegetable to roast while the main dish is baking.

6. Fast Rice

We like rice and it goes with everything. 

While not huge brown rice eaters, everyone likes this Long Grain and Wild 90 second rice with almost as much fiber per serving as brown rice.

 

7. Couscous

Everyone in my family loves couscous. 

I make the plain one with chicken broth instead of water, and we like the flavored varieties as well.

8. Quinoa

The boys' school cafeteria serves quinoa (pronounced "keen-wa") and they love it.

It's a very healthy, protein-packed grain.

I recently found this packaged variety that we all like. 

So far we've only tried the Black Bean version and it was really spicy.

On the lookout for other versions as well.

I'm sure there are other side dishes that are just as fast that I'm not thinking of, but these are the main ones that I keep on hand to make meal preparation simpler for myself.

Cauliflower with Dijon Sauce

Cauliflower with Dijon Sauce

I followed this recipe from allrecipes.com and it will definitely be one I make again and again.

I've modified it slightly to share with you here.

I wasn't sure how Brennan would like this variation.

He loves, loves, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, and brussel sprouts.

But he tends to like things without fancy sauces.

I modified this recipe the second time I served it and he liked it a lot.

I learned an easy way to steam vegetables in the microwave with this recipe.

You simply put the cut vegetables in the baking dish, cover with Saran Wrap, poke 3 holes in the top, and steam for 7 minutes.

Perfect!

After steaming the broccoli you add mayo and Dijon mustard and sprinkle cheddar cheese on top.

Microwave again for 3 minutes.

Then stir and serve.

It's really delicious.

The recipe card below is the original recipe and most of our family liked this way the best.

Two modifications I'd recommend:

1.  Cut the Dijon to 1 Tbsp if your family doesn't want a strong Dijon-y flavor.

2. Cut the cheddar cheese to 3/4 c because 1 c is super cheesy!

Double click the recipe card to print as a 5x7 recipe card.

Enjoy!



Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

Paula's Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

Paula is one of my favorite bloggers. 

She lives in a beautiful part of Virginia and has great home decorating and craft projects, along with exercise tips, gardening, travel, family updates, and recipes.

I bookmarked this Cauliflower Mac and Cheese recipe on her blog - she adapted it from Runner's World magazine.  I cooked it yesterday and we really liked it. 

I don't make regular mac and cheese often (mainly because I like it sooo much!), but this version I will happily make for my family. 

It tastes decadent but is a much healthier version.

You boil cauliflower and then move it to the food processor.

In the same pot you then boil your macaroni.

In the food processor you mix your cauliflower along with chicken broth, shredded cheese, olive oil, Dijon mustard and seasonings.

After draining your macaroni you pour it in a 9x13 casserole, top with the cauliflower mixture and bread crumbs and Parmesan.

Bake for 20 minutes and voila!

See the bits of cauliflower?

Mmm delish!

Double click the recipe card to print as a 5x7 recipe.

Enjoy!