Creamy Chopped Cauliflower Salad
from Eating Well Magazine
Makes 6 servings, about 1 cup each

Scarehaircare's Notes: One of my favorites. It's easy to keep the ingredients on hand and goes together quickly. I love the caraway in this dish but you could certainly leave it out if you are not a fan.

5 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 small shallot, finely chopped
½ teaspoon caraway seeds (optional)
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 cups chopped cauliflower florets (about ½ large head)
2 cups chopped heart of romaine
1 tart-sweet red apple, chopped

Whisk mayonnaise, vinegar, shallot, caraway seeds (if using) and pepper in a large bowl until smooth. Add cauliflower, romaine and apple; toss to coat.

Avocado Smoothies

The weather here is starting to have hints of warmness, so I've been celebrating by making fruit smoothies.

Avocado Smoothie
1 avocado
2 scoops vanilla ice cream (or yogurt)
enough milk so it will blend
~2-3 T sugar (to taste)

Blend until smooth. Serves 2.


strawberry banana variation:
Add 1/2 a banana and 2 handfuls of strawberries.

Sunday Dinner at E-Dub's

Here is what we ate tonight:
I love this stew (Moroccan lentil), and I'm feeling a bit sad about the loss of winter because I will miss all the hearty soups/stews we tend to eat this time of year. Instead of using the spices as outlined, I used Ras el Hanout, and this is a recipe for making your own. There are lots of versions on the web. I do cook several Moroccan dishes and finally decided to make a mixture of spices rather than measuring them out as recipes call for them.

The other thing I made was a pumpkin custard. I don't really like pie because I don't like crust--not just my crust, but anyone's crust. Custard is much better than pie. I made a recipe which came from Moosewood Low Fat Favorites.

Pumpkin Custard
2 cups cooked pumpkin (16-ounce can)
1 1/2 cups evaporated milk (12-ounce can)
2 eggs
3 egg whites
3/4 cup maple syrup or brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350F.
Prepare eight 6-ounce baking custard cups or ramekins, with a light coating of cooking spray. Arrange the cups in a shallow, flat-bottomed baking pan.
Whril all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Pour the custard into the baking cups. Pour boiling water into the baking pan to about a 2-inch depth. Bake for about 45 to 60 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the cups from the hot water and cool at room temperature, then refrigerate.
Serve chilled, garnished with fresh apple slices if desired.

The only thing I did differerently was I baked it all in one large corningware casserole dish, and put that in a 9x13 pan. I cooked it for 55 minutes and it was fine.
I topped it with (don't retch) fat-free cool whip.
Everyone really liked it. Any meal in which no people are fussing about ingredients, spiciness, lack of flesh, etc. is a resounding success.

Liz's Tomato Soup Recipe

... can be found here on her blog. It sounds really good.

Falafel

There was a recipe for falafel in this month's Cooking Light. I made it tonight, and it wasn't that fabulous. Now, part of the problem was that instead of adding 3 tbs of olive oil to the pan for the frying, I misread, and added it to the falafel mix. Even still, I don't think they would have turned out.

You'd think I'd have learned by now to carefully read all the instructions when starting out on a new recipe.

Awhile back I happened to catch Bobby Flay doing one of his cook-offs with someone making falafel. I just checked the website and the recipe is there. It only got 3 stars on average, but it's really because some people rated it one star because the site didn't list his competitor's recipe. So, I'm thinking of trying his.
Or, what's so bad about using a falafel mix, really?

Warm Tortellini Salad

It's been a while since I've posted here. But I thought this recipe was so good-and not just because my daughter made it (and I didn't), but just yummy. So I am sharing.

Warm Tortellini & Cherry Tomato Salad
2 (9oz) packages fresh cheese tortellini
1 ½ cups sliced asparagus (about 1 lb.)
3 Tbls red wine vinegar
1 Tbls balsamic vinegar
1 Tbls olive oil
¼ tsp black pepper
4 cups trimmed arugula (I used baby)
1 ½ cups halved cherry tomatoes
¾ cup grated fresh parmesan cheese
½ cup thinly sliced red onion
1/3 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
1 (14oz) can artichoke heart s drained/quartered

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Add asparagus during last 2 minutes of cooking time. Drain

While pasta cooks, combine vinegars, oil, and pepper in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add pasta mixture, arugula, and remaining ingredients; toss to coat. Serves 6

Comfort food: Roasted Veggies and Polenta

This is one of my favorite "chameleon" recipes. You can vary the veggies (beets, mushrooms, carrots, Brussels sprouts, eggplant, etc.) spices (thyme, basil, marjoram etc.), even the cheese you stir into the polenta (machengo, extra sharp cheddar, Gruyere). Add beans or fish or tofu (you might have to cook them separately to make sure they finish properly). I always keep polenta stone ground cornmeal) on hand so this becomes a pantry meal. Leftovers make good lunches. Pour your polenta into a pan, wrap in plastic, and store in the fridge. Cut into slices and pack. This also tastes good at room temp.

Roasted Winter Vegetables with Cheesy Polenta
from Eating Well Magazine
Makes 4 servings

4 cups cauliflower florets
4 cups cubed peeled butternut squash
1 medium onion, sliced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¾ teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
¼ teaspoon salt
2 ½ cups vegetable broth
1 cup water
¾ cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary or ½ teaspoon dried
⅔ cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese, preferably Parmigiano-Reggiano

1. Preheat oven to 500°F. 2. Toss cauliflower, squash and onion in a large bowl with oil, garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and salt. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast, stirring once, until tender and browned in spots, 25 to 30 minutes.3. Meanwhile, combine broth and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Slowly whisk in cornmeal, rosemary and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper until smooth. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until very thick and creamy, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in cheese; remove the polenta from the heat. Serve the vegetables over the polenta.