Garlic Roasted Cauliflower

Cauliflower is a very versatile veggie. Back when I began to watch my carb/gluten intake my sister told me about a friend that used cauliflower in place of spaghetti. I began to use it for my "rice" and other pasta dishes as well. Last year I did a cooking class with some vegetarian meals using garbanzo beans as a base and made a yummy Indian Cauliflower Stew (the recipe is here) I have played around with roasting cauliflower before but finally got a recipe we love! I usually do a whole head of cauliflower with a meat and that is our meal. The kids love it and ask for seconds even before they eat their meat. Did you ever wonder how to cut cauliflower so there are not little while shavings everywhere? I did - so before I taught the class I did some investigation on the internet and found a video on how to cut cauliflower :-) Basically you start with your whole cauliflower and put your knife into the stem part and split it rather than cutting through. You continue to do this until you have the flowerets the size you want them. If you are confused do a search for how to cut cauliflower :-)

This really has nothing to do with cauliflower but I just have to show you one of my favorite pans in all the world. We bought this 25 years ago in Germany and it is the best. It cleans up like a dream - so I never worry about making something in it that may be messy in the pan because I know it will clean up without any effort - besides being so cleanable I think it is darling!

So here is the finished product and the recipe - I made this last week and a friend came by for a meeting after dinner and we were still eating - she finished off the pan and asked me to post the recipe so here it is T.

Garlic Roasted Cauliflower

1 head of cauliflower split into flowerets

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt

2-3 cloves of garlic

Parmesan cheese

Put the cauliflower in the pan and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Crush garlic and stir all together. Bake at 450 for 25 minutes - stirring occasionally (1 or 2 times) Grate parmesan cheese and sprinkle over the cauliflower. Place under the broiler for 3-4 minutes.

Enjoy!

Chicken Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing

As promised in my last post here is the recipe for the Chicken Salad. My brother found this recipe and we made it at my PC party. I have made it several times before and since, including this morning for our playgroup. As usual it was polished off very quickly. So here it is - I will give it to you as it is written and then I will tell you my revisions:

Dressing

1/2 cup canola oil

3 Tbsp smooth peanut butter

1/2 cup juice from 3-4 limes

2 Tbsp water

Table salt

3 small garlic coves, minced or pressed

2 tsps very finely grated ginger

2 Tbsp light brown sugar

1 1/2 tsps hot red pepper flakes

Salad

1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 inch by 1/4 inch matchsticks

1 medium carrot, peeled and grated

4 scallions, white and green parts sliced thin

3 Tbsps minced fresh cilantro leaves

5 cups shredded roast chicken, room temperature

1/2 cup chopped roasted peanuts

1. Puree oil, peanut butter, lime juice, water, 1/4 tsp salt, garlic, ginger, brown sugar and red pepper flakes in blender until combined. Transfer to large bowl.

2. Add cucumber, carrot, scallions, and cilantro to vinaigrette, toss to combine. Add chicken and toss gently to combine. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Adjust seasoning with salt and sprinkle with peanuts. Serve immediately.

Now for my changes:

I used a little over 1/3 cup of olive or grapeseed oil

juice from 2 limes seemed to be plenty of lime

I used palm sugar instead of brown sugar

I have not used the red pepper flakes as I serve it to my children but imagine it would be very good if you like a little spice

I use a whole English cucumber or equivalant and 2 carrots. We decided we like it with more veggies and a little less chicken. I probably only use 2 cups of chicken.

The dressing makes way more than you need - I use about half the dressing even with revisions and then save the rest for a regular lunch salad the next day.

Today I knew that our hostess did not care for cilantro so I left it on the side for people to add if they liked.

You can roast your own chicken or a store bought roasted chicken for an even faster meal. I have done it both ways.

Thai Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing

This is the yummy salad we had for dinner tonight! I have a couple of really great main dish chicken salad recipes I want to share with you but you will have to wait :-)

This is a teaser post. My brother will be demonstrating this and another great salad at my Pampered Chef party this Thursday night (April 15th - 7 pm - if you live in the area and would like to attend, leave a comment with your email and I will send you the address etc) so.......... you'll have to wait for the recipe - either at the party or when I decide to post it here :-) Let me just tell you - it is really good - even my kids loved it! and it is gluten/egg free of course :-)

Check back for the recipes :-)

Breakfast - Gluten/Egg Free

So you might wonder what one eats for breakfast when they cannot eat anything with gluten or eggs? I wondered that at first, too! But slowly I have found some great alternatives. Here is one of my favorites. I used to make this with eggs - so now I just leave out the eggs and add a little cheese for a little more protein. Here is my

Eggless Breakfast Omelet

First I julienne a small zucchini
and prepare any other yummy veggies I may have - today I had asparagus and I almost always have a bag of chopped green onions prepared to throw into a recipe

I stir fry that all in my little pan and add some turkey bacon (I chop up and fry a whole package at a time and then just have it ready to add to recipes)

When that is all cooked I add a very generous handful of baby spinach

Once the spinach is cooked down, I lay a few slices of swiss cheese over the top and cover the pan to allow it to melt.

Here is my yummy breakfast with a half slice of my gluten free, egg free bread, toasted.

(I use this bread mix from Bob's Red Mill and the egg replacement from here )