BIZZY BAKES

I did make cauliflower rice once before and I remember it was good but it obviously did not make a strong impression, long term,  I ventured into it again, optimistic and excited, to find my hubby doesn't like cauliflower.  All these years and that never surfaced.  Perhaps, at times, he is overly polite but this time, he made himself clear and pushed the cauliflower rice to the side and left it there. I am still glad that I made it and will make it for company in the future.  I made a version of fried rice, making a stir fry and adding pieces of eggs.  I loved it but I love cauliflower and often make it for myself for lunch and eat it with a little bit of butter and Parmesan. Cauliflower "Rice" Stir Fry (adapted from Whole Living ) Ingredients: 3 cups cauliflower florets 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided 1 sliced red onion, divided 1/4 cup Vegetable Broth 1tablespoon minced fresh ginger 1 thinly sliced small red bell pepper 1/4 tea...

I have cooked cauliflower so using it raw, in a salad, is new to me.  The clean crisp bite was a pleasure to eat with the other ingredients, it is a sure winner.  It comes from Taste of Home magazine - October-November 2005.  The original recipe included a pound of bacon which I did not use.  While, I would guess that the bacon would make it even more crispy and tasty, it was just fine without it.  I also eliminated the cheese.  It just did not seem to need it. Cauliflower Salad Ingredients: 1 medium head cauliflower, broken into florets  1 medium red pepper, chopped  1 medium onion, chopped  1/2 cup mayonnaise  2 teaspoons honey Method: In a large salad bowl, combine the cauliflower, bell pepper and onion.  Combine the mayonnaise and sugar.  Spoon over cauliflower mixture and toss to coat.  Cover and refrigerate before serving.  Eat and enjoy. linked to...

Silky Cauliflower Soup adapted from D avid Lieberman Ingredients: 1 large bag frozen culiflower  (32 0unces) 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 large onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 quart low-sodium vegetable broth 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan Salt and pepper to taste Method: Chop frozen cauliflower and put aside. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and add the onion and garlic. Cook until softened, but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add the cauliflower and stock and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until the cauliflower is very soft and falling apart, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and, using a hand held immersion blender, puree the soup, or puree in small batches in a blender and return it to the pot.  ( I left a few small pieces of cauliflower intact.) Add the Parmesan and stir. Season, to taste, with salt and black pepper. Keep warm until ready to ...

Cauliflower, Caramelised Onion and Fontina Thank you Gaye for selecting this week's WwDH recipe.  I could not get enough of it.  It is a different way of making cauliflower but one I plan to repeat many times. I did not have Fontina and subbed in a smoked cheese which worked beautifully.  I made caramelized onions and differed from the recipe by  layering the cauliflower, onions, cream and cheese.  It was rich in flavor.   This is another, easy to make recipe, from Donna Hay.   Go on over to Wednesdays With Donna Hay page and see what the other cooks are making.  Please feel free to join us and find yourself some delicious recipes which are easy to make.

Since, I learned to appreciate vegetables, I look for dishes like this one.  The variety of veggies that can be used makes it pleasing to a majority of people.  Use your imagination and see what happens..  I saw this recipe on  The Veggie Table .  I believe it comes from the Moosewood books, originally. Recently, I have been cautiously making dishes from India and loving them.  I still do not know enough about Indian cooking to jump in but I can follow recipes.  I stayed pretty close to this one although I was missing a few ingredients.   Vegetable Biryani   (adapted) Ingredients: 1½ cups brown rice (Basmati),    3 tablespoons Canola oil,   pinch turmeric,    ½ teaspoon salt, 2¼ cups hot water,  1 cup chopped onions,   2 teaspoons fresh ginger -  peeled and grated,   1½ teaspoon ground cumin,  1½ teaspoons ground coriander, ...

By now, you must know that I have found only success with the recipes in Joy Bauer's  book and those found on her website.    Although the recipes are online and that means we can and should make them, I believe in supporting those chefs that give my family such pleasure in eating.  Based on that I recommend her book, Slim and Scrumptious .  It is a wonderful addition to your cookbook library and I can always find a recipe that fits my needs and desires. C hicken and Vegetable Curry   adapted from Joy Bauer Ingredients: 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 large onion, chopped 1 teaspoon turmeric 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger 2 tablespoons curry powder 1 head cauliflower cut into 1-inch florets, stem discarded or 1 large bag of frozen cauliflower 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained 1 (15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, preferably no-salt-added Method...

                                                 Crustless Spinach-Cauliflower Quiche Ingredients: 3 ounces whipped cream cheese, at room temperature                                                              1 cup  milk                                                                                                                                      ...

The photo above is to show you the adorable patty pan squash in the rice dish. The dish is a result of my independence in cooking. There was a time that zucchini was an exotic vegetable, to me. I stuck to green beans, yellow potatoes, carrots and other basic vegetables. What do I mean by basic? The vegetables my Mom used to cook as did my Mother-in-Law. The joke in our house comes up when I make a new dish or use a new ingredient and the husband says, "My mother made it differently," meaning he never saw that dish, in his Mom's home. There are times, we struggle to remember the food we ate, as kids and get stuck at the vegetables above plus corn, chicken, ground beef and salads with tomatoes and iceberg lettuce. We come from another generation and the world was different. I was going to say, money was tighter but it is probably not true. My in-laws were comfortable (not at all rich - comfortable) and my parents struggled. Dad had a small business which meant sometimes,...

For some reason, this is always a favorite.  I guess the reason is that it tastes yummy and it is a little different.  When I told my guests, we were having cauliflower popcorn, I heard 15 cheers.  Everyone was thrilled.  I think this particular recipe lived up to expectations. Popcorn Cauliflower Ingredients: 4 teaspoons sweetener of choice 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon paprika 1 teaspoon ground turmeric 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 2 heads cauliflower, cut into bite-size pieces cooking spray Method: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Whisk sweetener, salt, paprika, turmeric, onion powder, and garlic powder together in a bowl. Spread cauliflower onto the prepared baking sheet; spray liberally with cooking spray. Season cauliflower with spice mixture. Roast in the preheated oven until cauliflower is tender, 30 to 35 minutes. ...

I had no idea what to call this recipe.  I was supposed to make this for Monday night but I remembered, we had a wedding to go to and there was no need for me to cook.  I changed things around a bit and here we are with one of the best meals, I have had in a while.  I think it is better than the fancy meal served at the wedding.   Giving a name to a recipe that I put together, with what is on hand, is a challenge and in this case, I came to a dead-end.  Listing the ingredients for a title seems wrong and boring. I thought about what I did and that was to perk up the quinoa. Quinoa is something that takes on the identity of the ingredients or other foods on the plate.  Like rice, barley, orzo or kasha, you can vary what you do with it in innumerable ways.  I think, quinoa is the easiest to cook especially with many of the ones on the store shelves do not need to be rinsed. To make this recipe work, do a lot of the prep  before hand.   ...

Tonight was leftover night. I have been making a new item whenever we have leftovers. It means little work but a spark for the meal. The only requirement tonight was to use cauliflower while it was still nice and fresh. I opened up the Pioneer Woman Cooks, looked up cauliflower and found a soup and roasted cauliflower. Since, I was matching this with the leftovers, roasted cauliflower was my choice. Instead of Panko, I used tortilla chip crumbs. The prep time was short. The hardest part was breaking the cauliflower into small pieces and that really is not a challenge. Roasted Cauliflower - adapted from the Pioneer Woman Ingredients 1 cauliflower, cut into pieces spray olive oil salt and black pepper, to taste 2 teaspoons onion powder or any spice 1 cup tortilla chip crumbs or Panko crumbs 2 tablespoons butter Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with olive oil. Spread cauliflower over the baking sheet and spray the top of the vegetable. Sprinkle with salt and ...

This week at I Heart Cooking Club , we are making tarts, and I knew immediately, I would make a savory one.  Donna has the easiest tarts to make.  A while back, I made an apple one and it was delicious and a cinch to make.  So was this.  This was supposed to be an asparagus and ricotta tart but I used cauliflower for the vegetable.  I gobbled down (I hope not really) two of these tarts, enjoying every bite.  The cheese was creamy and the cauliflower crunchy - marvelous combination.  I want to try this with the asparagus and also with spinach and broccoli and so many other vegetables. It is a quick and easy lunch and two filled me up. I love Donna Hay. cauliflower and ricotta tarts - Donna Hay (adapted) Ingredients: 1 sheet sheet puff pastry, thawed ¾ cup fresh ricotta 1 teaspoon basil  cracked black pepper to taste 2 cups cauliflower florets, chunked olive oil, for brushing  Method: Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Cut out f...

I make chicken broth about every four weeks.  I do this because, usually we have chicken soup, Friday night - Shabbos.  I may vary the vegetables included or serve it with noodles or knaidlach but chicken soup is most often, the Sabbath soup. I freeze this in a number of containers, one defrosted each week,  and glamorized at that time.  We have the battle of should the vegetables be cut small or left in large chunks.  Should the soup be clear of creamy?  A little soy sauce or leave it alone? I made a major decision.  I wanted cauliflower soup this week.  What I didn't know is that hubby in the spirit of helping defrosted chicken soup.  I had been checking out recipes and our hero of the day, Pioneer Woman, has a cauliflower soup with a chicken soup base.  I am no fool.  I don't walk away from Pioneer Woman recipes. Cauliflower Soup    (adapted from Pioneer Woman )   Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive ...

People have the habit of using certain words and we all understand what is meant but the bottom line is that these words are usually inaccurate.  Read the following examples to understand what I am referring to. Child:  Mommy, all my friends are going. Wife: Absolutely no one would go there. Person:   All the people spent at least one hundred dollars. On top of the ski slope: There is nothing to be afraid of. Person: She is the nicest person in the whole side world. Me: Everyone loves popcorn cauliflower.  (You don't????????) Exaggeration is the name of the game.  I think, because I am a teacher, I am so aware of those words and how inaccurate they are.  No, it does not bother me when others express themselves that way.  I do it too.   As a teacher, I don't want my students to use them in their writing so I prohibit every single one of them and they never exaggerate.  I am proud, having the very best cla...