Buffalo Cauliflower “Wings”

Another Twitter video find when I was hungry…best part? It’s from www.health.com!

My sister Wendi and I fell in love with these when we went to San Diego and found a sports bar to watch USC football at before going to a Blake Shelton concert last year. I’ve finally found a recipe that comes close to what we had there!

Buffalo Cauliflower “Wings”

Preheat oven to 400° F.
Wash a Large head of fresh cauliflower (About 1 lb).
Remove the outer leaves and stem and then cut to separate the individual florets.
Dry the florets and spread out on a cookie sheet lined with foil.
Sprinkle florets lightly with salt and pepper.
Put sheet in oven and roast for 20 – 25 minutes stirring once.

In a medium bowl combine:

1 TBLS Butter melted
3 TBLS Frank’s Red Hot Sauce (or any kind you like)
1 tsp Vinegar
Put roasted cauliflower florets into the bowl and stir with rubber spatula until all florets are coated with sauce.
Return coated florets to the cookie sheet.
Roast at 400° F for 5-10 minutes more or until cauliflower starts to brown.

Make the dipping sauce:

In a small pan over medium-low heat put 2 tsp Olive Oil and 1 clove garlic, minced.
Heat until garlic starts to brown.
Transfer garlic and olive oil into the mixing container of a blender or Vitamix.
Add 1/2 Cup Plain Greek Yogurt.
1/2 Avocado
1 TBLS Parsley
1 TBLS Chives
1 tsp Dill
1/4 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 tsp Onion Powder
1/4 tsp Honey
Pinch of Salt & Pepper

Blend until well combined. Transfer to a small serving bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve with the dip and ranch dressing on the side.

How to make cauliflower buffalo ‘wings’ https://t.co/v331F45vIN pic.twitter.com/mf7VxyJth2

— Health (@goodhealth) March 9, 2017

If you use Facebook and are interested in the things I may not devote an entire blog post to: things like health articles, my favorite recipes, fun drinks, food facts, nutritional information, restaurant reviews, photos and other things that make my mouth water, I have a very active page on Facebook you can visit too: https://www.facebook.com/ThisGirlLovesHerFood

Lemon Turmeric Energy Balls

I came across this recipe on Pinterest and am so excited to try it.

I have a tree bursting with Meyer Lemons in my backyard and just got a fresh delivery of Medjool Dates from Hadley Fruit Orchards in Cabazon, CA. I can’t possibly ONLY drink date milkshakes (although I’d love to try), and I need to find a way to get more turmeric, with it’s anti-inflammatory gifts, into my diet, so this is a win-win.

I may even make a batch that substitutes blood orange for the lemon because I also have a tree full of ripe Blood Oranges. #CaliforniaGirlCitrusProblems

In the ginger family, turmeric is used to flavor both sweet and savory dishes in many different regions’ cuisines: South Asia, Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Cambodia), India, Eastern Asia, the Middle East, Iran, South Africa, and Thailand among others. In Medieval Europe it was known as Indian Saffron because it was used as an alternative to the more expensive and harder to get spice.

Lemon Turmeric Energy Balls

12 dried Medjool dates
1 cup old-fashioned gluten-free oats
½ cup almonds
1 tablespoon chia seeds
4 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
½ cup shredded coconut, for dusting

Remove the pits from dates and soak them in hot water for several minutes. When the dates are softened, drain them and place in food processor. Save the water.
Add the other ingredients to a food processor and blend until mixture turns into a dough-like consistency. Add 1 tablespoon of water from soaking the dates if the mixture is too dry.
With the small spoon scoop the mixture and roll into balls. Roll the balls in shredded coconut and place on the baking sheet.
Store energy balls in an airtight container in the refrigerator until serving.

Notes: Energy balls can be kept frozen up to 3 months.

You can find the original recipe at http://www.natalieshealth.com/

If you use Facebook and are interested in the things I may not devote an entire blog post to: things like health articles, my favorite recipes, fun drinks, food facts, nutritional information, restaurant reviews, photos and other things that make my mouth water, I have a very active page on Facebook you can visit too: https://www.facebook.com/ThisGirlLovesHerFood

Valentine’s Day Quick Carnitas Tacos

On a whim, I decided to make carnitas tacos for Valentine’s Day dinner at home. I didn’t have to worry about not thinking ahead because my pressure cooker would cook the meat even if it wasn’t all the way thawed in time. Whew!

Thankfully I’d thrown a pork shoulder in the freezer when they’d been on sale at the grocery store, so I’d just have to rummage through the refrigerator and cupboard to see what I could cobble together to make a meal.

Appetizer: Spicy Pickled Carrots & Jalapenos

6 Carrots
2 Large Jalapenos
1 Medium Yellow Onion
3 Cloves Garlic
2 tsp Whole Peppercorns
1 tsp Salt
1 1/2 Cups Apple Cider Vinegar
1 1/2 Cups Water

Boil the water and apple cider vinegar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. When at a full rolling boil shut off the flame and immediately add the rest of the ingredients. Stir once and let stand for about an hour. Serve at room temperature, or if you have time, refrigerate to bring out even more flavor. Store in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator and eat within a week.

Now on to the main course.

Pressure Cooker Carnitas

1 TBLS Olive Oil
2 tsp Freshly Ground Sea Salt
1 1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
Freshly Ground Pepper
3 Pounds Pork Shoulder
1/2 Yellow Onion, Sliced
3 Cloves Garlic Peeled
4-6 Sprigs Fresh Cilantro
1 Large Fresh Lemon
1 Jalapeño Sliced in Half
1 1/3 Cup Chicken Broth

Preparation

Set the pressure cook to brown setting
Pour the oil into the pressure cooker
Sprinkle the salt, pepper and cloves on all sides of the pork
Place the pork in the pressure cooker and brown on all sides
Squeeze the juice from the lemon over the pork, add the onion, garlic, cilantro, halved jalapeño, the squeezed lemons and the chicken broth
Cover the pressure cooker, lock on the lid, and bring to high pressure
Cook pork at high pressure for 45 minutes
Turn off and allow pressure to release naturally
Transfer pork to a baking sheet
Preheat the broiler to high
Shred pork with two forks on baking sheet
Broil until the pork starts to crisp, about 3 minutes.
Serve with warm corn tortillas, sliced avocado, shredded cabbage, pepper jack or cojito cheese, hot sauce and wedges of lime

A can of refried beans, a couple of street tacos and a beer and it’s a meal!

Easy Roasted Tomato Soup

fellp20150820_low California’s multiple personality disorder has reared it’s ugly head again. The weather, which had been giving us a normal winter for a change, has turned on a dime and we have Santa Ana winds, sunshine and warm temperatures just a day after rain clouds and temperatures in the low 60’s. Ugh! This is really screwing with my pre-planned menus!

Screw it! I planned to make soup for dinner and soup it will be. I don’t care if it’s warm outside or not. If anyone complains they can chill theirs like gazpacho.

Roasted Tomato Soup

1 Poblano Chili (Stem and Seed Pod Removed if Desired)
6 Large Tomatoes (Hard Stems Cut Out)
1 Medium Sweet Yellow Onion (Peeled and Halved)
5 Large Carrots (Peeled & Tops Removed)

Preheat oven to 350°F

Place the onion, cut side down, onto an oiled baking pan along with the peeled carrots, the poblano chili and the 6 tomatoes (cut tops up). Tip: For added flavor, I roast my chili with the stem and seed pod in and remove them before throwing into the Vitamix.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the tomato skins begin to crack and peel.

Preparation Option 1 – VITAMIX:

If you have a Vitamix with a soup setting like I do (it’s on the Professional Series 750), the steps are simple from here. All you do is throw all of the roasted vegetables into the container, place the lid on securely, turn the dial to the soup setting, depress the start button and wait for the cycle to end when it’s done chopping/blending and cooking the soup.

Preparation Option 2 -Blender or Food Processor and Stove Top:

Place the onion, chili and carrots into the blender/processor container and pulse to chop the vegetables up. Then turn the blender to puree and mix until the vegetables are well chopped. Add the tomatoes 1 at a time blending on high until all are well incorporated. If you run out of room in your container, move 1/2 of your vegetable mixture to the pan you’ll be heating the soup in. When all of the vegetables are blended/pureed, heat in a pan on the stove until warm enough to eat.

Healthy Apple Dessert or Between Meal Snack

Dessert doesn’t have to be made of ingredients that are bad for your diet!

You can take something healthy, like an apple and add some sweet or salty ingredients and it can feel like the most decadent treat without throwing you off of your diet track.

Large Granny Smith or Fuji Apple

Peanut butter (or Nutella, any other nut, seed, or soy butter/spread)

Granola or peanuts (or other favorite nuts, coconut, or seeds)

Dried cranberries (or raisins, dried cherries, apricots, dates or other dried fruit)

Core the apple with an apple corer or melon baller.
Lay the apple on its side and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices.
Spread a thin layer of peanut butter over the slices.
Top with a few chocolate chips, a few peanuts, and a few dried cranberries.
Drizzle with thin lines of caramel or chocolate ice cream topping if desired.
Enjoy without any guilt!

The Benefit of Green Peas

peafacts

I never minded cleaning my plate when I was a kid. I actually liked eating my vegetables, but I never had any idea how much good they were doing! I am especially amazed by the number of things that green peas can do for your health.

One of the most important things that peas provide us Vitamin K. It plays a vital role in your body because it:

helps the blood clot – preventing excessive bleeding;
helps anchor calcium inside the bones which helps prevent osteoporosis; and
helps to restore strength to bones following steroid use.

Peas contain such high quality protein that commercial protein powders have begun using it as an alternative to soy or whey based protein.

Coumestrol, a phytonutrient in Peas, has been shown to reduce the risk of stomach cancers
The Pantothenic Acid in peas supports the energy producing cells in the body and play an important role in adrenal function
A cup of peas is just 81 calories, has no cholesterol, they are good source of soluble as well as insoluble fiber
A cup of peas provides 16% of RDA of folates. Folates are one of the B-complex vitamins required for DNA synthesis inside the cell
Fresh green peas are very high in Vitamin C. A cup has 67% of the daily requirement.
Peas contain phytosterols, which helps lower cholesterol levels
A cup of peas is also high in antioxidants like carotenes, lutein and zea-xanthin as well as vitamin-A (25.5% of RDA). Vitamin A is required for maintaining healthy membranes, skin and eye-sight, and protects against lung and oral cavity cancers
Peas are also good in many other essential B-complex vitamins such as niacin, thiamin, and pyridoxine. Furthermore, they are rich source of many minerals such as calcium, iron, copper, zinc, and manganese

Looks like I am going to mix a cup of green peas in with my quinoa for lunch tomorrow! Yum!

Pet Treats People Can Eat Too!

carrotoat In the event of a zombie apocalypse, you’re getting off the grid, bugging out, planning a hike or outdoor adventure and need to make dual duty rations for you and your canine companions, or if you just forget to grab snacks at the grocery store, these treats for your pups are a healthy snack you can feel good munching on too! A word of caution: if there’s any chance these might do double duty as emergency snacks, you might want to rethink the bone shaped cookie cutter. 😉

Apple, Carrot & Oat Dog Biscuits

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2/3 cup chunky carrot juice
3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup coarsely ground almond meal (roughly ground almond flour)
1/2 cup rolled oats

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, with a rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with a silicone liner or parchment paper and set aside.
Make your chunky carrot juice: I take 3-4 carrots, cut the tops off, peel them and toss them into the Vitamix until they are pureed. I then add a bit of water and blend again on high to get the consistency closer to a pulpy juice. If the final product doesn’t measure 2/3 cup I add a bit more water until it does.
Combine all ingredients in bowl of your stand mixer (or other large bowl) and stir to combine until a thick dough forms.
Flour a wooden cutting board or similar surface well, and turn the dough out onto the board.
Sprinkle flour on top of the dough and onto a rolling pin, and roll the dough to approximately 1/4″-1/2″ thickness. Be sure to use plenty of flour, as this dough is very sticky!
When the dough is rolled out, dip a cookie cutter into flour and cut out the biscuits.
Transfer the cut out biscuits to the prepared sheet pan, leaving about 1/4″ of an inch between each treat. These don’t spread out, so you can fit 30-40 onto a baking sheet at a time (depending on the size of your cookie cutter).
Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes, or until light golden brown.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow the biscuits to cool completely.
Transfer the biscuits to an airtight container, where they will keep at room temperature for up to two weeks.

If you don’t use all of the dough you can freeze it for up to a year as long as you wrap it well with plastic wrap and place it in a freezer-safe Ziplock™ bag. All you need to do is thaw it (still wrapped) in the refrigerator overnight and you’ll be good to go.

Best Way To Cook Cauliflower Rice

Anyone who has tried to diet, lose a few pounds, or who just wants to cut down on the many, many carbohydrates in the average American diet has likely heard of substituting white rice with cauliflower grated down into a low-calorie, gluten-free rice substitute that is also a good source of protein, fiber, and vitamins C, K, and B6.

I have yet to master “cauliflower rice.” The methods I have used so far have left me with either a pile of mush (something close to Cream of Wheat) or rock hard mini chunks that in no way resemble rice…UG!

Thankfully the test kitchen at epicurious.com did the hard work of trying out the many methods we’ve all seen on pinterest and gave us the method that they found to be the best tasting and closest in consistency to rice so that home cooks like me can stop screwing it up so badly. The one thing that they did note, for consistency, was that they added olive oil to all preparations (except raw).

The following is taken directly from the article found at http://www.epicurious.com: The Best Way to Make Cauliflower Rice; by KATHERINE SACKS 04.22.16

COOKING METHOD 1: NONE

They tasted the grated cauliflower in its natural state, as it is sometimes added to couscous-like salads raw and simply tossed with a rich, acidic dressing that helps break down some of its tough structure. But although the raw form is the easiest—no cooking required—it had a crunch that was too vegetable-like to approximate rice.

Epinion: Raw cauliflower rice is crunchy, and works to add texture to a salad, but it doesn’t mimic cooked rice.

COOKING METHOD 2: STEAMED IN CHEESECLOTH

Steaming the grated cauliflower is the most minimal cooking process. But since the cauliflower granules are so small, they had to use several layers of cheesecloth to hold the cauliflower in the steamer basket. The texture here was great, and the flavor was clean and fresh, very similar to the blank canvas of white rice. But removing the tiny cauliflower pieces from the cheesecloth was a pain, and some cauliflower rice was lost in the process.

Epinion: This process yields great results, but it’s too fussy.

COOKING METHOD 3: STEAMED IN WATER, THEN GRATED

They then tried steaming the whole cauliflower florets first, using a traditional steamer basket set into a medium-sized pot. Once cooled, the cooked cauliflower was grated. Although this greatly simplified the process, the cauliflower rice tasted waterlogged and was mushy.

Epinion: Steaming whole cauliflower florets doesn’t work.

COOKING METHOD 4: COOKED IN WATER

Next they tried cooking the grated cauliflower as if it were traditional rice: they added the grated cauliflower to a small amount of simmering water, covered the pan, and let the cauliflower cook until the water evaporated. Again, this yielded watery mush.

Epinion: Cauliflower rice shouldn’t be cooked the same way as rice.

COOKING METHOD 5: BOILED

Not wanting to give up on the ease of water-cooking, they tried dunking some of the grated cauliflower in a pot of boiling water and then in ice water to try out quick-blanching. But yet again, the cauliflower rice was wet and squishy.

Epinion: Water + tiny granules of cauliflower rice = soggy cauliflower.

COOKING METHOD 6: MICROWAVED

They placed the grated cauliflower into a microwave-safe bowl, stirred in the tablespoon of oil, covered the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and cooked for about 3 minutes. And viola! Super easy, delicious texture with distinct rice kernels, and clean flavor, very similar to the steamed version, minus the mess of the cheesecloth.

Epinion: For the easiest and cleanest white-rice—esque cauliflower, use the microwave.

COOKING METHOD 7: SAUTÉED

Finally, they tested high-heat methods of cooking the cauliflower, heating up the olive oil in a pan and sautéing the grated cauliflower until lightly cooked. The taste was much richer than the microwaved cauliflower (or any of the boiled/steamed versions), but the cruciferous flavor was much stronger.

Epinion: For a sweeter, more cauliflower-forward rice, sautéing is a great option.

COOKING METHOD 8: ROASTED

For the final test, they tossed the grated cauliflower with the oil, then roasted it on a baking sheet at 400°F for about 12 minutes. This version had the sweetest flavor, thanks to the caramelization of the cauliflower. But again, that earthy, cauliflower funk was much more apparent than in other cooking methods. Cauliflower rice made this way makes a great side dish on its own, seasoned simply with butter, salt, pepper, and perhaps some cheese, but for a white rice alternative, the microwaved rice was the clear winner.

Epinion: For a quick-cooking, caramelized cauliflower side dish, roasting is the way to go.

I can see now that my mistakes were:

I wasn’t adding any olive oil when cooking
I was adding too much water
I was overcooking the riced cauliflower in the microwave

Knowing where I failed, plus taking the expert advice of the Epicurious test kitchen, convince me that my next attempt at cauliflower rice is going to be much better!

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Pizza is my weakness anytime I’m trying to lean out. The ooey, gooey, cheesy goodness just warms my insides at the mere mention. But I know it also will leave me bloated and sorry I gave in to my craving afterward. This crust, from Eat. Drink. Smile. solves that problem!

CAULIFLOWER PIZZA CRUST RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup riced, then cooked cauliflower
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp italian seasonings
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (for topping)
pizza sauce & additional toppings of your choice

DIRECTIONS:

To rice the cauliflower, cut florets into chunks and pulse in a food processor until you see rice-like bits. You could also use a cheese grater to produce the tiny pieces. Do not over process, you don’t want mush.
Microwave the riced cauliflower in a bowl for 5-8 minutes depending on your microwave. No need to add water. After microwaving, transfer riced cauliflower to a fine mesh strainer and drain completely, gently pressing out excess water. Once drained, transfer riced cauliflower to a clean dish towel and wrap the sides around the cauliflower while gently pressing out excess water. This drying process is important!
One large head of cauliflower will yield about 3 cups of riced cauliflower. Use it to make more pizzas immediately, or store in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup riced, cooked cauliflower, 1 egg and your parmesan cheese. Next, add Italian seasonings, crushed garlic and salt. Making sure everything is well mixed, place your “dough” on the cookie sheet and pat out a 9″ round. Be sure not to press it too thin as it’s easy to create holes.
Bake your dough at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven. Add sauce, mozzarella cheese, and your favorite pre-cooked toppings to your pizza. Place pizza under broiler just until cheese is melted, be sure to keep an eye on it!

Upside Down Banana Bread

Since this New Year’s Day is “Upside Down,” you know, all of the official festivities happening on Monday, January 2, what better way to kick-off (no pun intended) our entire day of parade and football watching than with this upside down take on my favorite overripe fruit concoction?

Our whole holiday week between Christmas and New Year’s Day has been spent at home, except for an escape on Wednesday for my birthday dinner WITH a 102°F temperature, so I did no baking, we did no entertaining, and I’ve really done nothing but sleep and drink hot tea. I’m trying to rally, despite being sick, and make some kind of effort for tomorrow, yet another day of being sick at home, but at least there will be something I might want to eat.

My husband (he who is Twitter challenged) managed to send this Buzzfeed video to me in a message a couple of months ago as a hint, then I saw it again last night. It looks easy enough so why not? I’ll give it a try.

Upside Down Banana Bread

4-5 ripe bananas
3 eggs
½ cup oil
½ cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
2 cups flour
½ cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
2-3 bananas, sliced
Vanilla ice cream

Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C.
In a large bowl, mash the ripe bananas.
Add the eggs, oil, sugar, and cinnamon, mixing until evenly incorporated.
Add the flour and mix until the batter has no large pockets of flour. Set aside.
In a pot over low heat, melt the butter, then mix in the brown sugar until dissolved.
Bring up the heat to medium, cooking until the mixture starts bubbling.
Remove the caramel from heat and pour into a greased 9×9 baking pan.
Lay the banana slices evenly on top of the caramel.
Spread the banana bread batter on top.
Bake 40-50 minutes.
Cool until the bottom is barely warm.
Use a knife to loosen the edges from the pan.
Place a plate upside-down on top of the pan, then invert the pan, flipping the banana bread onto the plate.
Slice, then serve with vanilla ice cream.

TIP** It’s important to make sure you are using a 9 x 9 pan. If you use an 8 x 8 pan, like I did my first try, you need to increase the baking time by about 10 minutes and be prepared, you’ll be cleaning up the brown sugar that will bubble up and spill over the sides and burn onto the bottom of your oven. Trust me, the smoke alarms blaring, dogs running around barking and the cleanup weren’t worth not following the exact directions. UG!

It’s very sweet, so you might want to start with a small square and go back for seconds. Who am I kidding? Put it in a bowl and pile the ice cream on! And, before you ask, “Yes, I do intend to start my day with glorified cake and ice cream!” #TheDietStartsTuesday

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