Roasted Cauliflower with Kale and Brown Mushrooms

This is one of the most simplest dishes and my favourite. Super delicious and healthy. Love those oven roasted veggies.    

Oven Roasted Cauliflower with Kale and Brown Mushrooms

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1 head of cauliflower, cored and cut into florets

bunch of Kale, chopped

8 brown mushrooms, thickly sliced

4 scallions (green onions), chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

mixed herbs or seasoning mix (I used a blend of dried crushed chili peppers, sea salt, and dehydrated lime) 

about 4 tablespoons of cold water in a glass  

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Place the cauliflower florets in a large bowl, add cold water and soak for 20 minutes. 

In the meantime wash and chop the kale, set aside. Wash and slice the mushrooms, set aside and chop the scallions and set aside. 

Drain the cauliflower and pat dry. Place in a large, 9 x 13 inch oven proof baking dish. Drizzle with the olive oil. Generously sprinkle with mixed herbs. Toss to coat. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes; turning every 10 minutes until the vegetables are tender and lightly browned. Sprinkling each time with about 2 tablespoons of cold water.

When the first 10 minutes are up, being careful remove the hot dish from the oven and add the chopped kale and sliced mushrooms. Lightly toss to incorporate. Do not worry if the dish is heaping, it will bake down. Sprinkle with cold water and place back into the oven to  roast for another 10 minutes. 

Again, once those 10 minutes are up carefully remove the baking dish from the oven and add the scallions, toss to incorporate. Sprinkle with cold water and place back into the oven and roast for the remaining 10 minutes. 

Serve immediately as a main dish or as a side dish.  

Hope everyone had a good weekend! - JD 

Let Them Eat Kale!

We all know the benefits of eating kale. It is one of the most nutrient dense superfoods hanging out in the produce section at the local grocery store. There is curly kale, red kale, Asian kale and baby kale. Which ever kale you choose it has substantial and positive health benefits. I prefer my kale raw in a salad or lightly sautéed with some garlic and balsamic vinegar. 

This is one of my favourite cookbooks and it offers 75 nutritious recipes that will help you include kale into every meal. The recipes span from... Breakfast to Appetizers, Side Dishes, and Snacks,... of course Salads, Soups, Stews and Chilis, Main Dishes and finally Sauces, Salsas and Spreads. Not all the recipes in the book are vegetarian / vegan. Most ingredients you will already have in your pantry which make these recipes much more accessible. The colour photos are glossy, full page, and up close.  

I wanted to share this recipe form the cookbook as I was quite taken with the eggplant, kale, and chickpea combination. If you can not find dinosaur (dino) kale perhaps try another kale that is available.

 Eggplant, Kale, and Chickpea Tacos with Charmoula Sauce

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Serves 3 to 4.

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 eggplant, unpeeled, chopped into strips (unpeeled)
6 cloves of garlic
1 x 14 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 head dino kale 
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 to 8 corn or flour tortillas
Charmoula sauce 

Instructions:

1. In a large sauté pan, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat.

2. Add the eggplant and use a spatula to toss the egg plant in the oil/butter to evenly coat. Sauté until the eggplant begins turning brown, about 3 minutes.

3. Add the chopped garlic and chickpeas. Continue sautéing, stirring consistently until eggplant is very brown and begins losing its form, about 5 to 8 minutes.

4. Add the chopped Kale and continue sautéing and stirring until kale has softened, about 5 minutes.

5. In a small separate skillet, heat tortillas one or two at a time over medium heat until warm.

6. Add desired amount of veggie mixture to tortillas and drizzle Charmoula sauce on top. 

Cookbook Footnotes: 
"Dino or Dinosaur kale is the same as Lacinato or Tuscan kale. The leaves are long, dark green and resemble dinosaur skin. The flavour is less bitter than other kinds of kale and easier to chew in its raw form."

Charmoula Sauce
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Makes 3/4 cup of sauce

1 cup parsley
1 cup cilantro
1 cup dino kale leaves
6 to 8 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about the juice of 4 lemons) 

Instructions:

1. Add all the ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend/process until a thick paste has formed. You can leave the sauce chunky or blend until completely smooth, depending on your preference.

2. If you don't have a blender or food processor, you can finely chop the first four ingredients and whisk everything together until well combined. 

Cookbook Footnotes:
"Charmoula sauce is a traditional Middle Eastern sauce, typically made with parsley, cilantro, lemon juice, and Middle Eastern spices. It is used to marinate fish and poultry, or serve on top of cooked meat and /or vegetables. All ingredients combined make for a sauce that is not only full of nutrients but also helps cleanse the liver."


I will also include this recipe from the cookbook. A simple flavourful stew packed with spicy goodness and of course, kale!   


Indian Chickpea Stew with Kale

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Serves 6 to 8.

1 tablespoon of olive oil or grapeseed oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 x 28 ounce can diced tomatoes, including juices

2 x 15 ounce can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed

3 cups vegetable broth (low sodium)

1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon coriander

2 teaspoons fresh ginger, peeled and grated

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste 1 bay leaf

8 cups green kale leaves, stems removed, chopped

Brown rice for serving

Instructions:

1. In a large pot or Dutch oven, sauté the onion over medium heat until it begins to brown, about 8 to 10 minutes.

2. Add all of the ingredients except for the kale and stir to combine. Cover and bring the pot to a boil.

3. Once full boil is reached, lower the heat to medium - low and allow the stew to cook at a gentle boil about 15 minutes.

4. Remove the cover from the pot and add all of the kale. It's okay if the pot is very full at this point; the kale will cook down.

5. Put the cover back on and allow the kale to steam about 30 seconds to 1 minute before stirring it into the stew to incorporate it.

6. Cook and additional 2 minutes, then serve over cooked brown rice. 

Have a good weekend everyone! - JD 

Jelly Roll Cake

This type of cake was on my baking to do list however I felt slightly intimidated by the shear effortless perfection that this cake emits, until yesterday. As first time jelly rolls go this turned out as best as the recipe instructed. My efforts produced an edible cake quickly devoured by all... my son had two slices! However I felt it was not 100%. There are many jelly roll recipes with slight variations therefore I will give it another go with a different recipe. Still, I am pleased with my efforts and surprised at how quickly one can be whipped up.  

Jelly Roll Cake

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1 cup sifted cake flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 salt

2 eggs 

3/4 cup white sugar 

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoons milk, preferably 2%

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1 cup strawberry jam or your filling of choice (I used a poppyseed filling) 

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Grease and line a 10x15 inch jellyroll pan with parchment paper.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Set aside.

In another large bowl beat the eggs together and sugar with an electric mixer until thick and pale, approximately 5 minutes. Stir in the vanilla and milk. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients. The batter will be thin pour into the prepared jelly roll pan.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until centre springs back when pressed lightly. Do not over bake, it may crack.

Meanwhile generously dust a clean dish towel with confectioners' sugar. Turn the cake out onto the towel, and slowly peel off the parchment paper. Gently roll  up the cake using the towel, and let cool for about 10 minutes. 

Unroll the cake and spread an even coat of jam or your choice of filling, onto the top. Roll the cake back up into a tight spiral, and remove the towel from underneath. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

Notes: I followed the recipe as stated, only baking for 8 minutes, and although it turned out and the cake tasted fine, a little bit crumbly, I felt it was not 100%. This was my first time making a jelly roll; so perhaps I haven't got my rolling down.  

Perhaps not rolled tight enough. Still pleased with my efforts and I am determined to perfect my jelly roll making. 

- JD  

Food Photo of the Day ~ Sunday Roast

Rather than our traditional Sunday roast sometimes I strive for something different every now and again. So this past Sunday it was oven baked seasoned chicken with brown mushrooms sautéed with truffle salt, crisp green beans and fluffy buttery mashed potatoes. Need I say more?  The sautéed mushrooms were perfect and it was great to use a wonderful gift from the pantry, the truffle salt.  

Hope everyone had a great weekend! - JD   

Cassis and Soda

Unseasonably warm weather, again. Which are making the days quite enjoyable. Spring is almost here and this tipple is a modest reminder of such. Slight Pimms-ish, minus the fruit, although a garnish of fruit would dress it up proper. What I love about this beverage, besides the taste, is the gorgeous colour. The photo does do it some justice; it is a dark inky plum with undertones of amber. Sounds autumnal although the taste is fruity. Another simple refreshment. 

Cassis and Soda

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about 2 ounces of Creme de Cassis

chilled Club Soda

Pour the Cassis into an old fashion or a high ball glass and then fill the glass half way or full, depends on your flavour strengths, with club soda. Garnish with slices of oranges.

Notes: This beverage is similar to a Cassisco except with that cocktail you add about 1 and 1/2 ounces of Triple Sec. Filling the glass to the brim with chilled Club Soda, doing some slightly fancy stirring and is served with ice cubes.      

Have a good weekend everyone! - JD    

Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken

I must admit that I have been watching too many Tasty videos. Therefore, I decided to put another Tasty recipe to the test. Their honey garlic chicken with vegetables is an easy one with not too much fuss... the green beans are added in the last 30 minutes of cooking time, though. This is a great way to have a "Sunday Roast" meal mid week.

Tasty's Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken 

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Marinade:

1/2 cup of honey

1/2 cup of soy sauce

4 cloves of garlic

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

8 chicken thighs

1 bag baby carrots, rinsed

1 bag mini potatoes, washed and cut in half 

1 lbs of green beans, washed and ends trimmed

1 large crock pot

In a large bowl blend the honey, soy sauce, garlic, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes and black pepper. Stir to combine. Set aside.

Place 4 of the chicken thighs in the bottom of a large crock pot.

Add half of the marinade over top of the chicken thighs.

Add the potatoes and carrots on top of the chicken.

Then add the remaining chicken thighs on top. Add the remaining soy marinade over the chicken thighs.

Cook on LOW for 8:00 hours

OR 

Cook on HIGH for 4:00 hours

During the last 30 minutes of cooking time add the prepared green beans to the slow cooker.

Optional: When done remove all the chicken thighs from the slow cooker and place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and BROIL for 3 to 4 minutes. 

Serve! 

Notes: I chose to cook on high. Everything turned out and was done nicely except for the green beans. Maybe the greens beans I bought were too crisp to start off with regardless they could have used a bit more time. I know I would rather have some crunch to my vegetables then an over cooked soggy vegetable. The chicken on the bottom of the crock pot had the most flavour and was a nicely browned while the chicken pieces on top were pale, as you can see from my photo. On Tasty's video they place each vegetable separately on the plate however I found that I could not do that because after removing the chicken to broil; all the vegetables mixed and fell into each other. Still, nothing to worry about though. The meal was tasty!

** Tasty are on Twitter, Instagram, Vine, and Pintrest. You can also find them on buzzfeed.com

Have a great Thursday everyone! - JD 

Food Photo of the Day ~ Lime Pickle

I was a bit unsure where to categorize this post so I put it under a few, food photo of the day, random thoughts, and finds and favourites, if I haven't done so already. Myself, or rather, we quite enjoy lime pickle and Marks & Spencer make a fantastic one. This was the last jar we had and for awhile it was holding on for all it was worth and the other night it came to a culinary end. Poof! the lime pickle... finished. Lime pickle is not only enjoyed while we are eating curry or with poppadoms. I absolutely like making grilled cheese and lime pickle sandwiches! Which are quite tasty.    

Until we meet again... thanks for the delicious memories!

Hope everyone had a great weekend. This week is flying by, it is Wednesday already and before I can blink it will be Saturday. - JD