Roasted Cauliflower with Creamy Coconut Sauce

I came across this epic-sounding recipe on Instagram, courtesy of themodernnonna ⠀⠀

The Cauliflower:

5-6 cups of cauliflower florets — I used a small head of cauliflower

1 tablespoon avocado oil

salt and smoked paprika to taste

The Sauce:

1 tablespoon oil — avocado oil or olive oil

1 small finely chopped onion

3 minced garlic cloves

salt and pepper to taste

1/2-1 teaspoon turmeric powder — I measure with my heart

1/3 cup tomato sauce or Passata

4 tablespoons of the cream that sits on top of a can of coconut milk — add some of the coconut milk if you need to thin it out

1 cup finely chopped spinach is optional

parsley or cilantro for garnish is optional⠀⠀

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You will also need cooked Jasmine rice or any you enjoy. I used 1 cup of dry jasmine rice and boiled it with 1 3/4 cup water and some salt

Preheat the oven to 450F. Add the raw cauliflower florettes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Drizzle on the oil, add salt and smoked paprika to taste. With clean hands massage it really well and bake for 25 minutes or until roasted. In a pan on medium-high heat start sautéing the onion until translucent. This should take 1 to 2 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds. You do not want anything to burn. Add the spices to taste and stir again. Add the tomato sauce, the cream that sits on top of a can of coconut milk and stir. Let it simmer on low heat for 3-4 minutes. Add the roasted cauliflower and let it simmer for another 2-3 minutes. Optionally stir in some chopped spinach and take it off the heat. Garnish with parsley, cilantro, or even basil it’s totally up to you. Top it off on top of rice and enjoy.

Jalapeno Cheese Sourdough Bread

Many thanks to Rachel Braun for giving me all of her tips and tricks for this recipe! She uses a scale to weigh ingredients, but I measure. It works for her and it works for me.

This is an approximate recipe because I didn't measure precisely.

1/2 cup sourdough starter

3 cups flour (can be whole wheat, all-purpose, or a combo)

1 1/3 cups water

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp olive oil

At the end of the rising time, add:

3 jalapeños, finely chopped (1/4 cup)

1/2 cup cheese, cut into small cubes (1 cup shredded)

I mix this in my stand mixer, while some insist on mixing my hand.

When I mix the dough, it stays sticky but it did all pull together to form a ball. This could take several minutes.

When the dough has been mixed, I leave it in my Kitchen Aid bowl, cover it with clear plastic wrap, and put it in a very warm place.

Leave it for 4 hours.

After four hours, I do a series of dough stretches, pulling it up and folding it over on itself. Four of these are good enough. Let sit for another 30 minutes, do the stretches again. I did this four times.

Two things happen at the third stretch-and-fold: fold in the peppers and cheese. Also, preheat the oven to 450. The oven needs to be very very hot.

Some people preheat the baking dish. I do not.

This is where I'm experimenting: do I oil the baking dish or use butter? Butter might burn but the oil is making it stick a bit....

Third stretch-and-fold, preheat oven, let dough rest 30 minutes, do the fourth stretch and fold, let the dough rest for the final 30 minutes. 

Scrape the dough into the baking dish. I use a Corningware casserole dish that's deep, with a lid. The lid is important. It helps build steam and allows the dough to rise more in the oven.

Bake WITH LID for 20 minutes, take lid off, reduce heat to 425, bake for 30 minutes. 

Take out of the oven. If you let it sit for a while, the bread should release from the baking dish.

Let it cool, even though you will be tempted to eat it while it's hot.

Sriracha Snack Mix

Updated December 2023:

I've made it with salt in past years and it was good, but added none this year and it was fine! Plenty salty because I used mostly pre-mixed snacks. 

If using the oven instead of the microwave, it's 30 minutes at 300, stirring every 10 minutes.

12 cups of cereal possibly including but not limited to Chex, Cheerios, Shreddies, Corn Pops, crunchy cheese sticks (like Cheetos)

1/2 cup of salted butter, melted

1 Tbsp Worchestershire sauce

1 Tbsp Sriracha

1 tsp seasoning salt

1 tsp garlic powder

Combine cereals in a very large bowl.

Melt butter, mix in remaining ingredients. Pour half of the butter mixture over the cereal mix, stir or toss, add remaining butter, stir again.

Microwave for 5 minutes, stirring every minute. 

Spread onto large baking sheet to cool.

Notes:

Options for snack mix ingredients:
Honeycomb cereal

pretzels

pre-mixed snack mix (Munchies, etc)

Cheezies crackers

corn nuts

peanuts

Goldfish crackers

bagel chips

Cooking Beans Without Soaking

Beans do not need to be soaked! I got permission here: https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/soaking-salting-dried-bean-myths-article

I find it much easier to throw everything in the pot and just let it simmer.

Grab a bag of beans and dump them in a large pot.

Add enough broth (chicken, beef, or vegetable) to cover the beans by about an inch. I generally do a box of stock and the same amount of water.

Add a chopped onion. 

This is also when you could add a little salt, but I'd advise against it as store-bought broth is loaded with salt. You could get creative and add taco seasoning or other herbs and spices.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, simmer until tender.

Crack Slaw

I mean, it's good, but I wouldn't say it's that incredible-and-therefore-addictive... Johan and I enjoy this recipe that I heard about from my sister. Here's the link to the original on TheKitchenMagpie.com The original poster likes long posts before recipes, I don't. Here's my version of this recipe:

1 lb meat (Italian sausage, beef, pork, chicken, shrimp, etc)

4 cloves garlic, minced

(add onions here if you aren't going to use green onion as a garnish)

6-7 cups slaw mix (the basic variety and/or the kale version)

1 Tbsp sriracha

3 Tbsp soy sauce

3 tsp rice vinegar

3/4 tsp white sugar (or substitute)

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 Tbsp sesame oil

garnish: sesame seeds, green onions, almonds

Fry the meat of your choice in a large pot. Once it's browned, drain excess oil. You don't want a greasy mess at the end. Keep a little meat juice to gently cook the garlic for a few minutes. Mix it all together.

Throw in the coleslaw mix(es) and add the next 6 ingredients. It only takes a few more minutes for this all to wilt. 

Toss it on a plate, add garnishes as suits you, and a little more sesame oil and/or sriracha, if you prefer.

Cheeseburger Chili Mac and Cheese

This is a keeper by Rachael Ray, as recommended by my sister. It's like Hamburger Helper, except with real ingredients! I'll add my own recipe alterations at the end.

2 tablespoons EVOO Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 1/2 pounds ground sirloin
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
Salt and ground black pepper
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup yellow mustard
1 to 2 cups beef stock (depending on how liquid-y you want it)
1 pound whole wheat elbow macaroni
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp yellow cheddar (the sharper the better!)

Preheat broiler. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat for the pasta.

Place a medium pot over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Add the meat to the pan and cook until golden brown, 5-6 minutes.

Add the onion and chili powder to the pan, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the onion is tender, 4-5 minutes. Add the ketchup, mustard and beef stock to the pot, bring up to a bubble and simmer until slightly thickened, 4-5 minutes.

While the chili is working, salt the boiling water and drop the pasta in. Cook to al dente according to package directions then drain thoroughly and return it to the pot.

Add the chili to the pot with the pasta and give everything a good toss. Transfer to a casserole dish and top with the shredded cheese. Place the casserole under the broiler to melt and brown the cheese. Serve with a simple salad alongside.

Notes:
I reduced:
- chili powder to 1 Tbsp
- mustard to 1/8 cup

I increased:
- beef stock to four cups plus one cup water
- macaroni to 2 full cups

7 Layer Salad

And, once again, here's another favourite from the white recipe book. Looks like I was the contributor of this recipe originally but I have no idea where I got it from! What I do know, Auntie Alvina used to bring this salad to gatherings and I have always loved it! 

12 slices bacon, fried and drained

1 large head of crisp lettuce, cleaned and torn* to small pieces

1 x 10 oz package of frozen peas

1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped

1 1/2 cups small cauliflower florets

1/2 cup celery, chopped

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup Ranch dressing

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup green onion, finely chopped

2 Tbsp dried dill

3 Tbsp white sugar

1/2 tsp salt

4 oz shredded cheddar cheese

in a 9 x 13 pan, layer the lettuce followed by the peas, green pepper, bacon, cauliflower, and celery.

In a small bowl, combine the dressing ingredients. Spread mixture over salad.

Sprinkle cheese on top. Cover and chill at least 8 to 12 hours before serving.

Notes:

Start with these two tasks:

1) Rinse lettuce and put into Tupperware bowl for several hours to allow it to get cold and crispy.

2) Fry the bacon (cut it up with kitchen scissors when putting it into the pan), drain, and cool.

* I cut the lettuce with a sharp knife. It turned out fine.

Add or swap toppings! Hard boiled eggs are delicious in this salad. Try adding red peppers, broccoli, or shredded carrots.