Spicy Cauliflower Pate for Meatless Mondays

In our household its spring cleaning time. We are literally tearing down and cleaning up, to make  and transform my condo into a joint expression of us. It's hard to let go of some things, and fun to transform and refurbish others. It's a long process with our joint schedules , but we are getting there, gradually. The Main room which houses the kitchen, living , and and dining room is now painted completely. Next task is to move all the furniture back, and declutter. I am actually selling some stuff on Ebay, so its fun to make a little cash while cleaning up.One thing I will not let go are my books! So while moving the large bookcases  and bookstore paint the final long wall, I found an cookbook I have been looking for for two years!I's that bad.Certain Someone says I collect, and don't read books. I read them all.He's just not here to see me do so most of the time, and when he is here I don't have time to read.The cookbooks are endless source of reference for me. The long lost book was a bargain basement find of which I have never seen anything else like  it.Terrines and Pates from the Brockhampton Healthy Home Cooking series. Filled with lots of old world type beautiful terrines in Aspic, it also has  many ideas for light vegetable pates and terrines and desserts. Spicy Cauliflower Pate was a recipe I found I could manage without a trip to the store. I still lacked some ingredients, so I made some twists and variations for delicious dish. We ate this as starters for a normal  Sunday dinner with meat (Lamb breast with the Rhubarb Onion Sauce from the previous post). However on Meatless Monday , it will be my lunch. I served it with some frozen whole wheat pizza dough I had, which I grilled in some oil,( seasoned with dried onion, herbs, and salt),to replicate a Naan style of bread. Again, using what I had with little fuss.Enjoy this flavorful starter. The ginger gives it a zesty bite.

Spicy Cauliflower Pate

 inspired and adapted from Terrines and Pates 

Brockhampton Healthy Home Cooking Series

* I changed some ingredients and proportions. 

1 tablespoon Grape seed or Vegetable Oil

1/2 onion , diced

7 sun dried tomato pieces( in oil)

 2 plum tomatoes  chopped

4 garlic cloves chopped

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp paprika

2 tablespoons dried minced onion

1/4 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp salt

1  cauliflower broken into small florets

1 inch ginger minced

Heat oil in a skillet on high. Add chopped onion, reduce heat to medium, and saute for 1 minute. Add chopped tomatoes, garlic, cumin, turmeric, chili powder, paprika , and garam masala ,dried minced onion, and salt.Continue to cook the mixture on medium until the tomatoes soften  for the next five minutes.At this point the cauliflower florets and cover pan. Cook on medium low until softened for 15-20 minutes. You may need to add a bit of water so it doesn't stick. Add minced ginger at the last few minutes of cooking.
  Puree the cooled mixture wither in a food processor or use and immersion blender until a smooth paste ios formed. Transfer to serving dish and place in the refrigerator for 15  minutes. Serve at room temp ( allow to to come to). Garnish with Paprika. Serve with crackers, Naan, or Pita.

Crab Shrimp and Asparagus Soup

I have hundreds of cookbooks. One cookbook that's has been sitting on my shelf , but I have never really cooked out off is Martin Yan's, Quick And Easy. I grew up watching Yan Can Cook on PBS and it was he, in his thick accent, and comical nature, that taught me some basics of Asian Cooking and that I cold do it at home. So naturally the other day when craving an Asian Style coup, I reached for this long forgotten copy. I altered Martin's recipe a bit as I did not have fresh Crab. I had a can  of crab that I had purchased form Aldi. I'm really into the lower priced value chain of Aldi right now and how found some great Fresh produce, dairy , and cheeses.Its a revelation to a picky shopper like me and I'm loving their expansion here in the US. Don't be a snob, check it out for some surprising finds. I also stock up on other items there to use for my lunches , and canned crab has always been a thing I like throw into a quick pasta salad for some flavor. Its great in a pinch.  I also had some dried shrimp form the Asian Market. These dried ,salted tiny shrimps can be grounded into a powder , or soaked whole and are used in soups and other dishes by not Asians, but Latin , and Africans. When you want some great flavor , toss a few of these into your next rice dish or soup.
 So taking Martin Yan's Crab and Asparagus Soup, inspired by the French ingredients in Vietnamese cooking, I changed it to Crab , Shrimp, and Asparagus  Soup using pantry items, and this gorgeous Asparagus in my Organic Box. Martin uses both white and Green Asparagus, but I doubled my green asparagus. This is really  a quick and easy soup that's perfect for a light Spring Lunch.I found myself eating two bowls of it, its that good.

Crab , Shrimp, and Asparagus Soup
adapted from Martin Yan Quick and Easy
1 1/2 lbs of fresh asparagus
1/2 cup dried shrimp( found in Asian/ Latin markets ) soaked in boiling water and drained
1 tbs of vegetable oil
2 green onions
1 tsp minced ginger
5 cups chicken stock
1 can crab meat or 1/2 pound fresh crab meat
3 tbs soy sauce
1/8 tsp white pepper
1 tbs cornstarch
2 tbs water to dissolve cornstarch in
1 egg lightly beaten
 2 tbs chopped fresh cilantro

Soak the dried shrimp in boiling water ( until covered) for 209 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Remove the tough ends of asparagus stalks and chop asparagus into 1/2 inch pieces. 
Blanch the asparagus in rapidly boiling water for a few minutes until tender. Remove, drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside and pick some tips to reserve for garnish.
In the same pot used to boil asparagus, heat the oil on medium high. Add green onions and ginger and stir while cooking for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add Chicken stock, asparagus,dried shrimp, crab meat, soy sauce,and pepper and bring to boil. Add cornstarch dissolved in water, mix in , and wait until it reached boil again, and thickens slightly.This will take about 1 minute.Remove from heat and gently add in beaten egg, and stir into soup to make egg flowers.
Serve with cilantro and asparagus tip garnish.

Warm Roasted Veg and Bean Salad with Israeli Couscous and Toasted Sesame Seeds

With being sick for the past two weeks, not working out as a consequence, the abundance of Stir It 28 food, and Chicago Restaurant Week, my body is screaming mercy!!! This Monday I managed my first work out without collapsing. I had brought some leftovers from the event Sunday for lunch, but after that workout my body craved salad. Then for dinner I wasn’t that hungry, but Certain Someone wanted something quick, like sausages. I honestly couldn’t stomach the though of eating meat, which I love, but couldn’t handle that day. So I looked in the refrigerator and saw some leftover cooked red beans, sliced red peppers, onions, green bell peppers, fresh asparagus, parsley, and zucchini. I had also purchased some of that large luscious looking Israeli Couscous earlier. Marie, Proud Italian Cook, had gifted me some lemon infused olive oil, which I love. So an idea for a salad started to form while Certain Someone’s sausages were cooking away. Maybe it was subliminal with the many Meatless Monday tweets I see, or all the talk about Lenten sacrifices. But I listen to my body and felt quite satisfied with the wonderful salad I put together. I even brought some for lunch the following day.

If you don’t know, John Hopkins School of Public Health has out together a wonderful program to promote your personal good health and the health of the planet. By pledging to give up meat and its by products on Mondays, the ‘start’ of the week, we reduce our changes of diseases linked to obesity as well as help the planet.

Meatless Monday is a non-profit initiative of The Monday Campaigns, in association with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Our goal is to help reduce meat consumption 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet.

We provide the information and recipes you need to start each week with healthy, environmentally friendly meat-free alternatives.

Presidents Wilson, Truman and Roosevelt galvanized the nation with voluntary meatless days during both world wars.

By reviving this American tradition we can help address the challenges we face today. We can improve our health, reduce our carbon footprint and lead the world in the race to mitigate climate change.

I doubt I can get Certain Someone on board with Meatless Mondays, but maybe ease him into this. But , I , for one will start. Being a good cooks, I know that one can eat some exciting creative foods adhering to the vegan rule. Its just one day!

Warm Roasted Veg and Bean Salad with Israeli Couscous and Toasted Sesame Seeds

*please note you make many variations on this salad based on your preferences. So use this guide.

1 cup Israeli Couscous

1 cube vegetable bouillon

1 bunch Asparagus Spears chopped

1 half red pepper sliced

1 half green bell pepper sliced

1 zucchini sliced

1 /2 white onion sliced

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp garlic powder

Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

Dried Italian Seasoning

1 cup cooked red kidney beans (I made mine from scratch but you can use canned, drained and rinsed)

1 bunch parsley chopped

½ cup lemon infused olive oil

½ cup Balsamic Vinegar

3 tbsp sesame seeds

In a small pot with lid add ¼ cup boiling water and vegetable bouillon. Dissolve cube. Add Couscous and cover with lid for several minutes until all liquid is absorbed. Set aside.

Line a baking sheet with a rim with parchment paper. Add the vegetables and toss with the olive oil on the sheet. Season with garlic powder, salt, pepper, and dried herbs. Bake at 450 F for 10-15 min until they start to brown and are tender. Remove and set aside.

In a large bowl, add chopped parsley, Couscous, red kidney beans, vegetables, and the remaining ½ cups each of lemon infused olive oil and Balsamic vinegar. Toss all ingredients and set aside.

In a dry skillet lightly toast the sesame seeds, and add some to salad ad on top as garnish.

 Serve at room temperature.