Buffalo Style Cauliflower & Vegan Blue Cheese Dressing

Okay, so I visited Mohawk Bend for the first time the other week with Sarah and her friend Brad. Their "elevated pub food" (made with locally-sourced ingredients) is appealing to both plant and meat eaters alike. Brad kept talking about their Buffalo Style Cauliflower and even though I eat a plant-based diet and am continually shocked by just how good vegetables can be, I was skeptical that this cauliflower could really be THAT good. But it was. It was that good. And really hard for me to share. I wanted to order a second helping, but everyone looked at me like I was crazy.  

I told Justin about it and he cooked it up the first chance he got. It came out just as good as Mohawk Bend's. We researched a bunch of different methods, tasted through the best ones, and tweaked it a bit to give the cauliflower more coating and sauce. This is some spectacular plant junk food (and not junky at all if you watch your blue cheese dipping and/or omit the added oil to the hot sauce).

INGREDIENTS, Buffalo Style Cauliflower

cauliflower (1 head) cut into florets

brown rice flour (1/2 cup) any flour will do, I use brown rice flour for a no-gluten variation

water (1/2 cup)

salt (pinch)

frank's original hot sauce (1/4 cup) if you omit the oil, then use 1/2 cup instead; I specifically recommend Frank's hot sauce only because it truly has that distinct "hot wings" flavor - I also get the Red Hot Original since their Red Hot Buffalo Wings type has preservatives in it

vegetable oil or earth balance (1/4 cup) optional, use less or none; I prefer just a touch otherwise I get a bellyache 

INGREDIENTS, Vegan Blue Cheese Dressing

extra firm tofu (1/4 block) pressed between paper towels to suck out the moisture

garlic powder (dash)

vegenaise (1/2 cup) I use a grapeseed version, Follow Your Heart, with great ingredients

tahini (1/4 tsp)

lemon (dash)

apple cider vinegar (dash)

green onions (2 T) chopped

parsley (2 t) chopped

mustard powder (dash)

freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 400º and oil/butter up a baking sheet.
2. Mix the flour, water and a pinch of salt into a batter.
3. Coat each cauliflower floret with the batter making sure it's not too thick so it crisps up in the oven like fried batter on chicken wings. Arrange florets on baking sheet, then pop in the oven for 30 minutes or until edges golden slightly.
4. In the meantime, whip up the blue cheese dressing; mix all ingredients and crumble in tofu to create that chunky blue cheese texture.
5. In a separate bowl, mix hot sauce and oil (or melted Earth Balance) together; when florets are done, toss them in hot sauce. Serve with "blue cheese" on the side.

Enjoy! xo, J&J

Arugula & Roasted Asparagus with Sweet Potato Chips

I shamefully don't cook with asparagus nearly enough, but after getting some in our farm delivery this week and making this salad, I want to cook with them all the time. Asparagus is awesomely versatile, so this is just one of many ideas. I found it on this fantastic Colombian food blog (where you can find things like Tres Leche Rice Pudding and Empanadas) and changed it up a bit to my taste.

SALAD INGREDIENTS

arugula

asparagus cut at a diagonal into 1" pieces

sweet potatoes (2 small) sliced into chip size, about 1/4"

olive oil

salt

DRESSING INGREDIENTS

dijon mustard (1 T)

fresh lemon juice (1/4 cup)

olive oil (1/4 cup or less to taste)

cumin (1/4 t)

garlic clove (1) minced 

salt 

pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 400°.
2. Mix your dressing ingredients together so it has time to settle and come together.
3. Toss your sweet potato slices with oil and salt. Pop into the oven. 
4. Toss your asparagus with oil and salt.  Pop into the oven.
5. When the asparagus is tender yet still crisp, take out of the oven and cool.
6. When the sweet potatoes are golden and crispy, take out of the oven and cool.
7. Toss the arugula, asparagus, and dressing together. Lay the sweet potato chips on top.

Enjoy!

xo, J

Tahini Salad with Roasted Chickpeas

I've been going garbanzo crazy since starting a plant-based diet. They're chock-full of fiber, iron, calcium, a bit of vitamin C, and have a very low GI for slow-releasing energy. I've always loved them (hummus holds a special place in my heart), but am newly discovering their incredible versatility (i.e. vegan cookie dough). I came across roasted garbanzo beans on the Whole Foods site and thought it would turn any romaine-type lettuce into a great salad. I looked up tahini dressings until I found this one by Mark Bittman. I've had it two days in a row now for lunch. Cheap, nutritious, filling and delicious.



INGREDIENTS
Roasted Garbanzos
garbanzo beans rinsed and drained
pimenton or paprika
cayenne
olive oil
lemon juice
salt
Tahini Dressing
tahini (2 Tbls)
cumin (1/4 tsp or to taste)
lemon juice (1/2 tsp or to taste)
garlic (1 small clove) minced
salt
water


INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat oven to 425º, mix all garbanzo ingredients together, spread out on a cookie sheet and pop in the oven until crispy. About 40 minutes. Shake cookie sheet a couple times to prevent burning. (Make sure they retain a bit of softness in the center, otherwise your jaw will get a strenuous workout - I made this mistake when Brent & John came over the other night for dinner.)
2. Whisk dressing ingredients together. Use drops of water to thin consistency. Hand massage into lettuce. Garnish with roasted garbanzos (and flaxseeds if so inclined).

Ready to serve! xo, J

Mustard Garlic Salad Dressing

INGREDIENTS 
fresh lemon juice
olive oil half the amount of lemon juice used, but I prefer 1/4 of the lemon juice used 
dijon mustard 
garlic finely minced
salt
pepper
parmesan cheese coarsely grated
flax seeds optional, I am on a flax seed kick these days for the crunchiness and texture
whatever veggies you want


INSTRUCTIONS

1. Whisk all ingredients together (except for the parmesan and flax seeds).
2. Hand massage into lettuce, then add the cheese and flax seeds.

Love, J