Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes w/ Spinach
From Whole Food American Favorites
Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes made with just cauliflower would not cut it with my very traditional standard American family. So I came up with this version which includes real potatoes. It’s always a hit in my cooking classes and at family gatherings. To simplify, you can leave out the spinach but it adds a beautiful touch!
10 oz. package frozen, chopped spinach
3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, cut in chunks
Florets from 2 heads cauliflower
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup raw unsalted cashews
Sea salt
Thaw frozen spinach. Press out as much water as possible in a strainer. Warm over medium heat. Boil potatoes until tender. Strain, set aside, and keep warm. (A crock pot works great for this!) Steam cauliflower florets and garlic until tender. Blend 1/2 the cauliflower, garlic, and cashews until creamy. (You may need to do this in two batches.) Combine remaining cauliflower with potatoes and the blended cauliflower mixture. Mash with potato masher, beaters, or stick blender. Stir in warmed spinach. Salt to taste. Mix well, transfer to serving dish, and heat in oven if needed before serving.
Chicken Style Seasoning
This recipe comes from “Of These Ye May Freely Eat” by JoAnn Rachor. Her web site if www.familyhealthpub.com. She has given me permission to publish this in my books and on my site because I use it in many of my recipes.
1 1/3 cups nutritional yeast
3 Tbsp onion powder
3 Tbsp sea salt
1 1/2 T dried basil
1 T garlic powder
1 t dried oregano
1/2 t turmeric for color
Blend all ingredients until smooth. Store seasoning in a glass jar. A coffee grinder will also work for “blending” but will need to be done in batches.
Thanksgiving Chic Pea Loaf
I should probably change the name of this recipe to “Garbanzo Stuffing” because it reminds me of Stove-Top Stuffing but way better! This recipe is Adapted from fatfreevegan.com.
1 – 2 yams or sweet potato (need 2 cups cooked)
1 medium onion
2 cups chopped mushrooms
2 ribs celery
1 medium carrot
2 cloves garlic
4 cups cooked chic peas (garbanzo beans)
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3 T balsamic vinegar or 2 T tamari or soy sauce
2 T tomato paste
1 T spicy brown mustard
1 1/2 t onion powder
1 t garlic powder
1/2 t dried sage
1 1/2 t dried thyme
1/2 t dried rosemary, crushed
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 t Real Salt or sea salt, or to taste
1/2 t black pepper
Bake sweet potato in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour – 1 hour 15 minutes or until soft. Set aside to cool.
Sauté vegetable in ¼ cup water until soft. Transfer to large mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients, including cooked yam, and mash with a pastry cutter until the mixture become sticky and will hold together. Press into a 9 X 13 baking pan and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Loosely cover with aluminum foil and continue to bake an additional 25 minutes. Uncover and brown for 10 minutes if desired. Let set for at least 15 minutes before serving.
Roasted Zucchini Mexican Salad
3 medium zucchini
2 ears corn
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained well
1 cup cooked brown rice (optional)
2 cups fresh diced tomatoes
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup diced red onion
1 jalapeno pepper, minced (or use canned green chilies)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 avocado, diced
Zest of one lime
Juice of 2 limes
Cut zucchini in half lengthwise. Cut each half lengthwise again. Then cut in 1/2 – 3/4 inch chunks. Place in a large bowl and sprinkle with Mrs. Dash Chipotle seasoning or other no-salt seasoning of choice. Mix thoroughly with your hands until each piece is lightly coated. Spread out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper making sure no pieces are over-lapping. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 – 20 minutes until they start to brown. Let cool before adding to salad.
Cut corn off ears and place in the bowl you used for the zucchini. Add remaining ingredients. When zucchini has cooled, add to salad. Mix well. Add more lime or lemon juice and salt to taste if desired.
This salad is also delicious using raw zucchini. I only use 2 zucchini and I use the dice blade of the Vidalia Chop Wizard. Cut the whole zucchini in 3 sections then lay each section on the chopper screen and chop. This makes a fun perfect shape for the salad. Mix in all remaining ingredients as above.
Simple Quinoa Salad
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup quinoa
1 cucumber chopped
1 cup sliced grape
1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions or diced red onion
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
1/2 cup chopped mint leaves
Juice from 1 lemons
1/2 tsp Real Salt or sea salt
1 small avocado cubed
Bring water to boil, add quinoa, cover, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes until tender. Let cool befor adding to salad. While quinoa is cooking, combine all other ingredients. Add cooled quinoa and mix well.
Chic peas are a nice additional to this salad to make it more filling. You could also make it Mexican style by adding black beans and using cilantro instead of parsley and mint.
Sesame Kale Salad
This kale salad is not necessarily good by itself but is a delicious addition to a hummus wrap, stuffed pita, sandwich, or quinoa, pasta or other grain based salad.
1 large bunch of fresh kale
1 – 2 T tahini (sesame seed paste)
Juice of one lemon
1/2 T brown sesame seeds
Sea Salt
Finely chop kale and place in a large salad bowl. (Strip kale off stalks if preferred. If the stalks are young and tender, I like to keep them.)
Starting with 1 tablespoon of tahini, add to the kale along with lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Message kale with your hand until bright green and tender. Add more tahini if more oil is needed.
Sprinkle on sesame seeds and mix through out. Salt more to taste if needed.
Alternatively you can message 1/4 of an avocado into the kale if you are going to use it in a Mexican type salad or chop 1/2 can of olives and message them into the kale like I do in the Mediterranean Kale Salad pictured above.
April’s note: This salad travels well! I made this ahead for my 4 day trip to California to visit my brother. Not only did I use it in my humus wraps but one day for lunch we went to an Indian café where I bought a side of tabouli salad, a side of humus, and I mixed both into my kale salad. It was delicious!
Spinach Potato Salad
1 1/2 lbs red potatoes cut in small chunks
1 tsp tarragon
2 cups fresh or frozen corn
1/2 cup sliced red onion
1 red bell pepper chopped
3 cups chopped baby spinach
1 cup Sweet Mustard Dressing
2 Tbsp prepared mustard
1/2 avocado diced
1/2 tsp Real Salt or sea salt
Fresh ground pepper
Cook potatoes in boiling water for 5–10 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. Drain well and transfer to a large serving bowl, carefully stir in tarragon and let cool. Add remaining ingredients. Mix well and serve immediately. Serves 6–8.
Tip: Speed up cooling time of the potatoes by mixing the frozen corn to the potatoes after draining.
Hoppin John Zucchini Salad
2 medium zucchini shredded
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup red onion minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley
2 ears corn, cut off the cob
2 cups cooked black-eyed peas
1 avocado, diced
Zest of one lime
Juice of 2 limes
Sea salt
A few dashes of cayenne pepper
Chopped tomato for garnish
Boil 1 cup water, add rice, lower heat to simmer, and cook for 20 – 30 minutes until tender. Let cool. Place all other ingredients in a large salad bowl. Mix well. Salt to taste. Gently mix in tomatoes or garnish on top each serving.
Chickpea Quinoa Salad with Kale
1 cup quinoa
2 cups chopped kale
1 avocado, divided
Juice from 2 lemons and 1 lime
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 cucumber, cut in 1/4 inch cubes
2 cups grape tomatoes cut in half
1 cup fresh corn
2 cups cooked chickpeas
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
1 avocado, cubed
Sea salt
Bring 2 cups water to boil. Add quinoa, reduce heat to low and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Let cool before adding to salad. To speed up the cooling process, spread out on a small baking pan and place in freezer for 5 minutes.
Place chopped kale in a large salad bowl. Massage kale with 1/4 of the avocado and lemon juice until tender. Add remaining ingredients and toss. Salt to taste.
Spring Asparagus Soup
This Spring Asparagus Soup is wonderfully fresh and lite. It would go great with one of my patties or sandwiches found here.
Recipe from Whole Food American Favorites
1 pound fresh asparagus
1 small onion, chopped
4 white button mushrooms, sliced
2 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup raw cashews
1 tablespoon tahini
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Sea salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Snip off tough ends of asparagus, then cut stalks in half.
Place in a saucepan with the onion, mushrooms, and cup water. Steam until tender.
Blend cashews with 1 cup water until smooth. Add cooked vegetables to the blender jar with remaining ingredients and blend. Leave a little bit chunky or blend smooth. Salt to taste.