Cauliflower “Fried Rice”

Here’s a fantastic way to enjoy cauliflower – a rather-tasteless-boring-white vegetable. Ha! Yeah those were my sentiments; I confess I avoided cauliflower until recently. Discovering how powerful it is to our immune system motivated me to find ways to eat it. And as always in my kitchen – nutritious must also be delicious!

So thank you SkinnyTaste for introducing me to Cauliflower “Fried Rice”! I’ve made multiple iterations; consider this a baseline rather than a precise recipe and go creative with what’s seasonal or in your kitchen.

Cauliflower is a cruciferous along with broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cabbage.

“ Cruciferous vegetables are among the most powerful weapons in our dietary arsenal against cancer. That alone would elevate it to the status of a SuperFood. Cruciferous vegetables boost the immune system, lowers the incidence of cataracts, supports cardiovascular health, builds bones and fights birth defects. They are some of the most nutrient-dense foods known offering an incredible high level of nutrition for a very low caloric cost. Steven Pratt MD and Kathy Matthews” SuperFoods: Fourteen Foods that Will Change Your Life”

Variations:

  • Skip the eggs, add edamame or tofu for protein to make it vegan
  • Or go the other way and add leftover chicken, pork or shrimp
  • Replace peas with edamame or snap peas (cut diagonally in halves or thirds)
  • Add mushrooms; wash, trim stems and slice. Cook with the chopped red onion
Cauliflower “Fried Rice”
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Servings
4 servings
Servings
4 servings
Cauliflower “Fried Rice”
Print Recipe
Servings
4 servings
Servings
4 servings
Ingredients
Adjust servings: servings
Units:
Instructions
  1. Coarsely chop cauliflower into large pieces. Put one-third in food processor and pulse just until cauliflower has the texture of rice. Remove from processor and repeat two more times until all cauliflower is “riced. Be careful not to over-process.
  2. Whisk eggs in a small bowl. Heat a large skillet or wok over medium heat with1 tablespoons sesame seed oil Add the eggs and cook, stirring occasionally until done. Remove egg from skillet.
  3. Add 1 tablespoon sesame oil to pan, saute onions, until they start to become translucent, add red bell pepper and garlic and cook another 3 - 4 minutes, stirring.
  4. Add cauliflower and peas to skillet, mix until combined. Mix in soy sauce. Cover and cook over high heat 5 more minutes, stirring frequently, until cauliflower is slightly crispy on the outside but tender on the inside.
  5. Add the egg. Remove skillet from heat and mix in scallions and parsley
Recipe Notes

Inspired by

Skinnytaste Cauliflower Fried Rice

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Sweet Potato Shepherd Pie

Because it’s tasty, hearty and nutritious, this is a regular fall dinner at our house. It can be made a day or two early for those busy weeknights.

Variations:

  • Use only with sweet potatoes or only with butternut squash.
  • Use ground turkey, beef or bison instead of turkey sausage
  • Make it spicy, adding a chopped jalapeño or two
  • Give it a Southwest twist When preparing the sausage filling, add 1 teaspoon chili 1 teaspoon paprika 1 1/2 cup corn kernels (I used defrosted frozen corn) Instead of bell pepper, use a poblano pepper
  • Make it vegan by using cooked lentils instead of turkey sausage.

It’s a great way to use leftover Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Puree after Thanksgiving. Layer it over the leftover Wild Rice, Turkey Sausage and Leek Stuffing.  If no stuffing is left, make the filling with leftover turkey instead of turkey sausage.

Serve it with Kale, Apple and Cranberry Salad with Pumpkin Seeds

Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie
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Servings
4 - 6 servings
Servings
4 - 6 servings
Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie
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Servings
4 - 6 servings
Servings
4 - 6 servings
Ingredients
Adjust servings: servings
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Instructions
  1. Steam sweet potatoes and butternut squash until tender. Drain. Return to saucepan and mash with a potato masher. Add broth, mix until smooth and season with salt and pepper to taste.
  2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 8 x 8 x 2-inch glass baking dish.
  3. Heat expeller-pressed canola oil in skillet over medium-high heat and cook sausage, breaking up with spoon and occasionally stirring, until it is brown (about 10 minutes). Transfer sausage to a bowl.
  4. Add onions to the same skillet and sauté, stirring occasionally, over medium-high heat until onions are translucent, about 8 minutes. Add celery, garlic, cumin, coriander and red pepper flakes (if using red pepper flakes). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix sausage back into skillet. Season with salt and pepper.
  5. Place sausage mixture into prepared baking dish. Spoon sweet potato mixture over; smooth top.
  6. Bake until it begins to brown around edges, about 45 minutes (or about 1 hour if it was refrigerated).
  7. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes

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Sweet Potato and Kale Pizza

The colors and flavors of sweet potato and kale take this pizza to a whole new delicious and nutritious place. Truly a superfood pizza loaded with carotenoids and other phytochemicals (naturally occurring plant chemicals) linked to health-promoting and disease-fighting activities.

For a vegan meal, replace goat cheese with toasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds

Simplify by making the sweet potato puree the day before.

If making homemade pizza crust,  my favorite recipe is  100 Days of Real Food: Whole Wheat Pizza

Sweet Potato and Kale Pizza
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Sweet Potato and Kale Pizza
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Ingredients
Adjust servings:
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Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 425°F.
  2. Steam sweet potatoes 8 - 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender when poked with a fork. Remove sweet potatoes from pot, drain and cool.
  3. Place sweet potatoes in food processor with broth and red pepper flakes, pulse until smooth.
  4. While sweet potatoes are cooking, heat 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil in skillet. Add onion and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until it starts to turn golden brown. Add garlic, and cook another 2 minutes, stirring. Turn off skillet and let cool.
  5. Roll out dough until 1/4 inch thick. Spread potato sauce evenly over dough. Spread onion over Toss kale in remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil, place on top of onion.
  6. Top pizza with kale and goat cheese. Bake until crust is golden, 10 to 15 minutes, sprinkling on walnuts in final 2 minutes.
Recipe Notes

Variations:

Use butternut squash instead of sweet potatoes, or a blend of butternut squash and sweet potatoes.
Add 1 red bell pepper with cut in quarters and steamed with sweet potatoes or, sliced, to sauté with the onion. It pumps up the flavor and the nutrients

Vegan Pizza
Use vegetable broth when pureeing the sweet potatoes
Instead of goat cheese, toast 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds and sprinkle on pizza the last 2 minutes of baking

NOTE: I steam vegetables rather than boil in water to preserve more nutrients and I think it the vegetables have a brighter color. New to steaming? Check out How to Steam Vegetables

Modified from

Epicurious: Sweet Potato and Kale Pizza

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Mushroom Barley Risotto

[su_expanding_quote alignment=”right” source_author=”Joel Fuhrman, M.D.” source_title=”Super Immunity” affiliate_link=”http://amazon.to/to come” full_quote=”Consuming mushrooms regularly has been associated with decreased risk of breast, stomach and colorectal cancers…mushrooms stimulate the immune system, prevent DNA damage, slow cancer cell growth.” short_quote=”Consuming mushrooms regularly has been associated with decreased risk of cancers”]

Mushrooms evoke an almost-forgotten childhood memory of tromping through a forest in Austria with my grandfather, breathing in the aroma of wet earth. He had an amazing knowledge, honed through severe hunger having lived through World Wars I and II, not only of mushrooms, but all edible forest plants. Taking those mushrooms into the kitchen to sauté with a little bit of butter made for heavenly bites that I can still savor.

Mushroom Barley Risotto
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Servings
4 - 6
Servings
4 - 6
Mushroom Barley Risotto
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Servings
4 - 6
Servings
4 - 6
Ingredients
Adjust servings:
Units:
Instructions
  1. Heat expeller-pressed canola oil in medium saucepan. Add onion and cook over medium heat until it begins to turn transparent. Add mushrooms and cook until edges of mushrooms are browned.
  2. Add carrots, garlic and barley and cook, mixing for 3 – 5 more minutes.
  3. Add thyme, bay leaves and 2 cups chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until broth is almost absorbed, about 5 minutes. Add remaining broth 1/2 cup at a time; as it gets absorbed, add more until barley is tender, about 45 – 50 minutes.
  4. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  5. Serve with chopped parsley on top.
Recipe Notes

A Color My Food Original Recipe

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