Autumn Cauliflower-Radish Bake with Gingered Millet

This tasty autumn fare pairs crunchy cauliflower and crisp sliced radishes in a mild-flavoured, gently baked dish. The cauliflower/radish combination is complimented with sweet and hot red peppers, cherry tomatoes, ginger root and green onions. A dash of tamari adds a savory taste without much salt. This dish is simple to make, and satisfying to eat--on its own or served over a hearty grain, like millet. It is an interesting seasonal side dish to a more elaborate meal, and a definite hit at a fall garden pot luck.

You'll need: 

For the Vegetables: 1 cauliflower; 6 - 8 crisp radishes; 6 green onions, 2 medium carrots; 1 red sweet pepper; 1 small hot red pepper; 1 teaspoon tamari; 1 teaspoon water; 1/2 teaspoon olive oil

For the Millet:1 part millet; 2 parts water; 2 tablespoon finely sliced chives; 1 tablespoon diced ginger root; 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder; 1/4 teaspoon sea salt; 1 tablespoon coconut butter; dried caledula blossoms (optional)

Method: Wash cauliflower, and pat dry. Break into florets and cut into small slices. Wash radishes, and slice into thick pieces. Dice sweet and hot red pepper, and quarter cherry tomatoes. Slice onions, using both white and green parts. Chop carrots into small, thin pieces. Mix vegetables together and place in a baking dish. Combine tamari, olive oil, and water and pour over vegetables.  Cover dish and bake in a moderate oven until cauliflower is tender-crisp - about 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Uncover and place under grill for 5 minutes, or until vegetables are lightly browned on top.

For the Millet: Rinse grain, and place in pot with water, ginger root, salt, and tumeric. Bring to boil and cook for 2-3 minutes. Turn heat to simmer, and gently steam millet until soft (about 10-15 minutes) When the grain is cooked, stir in chives, calendula blossoms, and coconut butter. 

Serve Gingered Millet with Cauliflower-Radish Bake for a hearty harvest-time lunch.

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Gingered Broccoli in Curried Squash Sauce

This delicious oven-baked autumn recipe marries the flavours of ripe yellow grape tomatoes, fresh ginger root, green onions and broccoli in a spicy curried butternut squash sauce. Pair it with sultana-brown rice for a nutritious lunch, or serve as a tasty side-dish with a larger meal, or buffet.

You'll Need: 

For the Vegetables: 1 head of broccoli; 2 green onions; 2 tablespoons chopped ginger roots; 1/2 cup yellow grape tomatoes; 1/4 cup chopped sweet red pepper; 1/2 cup cooked butternut squash; 1/2 cup vegetable stock or water; 1 tablespoon hot curry powder; 1/4 cup hemp hearts; sea salt

For the Rice: 1 cup brown rice; 1/2 teaspoon turmeric; 1/4 teaspoon allspice powder; 1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder; 12-14 sultana raisins; 1 tablespoon coconut butter; salt

Method: Wash broccoli, cut off stem, separate into florets, and coarsely chop. Place in a baking pan and sprinkle with few grains of sea salt. Chop ginger root into very small pieces, and thinly slice green onions. Quarter grape tomatoes, and chop dice sweet red pepper. Add chopped ingredients to broccoli in baking pan and mix together.

Puree baked butternut squash with vegetable stock. Stir in curry powder. Pour squash sauce over vegetables. Cover dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, or until vegetables are soft.Bake uncover for last 5 minutes.

Put Gingered Broccoli in Curried Squash Sauce in a serving dish and garnish with hemp hearts. To make Sultana-Brown Rice, put rice and water in rice cooker. Add turmeric and cayenne. 10 minutes before rice is ready to serve stir in allspice powder and sultanas and finish steaming. Before serving, stir in 1 tablespoon of coconut butter, and sprinkle with a few grains of salt.

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An October Blueberry-Spinach Salad

Spinach-Blueberry Salad

This salad makes full use of the early autumn harvest. The cooler weather produces wonderful fall greens, like  October baby spinach. This weekend the local farmer's market offered a lush selection of berries, and I've chosen to add the taste of late fall blueberries to this recipe. The spinach is marinaded in a tamari-ginger dressing which has been flavoured with cayenne and Asian 5-spice powder. Soaked sunflower seeds, plump blueberries, a generous amount of hemp hearts and a sprinkling of black sesame seeds finish this protein-rich dish to perfection.

Market-Fresh  Baby Fall Spinach Plants

You'll need:

For the salad: 
2 cups fresh spinach; 1 cup blueberries; 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds, soaked; 2 tablespoon hemp hearts; 1/2 teaspoon black sesame seeds.

For the dressing: 
1 tablespoon tamari; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger root; 1/2 teaspoon brown rice vinegar; 1/2 teaspoon Asian 5-spice powder; 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder.

Tamari, Ginger Brown and Rice Vinegar Dressing

Method: 

Soak sunflower seeds in fresh water for 2 hours. Drain.

Marinade/dressing: 

In a large bowl, whisk tamari, brown rice vinegar, cayenne and 5-spice powder together. Chop ginger root into fine pieces and add to marinade.

For the Salad:   
Wash spinach and pat dry. Coarsely chop. Add spinach to marinade one handful at a time. Tenderize the spinach by massaging the marinade into it. Using your hands, squeeze spinach into marinade, coating it well to soften leaves. (You can do this with a large spoon, pressing marinade into spinach with the back of the spoon) Cover and marinade for at least 1 hour.

Flavourful Seeds Makes A Protein-Rich Salad

Wash blueberries and pat dry. Add blueberries, hemp hearts and soaked sunflower seeds to spinach mixture and gently combine ingredients. Place salad in serving dish. Sprinkle with a generous amount of black sesame seeds.

A Perfect Nutritious October Lunch

To Serve: 
Serve with chilled herb-rice, or crusty rolls for a delicious autumn lunch. Serve as a side-kick to a more elaborate supper. This recipe also makes an interesting dish for a holiday buffet

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