BAKED CAULIFLOWER CURRY

This easy recipe for curried cauliflower makes a perfect meal when served over rice or noodles, or it can simply be enjoyed on its own. This is a very spicy dish, but you can moderate the heat by omitting the cayenne, reducing the amount of ginger, or choosing to use a mild or medium curry powder.

A Compact Head of Cauliflower

Cauliflower is a nutritious vegetable rich in Vitamin A and C.  It also provides high amounts of potassium, iron and zinc. Made up of clusters of stalks which end in myriad tiny florets, the entire head and stalk are edible. 

One-dish Delight: Baked Cauliflower Curry

Cauliflower is very versatile, and is often boiled, sauteed, steamed, and enjoyed raw in dips or as a dipper. But one of the tastiest ways of preparing cauliflower is to bake it.  Baking brings out cauliflower's sweet, delicate flavour. 

You'll need: 1 Cauliflower, 1/4 cup red pepper, 1/4 cup yellow pepper, 1 bunch fresh dill, 1 tablespoon chopped ginger root, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon agave syrup, 2 tablespoons hot curry powder, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons sultanas, 1/3 cup thin tomato sauce,  2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut  flakes.

Olive Oil, Lemon, and Agave Marinade

Method: In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and olive oil.

Plumping Sultanas in Curry Marinade

Add agave syrup, curry powder, cayenne pepper, salt, and sultanas to mixture, and set aside to allow fruit to plump up in the marinade.

Snow White Florets

Break the cauliflower head into individual florets.

Feathery Fresh Dill

Wash dill and slice into small feathery pieces.

Bite-size Cauliflower and Chopped Dill

Cut each cauliflower floret lengthwise into two or three bite-size pieces.

Red and Yellow Peppers, and Fresh Ginger

Chop the ginger root into small pieces, and dice red and yellow peppers.

One Dish Curry Ready to Bake

 

Place cauliflower,dill, red and yellow peppers in a baking dish.  Add curry marinade with sultanas and mix well to coat the vegetables.  Pour thin tomato sauce over the dish. Cover and bake at 350 degrees until cauliflower is soft and tender (about 40 minutes)  Prepare rice or noodles if desired.

Sprinkle with Coconut

When vegetables are cooked, uncover the dish, and sprinkle with unsweetened coconut. 

Toasted Coconut Topping adds Crunch and Flavour

Bowls of Rice and Coconut Curry

Place dish under grill for a few minutes until coconut is lightly toasted.








To Serve: Fill bowls with rice or noodles, and spoon a generous amount of cauliflower over top.  

      

Seasonal Refreshment: A Winter Time Smoothie

An excellent way to boost energy is the inclusion in your day of the versatile and always popular Smoothie. This Winter Time version is an interesting twist on the classic blender beverage.  It warms the body and the spirit with the spicy tastes of fresh ginger root, cardamom, and blood oranges.  Mixed with strawberries and banana in almond milk, this drink is sure to tickle your palate as well as your fancy.

Warming Winter Time Smoothie

You'll need: 

(for 2 pint glass Smoothies)  3 cups almond milk,  2 bananas, 2 blood oranges, 1/2 cup fresh or frozen strawberries, 2 tablespoons chopped ginger, 1 teaspoon ground cardamom.

Organic Moro Blood Oranges from California

Making the Smoothie:

Peel and slice blood orange. Citrus seeds contain a rich nutrient profile and are commonly processed along with orange flesh in blender drinks.    

Dark Purple Blood Oranges and Ginger

 

Chopped Oranges, Ginger and Strawberries

 Chop fresh ginger root, and cut orange slices into small pieces.







Add frozen or fresh strawberries to blender along with orange and ginger root.

Ripe Bananas

Peel bananas and break into pieces and place these in the blender.

Tiny Cardamom Seeds and Pungent Powdered Cardamom

Grind cardamom seeds into a fine powder in a spice mill or coffee grinder.

Fruit with Almond Milk and Cardamom

Add almond milk and ground cardamom to blood oranges, bananas, ginger and strawberries in the blender.

Perfectly Frothy

Blend for 1 - 2 minutes until smooth and frothy.

Ready to Serve

 Pour into glasses, decorate with sliced strawberries, and enjoy. The combination of the blood orange and the almond milk creates a slight  fizzy sensation like a carbonated drink.

About the Spices: 

 

Cardamom (Ellattaria cardamomum): A popular spice of the ancient world, cardamom is noted as a cultivar grown by the King in the Royal Gardens of Babylon in 720 B.C.E. This bittersweet spice is often used in Indian, Chinese and Thai cuisines. It has a dynamic flavor which is said to add “lemon overtones and a distinct hint of eucalyptus and camphor” to food.An herbaceous perennial, the cardamom bush grows in India and Sri Lanka, and is a member of the ginger family. The spice has a gentle warming effect on the body, and is often ground and added to coffee because it is thought to “raise the spirits and enliven the heart”

 

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) with its fresh, warm and lemony sharpness increases circulation and facilitates digestion.

Making Almond Milk.

Sweet Almond Milk

 Nothing is quite like a cool glass of smooth sweet almond milk.  Made from alkaline almonds, it contributes to a healthy pH balance in the body, facilitating digestion and overall well-being.  A boon for those with lactose-intolerance, or for people wanting to avoid the acid-producing effects of dairy products, almond milk can be used in recipes where cow's milk is called for.  Its nutritional profile is superior to that of  milk, and contains none of the antibiotics, steroids, and hormones found in dairy products.

Almonds before soaking and sprouting

Almonds after soaking and sprouting

Almonds in water

Soaked almonds plumped and ready to use

You'll need:  1/2 cup of soaked and sprouted almonds, 2 cups of water.

Almonds and water in blender

 Method:  Place almonds in blender; add 4 cups of water and process at low speed, gradually increasing to medium speed. 

A Blender-full of Sweet Almond Milk

Blend for 1-2 minutes, depending on the strength of your blender. 

Almond milk and pulp

Strain milk through fine-mesh sieve, in a nut bag or through several layers of cheese cloth.

Ready for the Refrigerator

Pour into containers, and store in fridge for up to 1 week. 

Almond Milk and Soaked Almonds

Reserve almond pulp for other uses: used fresh, it can be added to cookie or muffin mixes, cake batter or incorporated into veggie patties; it also can be dehydrated and ground into almond flour, or sweetened with maple syrup or agave, it is easily dehydrated and added to granola.

AMAZING ALMONDS

Almonds are a wonderful addition to any diet. Each small seed contains a large concentration of nutrients and healthy fiber.  About 1/5 of their weight is protein. 

The almond is actually a member of the plum family and is a close cousin to the apricot, cherry, nectarine, peach, and plum.  Rich in dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals, almonds are a source of sustainable energy.  Almonds contain nutrients from the B-complex group -- riboflavin, niacin, thiamine, pantothenic acid, vitamin B-6, and folates. These vitamins act as co-factors for enzymes during cellular substrate metabolism.  Almonds also are an excellent source of vitamin E which is a powerful lipid soluble antioxidant required for maintaining the integrity of cell membrane of mucus membranes and skin.  It provides protection from harmful oxygen free radicals. Almonds are a reliable source of mono-unsaturated fatty acids. Oleic and palmitoleic acids in almonds assist in lowering LDL ("bad" cholesterol)  and increase HDL ("good" cholesterol), promoting a healthy blood lipid profile.  Recent research studies suggest that foods rich in monounsaturated fatty acids help prevent coronary artery disease and strokes. Also, almonds alkalinize the blood, and help balance the acidity in many of the foods we eat. In addition, almonds are a prolific source of minerals like manganese, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc and selenium.

Also almonds are gluten-free and lactose-free, making them a healthy alternative for people with celiac disorder or allergic reactions to milk, wheat, and gluten.  Although allergists often classify the almond as a tree nut (and it is possible to be allergic to almonds)  many people who are able to eat peaches or the other foods in the prunus botanical family can enjoy almonds without an adverse reaction, benefiting from their high-integrity nutrition.    

Almonds, like all seeds and nuts, can be made even more healthful with soaking and sprouting. The almond has an enzyme-prohibiting compound in its skin which slows digestion, but it is broken down and wicked away during the soaking process.  Since almonds are dense nuts, they should be soaked for 6 - 12 hours. Drained and rinsed, almonds can be stored in the fridge for at least a week.  Plump with fresh water, the almonds sprout (begin the germination process) which increases the bio-availability of nutrients and facilitates their digestibility as metabolic change at a cellular level initiates the breakdown of complex compounds into their more simple components. Soaked and sprouted almonds have a light, delicately sweet flavor, a slightly crunchy texture and an easily digested matrix of enzymes, vitamins, and minerals.

Coming soon:  Making Almond Milk