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Monday, February 15, 2021

Recipe Review from 2/8/2021

We spent the weekend up outside of Ely, MN, on Snowbank Lake ice fishing. It was cold. Like -38* cold according to my phone. I heard reports that it hit closer to -50* F below zero. After a point it doesn't matter - it's just cold. But it was all good - main objective was to look at four walls that weren't our house. Second objective, fish. Both objectives were a success.

Past this sign is the BWCAW.  The furry one to the right is Kep.
Snow art!

The Meal Plan:
Sat (L) hot and sour soup (S) meatloaf
Sun (L) Leftover soup and grilled cheese (S) buffalo wings (Super Bowl!)
Mon (Yoga pm) leftover meatloaf
Tues - Chipolte glazed Salmon
Wed (Yoga pm) leftovers
Thurs - leftovers
Fri - ice fishing, Ely, MN

Lunches - (me) Roasted Cauliflower "Couscous" Salad (DH) - sandwiches


Keto Roasted Cauliflower "Couscous" Salad (I Breathe I'm Hungry blog) vegetarian, keto
I'm not doing a Keto diet; I have a friend who is and she passes along tasty looking recipes. I modified a bit and omitted the fresh dill and mint as garnish. I'm not paying $3.00/carton/each for a few sprigs. However, I DID add some dried herbs to the dressing before combining.

Another point, I'm pretty sure you could make this with frozen riced cauliflower. The key here is the squash needs to be diced small in order for everything to cook at the same time. Even then, expect your kale to get a bit crispy. I'm almost thinking, skip baking the kale and add to the salad chopped, raw.

Coming back after eating this over the week - it was "okay". My recommendations: add the kale as a raw component. It was over-cooked when prepared as directed and became bitter in the dish. Consider doubling the dressing and adding just before serving (I did skip the garlic - I was eating this at work). The dressing flavors were completely lost over the course of the week. What did surprise me was how filling this was as compared to some other vegetarian salads I've had. I didn't get as hungry later in the afternoon as I usually do. This was also my first time making and eating cauliflour "rice" or "qunioa" and I would make it again.
Recommended with some reservations and/or modifications.

Made about 4 servings

Photo from I Breathe I'm Hungry blog
For the vegetables:

4 cups raw riced cauliflower**
1 cup finely chopped kale
1 cup chopped butternut squash (1/2 inch cubes)
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds (see note below)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

For the dressing:

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 small garlic clove, peeled and minced finely
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

**My note: how to rice raw cauliflower can be found here: TheKitchn

**My other note: you could also make this with frozen riced cauliflower.

To roast the vegetables:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Place the cauliflower, kale, squash, and sunflower seeds on a baking sheet.
Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Roast for 30 minutes, or until the squash is fork tender. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes.

To make the dressing:

Whisk the dressing ingredients together until well blended.

To assemble:
Place all of the roasted ingredients in a medium-sized bowl, along with the herbs and lemon zest.
Pour the dressing over the top and stir well.
Serve immediately if a warm dish is desired, or chill overnight and serve cold.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. (Any longer and the flavors and textures start to deteriorate. Freezing is not recommended by the author. )

Author notes: If your sunflower seeds are already toasted, don’t roast them with the vegetables. Add them in with the fresh herbs before dressing.


Honey-Chipolte Salmon with [Rice] (Eating Well, Jan/Feb 2021)
A noteable subsitiution: The Husband doesn't like cauliflower, so I made a brown and wild rice pilaf (LOVE my instant pot!) and added the carrots and peas to that. I'm posting the recipe "as written" however.

We really enjoyed this. I did find the sauce/glaze was a bit thin and that could have been a function of the fillet I used. We also thought this was better on the second day when we flaked the salmon and 1 ¼ pounds skin-on wild salmon, cut into 4 pieces
½ teaspoon salt, divided
2 teaspoons chopped chipotle in adobo sauce
2 teaspoons honey
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups cauliflower rice (fresh or frozen)
½ cup frozen diced carrots and peas
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup sliced almonds
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon lime juice

Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with foil.

Place salmon on the prepared baking sheet, skin-side down, and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt. Combine chipotle and honey in a small bowl and brush on the salmon. Bake until the salmon flakes easily with a fork, 6 to 12 minutes depending on thickness.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add cauliflower rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and hot, about 3 minutes. Add carrots and peas and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until hot, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in almonds, cilantro, Parmesan, lime juice and the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt. Serve the salmon with the pilaf.


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