Gobi Bhurji w Peas

Gobi (Cauliflower) contains a variety of antioxidants and anti-cancer compounds. It is loaded with 5 of 8 B vitamins as well as Vitamin K. Its loaded with fiber and minerals and electrolytes. If you're interested in learning more about the mighty Cauliflower, see this post for veggie facts. Since reading Chef AJ's Unprocessed I've consumed many a bowl of Cauliflower Rice. Today however, I felt like I needed something Indian. Something to remind me of home. It is Diwali in India. The festival of lights. Its a day of celebration and prayer and good wishes and all things fun. Alas! Cauliflower typically doesn't play a big part in these celebrations but it does remind me of home. I transformed a traditional recipe to the HH way (no oil) and it turned out really well. A Bhurji or Keema is any dish with minced vegetables/meat. This dish contains shredded cauliflower - which is called Gobi in Hindi ... hence the term Gobi Bhurji.   

Gobi Bhurji with Roti

Prep Time: 20 min

Ingredients: 

1. 1 small Red Onion, shredded in a food processor
2. 1 head of cauliflower, shredded in a food processor
3. 1/2 cup Frozen Peas
4. 1 tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
5. 2 tsp Cumin Seeds
6. 2 tsp Coriander Powder
7. 1 tsp Turmeric Powder
8. 2 tsp Garam Masala (optional, I didn't use any)
9. 1 tsp Chili Powder
10. Salt & Pepper, to taste

Directions:

Line a skillet on medium heat with water and add minced onions and ginger-garlic paste. As the onions become transparent and ginger-garlic paste becomes fragrant, add frozen peas and mix well. Then add all remaining spices and mix well. Then add shredded cauliflower and toss really well so that the turmeric coats the cauliflower shreds. Cover, keep on medium to medium low heat, and cook until cauliflower is well cooked (~7-10 min). Then, uncover, mix well and cook on medium heat until all the water evaporates.  Garnish with freshly cracked black pepper, and fresh coriander leaves.  Serve hot with fresh (or frozen if you're lazy like me!) rotis.

My Assessment: Typically, this dish is cooked with quite a fair bit of oil. Since cauliflower absorbs a lot of oil (kind of like potatoes in that respect), at this stage pan roasting it allows it to release the oil. My no-added-fat version was just as tasty in my opinion and did not require any oil. Allowing the water to evaporate from this dish allows it to pan roast, even without oil, and it was just as flavorful and so much less fattening. LOVED IT!!!

Alternate Serving Suggestions:

1. If you don't have rotis available, try eating this dish with hamburger buns or just regular bread, in the form of a sandwich. That's how I plan to eat it for lunch. 
2. If you like a spicy kick, sprinkle a little bit of Sriracha sauce on top, either in your sandwich or even if you're eating it with roti. Yum!  

Mushroom & Kale Tacos

If asked, any member of my family, ranging from 3 to 43 years, will say without pause that their ideal meal consists of Tacos. Since going plant-based I've tried to incorporate as many of my veggies into burritos and tacos and tonight's meal was no exception (although I cannot get any of the other 4 people to eat these tacos). I had some leftover Wilted Kale & Onion Salad from earlier in the week. And I saw some fresh mushrooms as I was taking the leftovers out of the fridge. Into a skillet went the sliced mushrooms, with 1 cup of Wilted Kale and Onion Salad and Voila!! 

Mushroom & Kale Tacos

Prep time: 15 min

Ingredients: 

1. 1 bunch of Kale, stems removed and leaves coarsely torn
2. 1 medium Red Onion, julienned
3. 6-8 White button mushrooms, sliced thinly
4. 2 cloves of Garlic, minced
5. 3-4 tbsp Medium Salsa, to taste
6. Salt & Pepper, to taste
7. 4 Corn Tortillas, for taco shells.

Directions: 

Rinse torn kale in cold water, drain and set aside. Slice mushrooms and set aside. Line a large skillet with water. Add garlic and turn heat to medium. As soon as the garlic begins to simmer, add the julienned onions and mushrooms and kale. Cover, reduce heat to medium low. Within a couple of minutes, the kale will turn bright green and begin to wilt. Keep covered for 2 additional minutes. Remove lid and turn heat to high for a couple of minutes to allow the water to evaporate. The kale will however, continue to sweat so the tacos will be a little wet and drippy. I didn't mind that part of it. if you want your tacos really dry, make sure you dry the kale completely. In my opinion though kale doesn't taste as good when it is dry because it is a very fibrous leaf. Prepare taco shells by wrapping in foil and heating in a 350F oven for 5 minutes. Prepare tacos, Garnish with freshly cracked black pepper, and more salsa, as necessary. Serve warm. 

My Assessment: This isn't a dish that looks pretty ;) or appetizing to non-kale lovers :) but it was amazingly delish!!! I enjoyed these tacos with freshly made HH Butternut Squash Soup. I didn't add any additional toppings because this was flavorful enough for me. Optional toppings include freshly diced fresh tomatoes, olives, even fresh sweet corn.

HH Butter Bean Cookies w Chocolate

So I've posted about these HH Butter Bean cookies before. They're an amazing way to make kids eat healthy cookies, with lots of protein, and without added fat. So much better than Oreos or Chips Ahoy! The original recipe can be found here. The reason I'm re-posting this recipe is because of the latest modification. 

HH Butter Bean Cookies w Chocolate

So I shared the recipe for these cookies with a friend at work. And she shared it with another colleague at work. In the end it so happened that the last person to use this recipe decided that they wanted these cookies to be chocolate chip cookies ... so she substituted a half a cup of cocoa instead of flour. 

I've always made a double batch of this recipe. The original calls only for a half a cup of Butter Beans and a 15oz can has just a little more than 1 cup. It was just easier to double the recipe and use all the beans because these cookies don't last long in my house. So in a double batch, instead of using 2 cups of flour, Jessica decided to use 1.5 cups of flour and 0.5 cup of Pure Cocoa powder. The result was simply phenomenal. 

... check out the gooey center of the cookie on the right!

My Assessment: I think I like this version a lot better than the non-chocolate version!