Curried Cauliflower Soup

A warm curried cauliflower soup is the perfect thing for cold gray days. I first tried a curried cauliflower soup at a restaurant called Greens.  It's a wonderful vegan-friendly place where all the dishes are elegant and served with panache.  I whipped up an easy Vitamix soup in recollection of that tasty meal.

Start by roasting the florets of a cauliflower and a medium starch potato.  I like to drizzle with a bit of olive oil and place in the cold oven.  Then, allow the oven to preheat to 400˚F and continue baking until the potatoes are cooked through.  This method causes nice browning on the cauliflower and potatoes.  While thongs are roasting, dice and sautee a red onion in olive oil.

Allow the ingredients - onions, cauliflower and potatoes - to cool slightly before adding them to the Vitamix.  Add in a hand full of cashews and enough water to cover all the mix.  Blend on medium to allow the ingredients to break down.  Then, add salt, curry powder and adjust the water to your desired thickness. (Clearly, this is a very flexible recipe, so make it your own!)

Serve garnished with chopped roasted cashews and tarragon.

Thai Curry From Scratch

This is probably my favorite food. Well, I don't really keep favourites, but this is top ten. A properly spiced thai dish is a pinnacle of human sensation. Thai food isn't always sharply 'hot,' rather contains the primal elements of good taste: sweet, savoury, slight acidity, umami and pungency. The fragrance of the cuisine cannot be overlooked or understated. Jasmine rice, citrus, ginger and richly flavoured vegetables/herbs create an unmatched aroma.

Here I plate an inverted arrangement of curry and cashews, beset with jasmine and black rice.

First, start sauteing the extra-firm tofu on low heat with coconut oil.  Turn every 5 minutes until tofu is chewy.

Home crown chili makes this fresh - as well as kaffir lime leaves from my tree and fresh pulled shallots.  I added a bit of salt and peanuts and bashed them in the mortar.

Bash the end of a lemongrass stalk and chuck into a pan with a can of full-fat coconut oil.  Add the bashed curry paste and lime juice or tamarind paste to pan as well.  Simmer the coconut milk mixture until slightly thickened and add in fresh veg.  I like sliced carrots, peppers, diced tomato and green onions.  Dice the tofu and add in.

Plate and serve with rice, cashews, thai basil and fresh grated coconut (unsweetened).

Roasted Red Pepper Alfredo

This was a surprising delight.  I found a red pepper recipe from Minimalist Baker (amazing blog).  I had red peppers in the garden.  I was inspired.

First, break down the red peppers and coat with olive oil.  Then, broil, roast or grill until the skin is charred.  This should help it slide off easily.  Mix the peeled red peppers with a few cashews, tamari sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, nutritional yeast and a bit of salt.  Cover the mixture with water and puree in a high speed blender.

Prepare a portion of brown rice pasta to just-before-al-dente.

Add the blender mixture to a hot frying pan with a shot of olive oil.  Allow to bubble and reduce until slightly thickened.  Then, add a scoop of the starchy pasta water and the noodles.  Continue to simmer until the pasta is finished cooking.

It's a very rich and savoury-sweet dish.  I love it!

Tarte Poire [Gluten free and Vegan Pear tarte]

A tasty sweet that's gluten free and vegan.

I started with the walnut-oat pastry dough that I typically use for crackers and pie crust.  Roll, cut and place in a spring-form pan.  I pre-baked the crust at 375F for ~20 minuted.  In the mean time, I prepared the filling: equal parts water and cashews, nutritional yeast, salt, brown sugar and vanilla.  Then, peel and slice the pears.

Fill the pans with the custardy mixture and arrange the pears.  Resume baking for another 20 minutes.  Allow them to cool and brush with pastry glaze - strained apricot jam.  Complete the dish with raspberries and sliced almonds.

It's got a good taste, but it's really heavy.  I think it would take on a new, lighter dimension by replacing some water with a bit of raw pear in the custard.

Chocolate & Mixed Nut Tarte [Vegan and Gluten Free]

The crust is made from ground almonds, walnuts, pecans and oats.  Add in a bit of cocoa powder and sugar to make it delightful.

Press the crust into a tarte pan and bake for half an hour.  Allow to cool while preparing the filling.

Melt the chocolate - non-dairy dark chocolate - and add a slash of milk and coconut oil.  Once melted, stir in an assortment of roasted nuts.  I used cashews, pecans, pistachios and hazelnuts.  Finally top it with select nuts, coconut flakes and Himalayan pink salt.

Once it's chilled, it's ready to devour!

Gluten Free, Vegan Mac & Cheese (that actually tastes good)

I thought it couldn't be done - vegan cheese that isn't massively fake and processed or gluten free pasta that's not chewy or slimy.  Cashews and brown rice pasta make this an incredible dish.

Like usual, I didn't measure anything - pure chaos cooking.  All the same, here's the process:

• Cashew butter (blended cashews) seasoned with nutritional yeast, onion powder, salt, turmeric and lemon juice.
• Puree it in a high-speed blender with twice as much water.
• Bring to a boil on the stove - it will turn lumpy as it cooks.
• Return to the blender to liquify - sweet merciful creamy goodness.

Mix it up by adding tomatoes:

Thai Noodles and Veg

This tasty dish is rich, warm and packed with lots of fresh veg.

Soak and drain the rice noodles:

Prepare the seasonings: curry paste, peanut paste, lemongrass, salt, red curry paste:

Cashews for protein:

Chop the veg - carrots, onions, green onions, lettuce, sweet peppers:

Heat a can of coconut mild; add the seasonings and veg:

Promptly add in the noodles and cook until done:

Warm yet spicy comfort food!

Thai Green Curry (winter)

That curry is unbelievably good.  It can range from mildly warming to a searing sweat-inducing  spice.  Served with brown jasmine rice and cashews.

For a hot moderately hot curry, start with 2 tablespoons of curry paste, a teaspoon of crushed peanuts or crunchy peanut butter and a teaspoon of salt.  Add these ingredients to a can of coconut milk and simmer.

The oil will start to separate out of the coconut milk when it's ready.

Add sliced or julienned vegetables, bamboo strips and Thai basil.Unfortunately, in the winter, basil doesn't grow.  This dish is prepared with carrots, onions, peppers, napa cabbage and fennel.

In the summer, I'll post a proper green curry.