Parmesan Herb Faux-Zotto

Crazy name, true. Fabulous dish, yes!
Morgan is here with us this weekend. He's now 18. The last time I 'attempted' to serve cauliflower when he was here I made twice baked cauliflower casserole. You'd have thought he was having a seizure or something the way he acted when the serving spoon filled with warm, cheesy cauliflower goodness headed towards his plate!
This time was different. He looked at it. He smelled it. He smiled. He tasted it. He savored it. He went NUTS about it! Hearing his description was like winning a cooking show! He said the consistency, texture and flavor was incredible!
That, coming from an eighteen year old ... I'll take it!

INGREDIENTS:
1 large head of cauliflower
2 tablespoons Rosemary Infused Olive Oil
1 teaspoon chopped Garlic
6 fresh leaves of Lavender plus the buds off a large stalk
2 tablespoons Butter
1/2 cup Half & Half
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese (grated)
Sea Salt
Fresh ground Pepper

DIRECTIONS
1. Wash cauliflower and cut it into small pieces. In a food processor, pulse the cauliflower into the size of rice grains.

2. In a heavy pan, heat olive oil, adding salt and pepper and garlic. Sautee garlic until it's golden and aromatic. Add cauliflower, mixing well, to coat evenly.
3. Add lavender and more salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat, cover and allow to cook for 5 -7 minutes.

4. Add half and half, butter and parmesan cheese. Mix well and cover. Allow to cook an additional 5 - 7 minutes.

 After the liquids have thickened ...

5. Serve and enjoy!

RECIPE: Turkey Vegetable Soup

Tired of looking for recipes of casseroles for leftover turkey? I'm not sure what Turkey Tetrazzini is, but it sounds like it's loaded with carbs. 

After Zumba today I stopped by a local grocery store and picked up a few things to throw into a pot and call soup. I wasn't sure what I wanted, so I bought a few things I knew would be safe … Cabbage, Yellow squash, and spinach. s luck would have it, what I made was quite good and worthy of blogging.

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups Trader Joe's Turkey Broth (or equivalent)

3 cups cooked and chopped leftover turkey

2 cups chopped cabbage (I used one small head, minus the core)

2 cups fresh baby spinach

2 yellow squash, sliced

1 teaspoon garlic, chopped

1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 sprig each of fresh rosemary, sage and thyme

1/4 cup Trader Joe's quick cook barley (optional)

5 - 6 croutons

A few sprinkles of fresh parmesan

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Pour broth into a soup pot and bring to a boil, adding cut cabbage, squash and turkey as they are ready. Cover.

2. Add fresh herbs, salt and garlic … Stir. 

3. Reduce heat and simmer soup for an hour. 

4. Add spinach, then the quick cook barley, if you choose to add it. 

5. Simmer for 20 more minutes.

6. Place soup into bowls, add a few crunchy croutons, then lightly sprinkle parmesan on top. 

Serve and enjoy!

RECIPE: Fresh Kale Salad

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 bunch kale, remove the center stem
• 1 medium size fresh lemon, for freshly squeezed juice
• 1/4 cup Certified Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, you can also you lemon flavored olive oil
• 5 to 6 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 teaspoon or to taste sea salt
• 1/4 cup slivers, chopped or sliced unsalted almonds
• 1/4 cup fresh aged Asiago, Parmesan and Romano Cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Wash kale leaves thoroughly, dry or use salad spinner, then remove center stem and chop up.
2. Using a medium size bowl , add lemon juice, olive oil, minced garlic & salt, mix well.  Add kale leaves to the marinade/seasonings.  With your hands work all the marinade into the kale. Massaging the kale leaves ensures coverage and helps to tenderize.  Let stand for 30 minutes.
3. Before serving add almonds and cheeses and toss...  Keeps for 2 days in the refrigerator. 

 Nutritional information on Kale:
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/the-truth-about-kale

RECIPE: Roasted Chicken Vegetable Soup

I absolutely LOVE the Roasted Chicken and Barley soup I posted while back, but I wanted to adapt that recipe to something totally grain-free. I had several varieties of squash, so I altered the recipe a bit. Here's what I came up with ... a healthy, nutritious, Paleo/Primal soup!
ROASTED CHICKEN VEGETABLE SOUP

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons Olive Oil
½ cup white Onion – fine dice

1 stalk Celery – thinly sliced
1 large Garlic clove – minced (I used Wildtree Garlic Galore)

6 ounces white Mushrooms – chopped
1 medium roasted Chicken – meat shredded
2 Bay Leaves

1 Zucchini - cut in half, then sliced

1 Yellow Squash - cut in half, then sliced

2 - 3 cups organic Spinach
1 14 ½ ounce can chopped Tomatoes
6 cups of organic Chicken Broth (I used Wildtree Chicken bouillon soup base and water)

Sea Salt

Fresh ground Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Begin by preheating soup pot on medium heat for 1 minute.

2. Add olive oil and sauté the onions and celery for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Do not brown.

3. Add garlic, mushrooms and bay leaves and continue sautéing for additional 3 minutes.

4. Add 1 cup broth, zucchini and yellow squash. Stir and bring to a boil.

5. Add tomatoes and the rest of the broth. Stir and bring to a boil.
6. Once boiling reduce to a simmer and partially cover with lid.

7. Cook for 15 minutes.

 8. Add shredded chicken and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes.

9. Add spinach and simmer for 3 - 5 minutes.

10. Taste and season.

There's even some left for another meal or three!

RECIPE: Butternut Squash Lasagna

I am always looking for new foods and recipes to try. I am enjoying making delicious dishes from foods I have never tried. Today I wen to Trader Joe's with no particular grocery list. I came home with several vegetables and some Italian sausage. I figured I'd just wing it, but then I came across a recipe for lasagna using butternut squash and Italian sausage! I decided to give it a try, but with my usual modifications and alterations to suit my taste.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb sweet Italian sausage, casing removed
• 1 yellow onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes (or fresh)
• 1/2 cup roasted red peppers
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• A couple of leaves of fresh basil (leave it out if you don’t have it, just freshens up the sauce a bit)
• 1 teaspoon Wildtree Spaghetti Seasoning
• 1 small butternut squash

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat your oven to 400ºF. 

2. In a saute pan crumble the sausage and brown it, along with the onions & garlic. 

3. Prepare the squash by cutting the top and ends of the squash off and peel it. Split it into quarters. First in half around the center, then from stem to bottom. This will make it much easier to cut into slices. Pull out the seeds. Cut into slices to layer in the lasagna.

4. Make the sauce by pureeing the tomatoes, red peppers, olive oil, basil and spaghetti seasoning. I'll post directions for roasting a pepper using a gas stove at the end of this recipe.

Before:

 After:

5. Using a 9X9 oven safe baking dish, put down enough sauce to lightly cover the bottom of the dish. (This keeps the squash from sticking to the pan.) Next add the squash, trying not to overlap the pieces, then spoon on the sausage mixture, followed by the sauce. Repeat until all your ingredients are used up. Reserve enough sauce to cover the top of the lasagna.

6. Bake for 45 minutes. The wonderful aroma that will fill your kitchen will have your mouth watering with anticipation. As you can see, that's a lot of liquid surrounding the lasagna. If you'll let it rest for 20 minutes or so a lot of it will be absorbed.

 I cheated. I added some freshly grated English cheddar cheese with caramelized onions!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HOW TO ROAST A RED PEPPER USING A GAS STOVE

1. Wash the pepper and dry it thoroughly.

2. Set the flame to medium high and place the pepper on the burner.

3. After the skin blackens, turn it. Repeat until thoroughly blackened.

4. Place pepper in a paper bag for 15 minutes. 

5. Remove from bag, remove skin.

6. Cut top off, remove seeds, and slice!

Left over peppers may be stored in a jar in the refrigerator. Be sure to fill the jar with olive oil to retain the best flavor possible. If you have a lot of roasted peppers, you can freeze them. Place strips between sheets of waxed paper and keep in a sealed container until ready to use. They should stay fresh tasting for several months.