Bitch in the Kitsch: Part 2

Here's my dad's new favorite cauliflower dish, altered slightly from Food and Wine Magazine:

1. 
   
2. 2 tablespoons raisins
3. 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4. 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets (4 cups)
5. 1 teaspoon sugar
6. 2 cups tomatoes—drained, peeled, seeded and chopped (possibly add more liquid, fresh tomatoes are best)
7. Pinch of crushed red pepper
8. Salt and freshly ground black pepper
9. 2 tablespoons pine nuts
10. 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
11. 2 tablespoons chopped parsley (or more!)
12. 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. In a small bowl, cover the raisins with water; let stand until softened, about 10 minutes. Drain. (This is a fancy process called maceration!)
2. Meanwhile, in a 10- to 12-inch cazuela or ovenproof skillet, heat the oil. Add the cauliflower and sugar and cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until the cauliflower starts to soften, about 10 minutes. Raise the heat to moderate and cook until the cauliflower is lightly browned, about 5 minutes longer. Stir in the tomatoes and crushed red pepper, season with salt and black pepper and cook until the tomatoes have begun to soften, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the raisins to the cauliflower, along with 1/4 cup hot water, the pine nuts and chopped garlic. Transfer the cazuela to the oven and bake the cauliflower for about 30 minutes, until it is very tender. Stir in the parsley and lemon juice and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Serve the cauliflower warm.

Crazy Bitch in the Kitch: Part One

I thought I'd share some of my FAVORITE recipes and recipe alterations/tidbits for your seasonal days of baking, if you're into that. Let's start simple:

The Ultimate Oat Flour Cookies (technically, these are wheat-free, but depending on the celiac needs of your friends, there may be traces of wheat in the flour, and you should use another flour)---adapted from the postpunk kitchen www.theppk.com

1 3/4 Cup Oat Flour (organic is yummiest)

1/2 tsp baking soda (try to avoid arm and hammer- they test on animals)

1/4 tsp salt (sea salt!)

1/4 cup brown sugar (or raw turbinado sugar)

1/2 cup sugar (evaporated cane juice sugar, or I just combine the sugars to make 3/4 cup of what's on hand)

1/3 cup canola oil or melted margarine

1/4 cup soy milk

1 TBSP flax meal

1 tsp vanilla (alcohol free)

3/4 chocolate chips (milkfat/butterfat free)

So this is the easiest recipe ever- I can make it in like 6 minutes. Sometimes I race against my oven to see if I can beat it's preheating cycle. But anyways, mix the flax seed and soy milk together in a cup- this will be your "egg". Mix all the dry ingredients in one bowl, all the wet ingredients in another bowl, then combine them. Add yourself yo' chocolate chips, and you're in business. First of all, this is one of the yummiest batters ever, and it's vegan and there's no eggs. Bake them at 350 for 11-12 minutes for good gooey-ness, or for longer for softish.

Top secret optional alterations:

-substitute canola oil for a tasty peanut or walnut oil for a fab nutty flavor

-add spices of your choosing, such as cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cardamom, etc, to make a really zesty cookie

-add dried cranberries and/or nuts to make it look more wholesome.

Julia's favorite applesauce cardomom Bundt cake: this is adapted from a food and wine mag submission from a few years ago that my dad passed on to me. I just veganized it, since I never have eggs on hand.

1. 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting: Use non bleached flour!!!!
2. 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar: see above
3. 2 teaspoons baking soda
4. 2 tsp cinnamon
5. 2 tsp ground cardamom : You can always do more with the spices- you can never have too much!
6. 1 teaspoon salt
7. 1 teaspoon ground cloves
8. 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
9. 2 cups unsweetened applesauce: Make sure there's no high fructose corn syrup in your Mott's!!!!
10. 2 TBSP flax seed meal
11. 4 TBSP water or soy milk
12. 3/4 cup vegetable oil
13. One 12-ounce bag semisweet-chocolate chips
14. Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

This is a pretty self explanatory recipe as well- mix the flax seed and water/milk into a paste as you did before. Mix all the dry ingredients and all the wet ingredients separately, then add them and stir in choco chips. Pour into a 12 cup Bundt pan, which has been buttered/sprayed/floured. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hr, 15minutes then let cool for 20. Do the toothpick trick for the cake if you're unsure of doneness. If you're not into vegan stuff, just check out the original recipe and add your eggs in as needed.

Lastly, here's a seasonal link for your christmas tune enjoyment.