Roasted Cauliflower Cakes

I’ve been meaning to try these Roasted Cauliflower Cakes for ages. Karen at Gourmet Recipes for One always features interesting dishes, and of course they can be modified easily to serve more. So when my family was coming for Easter, I figured it was a good opportunity to give these a whirl.

The cauliflower is roasted first, and then mixed with Parmesan, breadcrumbs, flour, and egg. The mixture is then formed into patties and sauteed in olive oil. With all of those ingredients, you can’t go wrong. Just about everyone helped with some aspect of this recipe so it was a team effort. And then we all sat down to enjoy them, they were delicious! They are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. We skipped the garnish of greens and lemon juice but agreed it would have been a nice addition. There will be a next time for sure.

Happy Easter!

As it turns out, there is a severe lack of Easter recipes on this blog! I have no good reason for this…next year, I’ll see if I can work on things a little in advance.

But I do have a new appetizer recipe on the menu, I am planning to make homemade rolls, and there are real cupcakes for dessert. Plus, I’ll try to snap a few photos of my nephew with his bunny. Enjoy the weekend!

Macaroni and Cheese Cupcakes

I guess I am on a roll with cupcakes this week! When I first saw these adorable Macaroni and Cheese Cupcakes from Giada D., I thought they were totally adorable. They would be a great meal for kids. Then I started thinking about how much adults might enjoy this concept as well, because the vegetables are rolled right into the recipe and the cupcakes holders offer portion control. So I put my own spin on these, and I am very happy with the final result. They are a perfect lunchbox item no matter how old you are.

2 c. dry elbow pasta, cooked al dente and drained

1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1″ pieces and lightly steamed

2 carrots, peeled, diced, and lightly steamed

1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 c. reduced fat Cabot cheddar cheese, shredded

1/2 c. Parmesan cheese

Salt and Pepper

Breadcrumbs

Mix pasta, asparagus, carrots, beans, and cheeses in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Coat muffin tins with cooking spray, and lightly dust with breadcrumbs. Fill each muffin cup with pasta mixture. Bake at 375F for 15 minutes.

Aloo Palak

Doesn’t this potato spinach curry look innocent? Well trust me, it’s one spicy dish! I adapted a recipe from Sailu’s Kitchen, which features lots of fabulous looking Indian dishes. And this was a good excuse to head to the Indian market in the town next door to pick up garlic ginger paste and fenugreek leaves. Although the original dish is a curry with more liquid, I left this dry because I wasn’t serving it over rice. That turned out to be a mistake because it was almost too spicy to eat on it’s own. While I liked the idea of a spinach sauce, I prefer the one in Chicken Saagwala. This wasn’t a total failure, but it didn’t quite satisfy my craving for Indian food either….next time.

5 small potatoes, cubed

1 (6 oz.) bag spinach

1 T canola oil

1/2 t cumin seeds

2 onions, finely chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed and finely chopped

2 t garlic-ginger paste (purchased from India Market in Waltham)

1 t chili powder

1 t coriander

1/2 c. water

1 t garam masala

Splash milk

1/2 t fenugreek leaves (also known as Quasuri Methi)

1. Boil potatoes in a medium pot until just fork tender.

2. Steam spinach leaves in a medium pot, and then place in food processor until a paste is formed.

3. Heat canola oil in frying pan. Add cumin seeds and cook for a few minutes while they pop.

4. Add onions and jalapeno, and saute for 15 minutes, until the onions are brown and soft.

5. Add garlic ginger paste, chili powder, and coriander, and cook for 5 more minutes.

6. Add spinach paste and potato cubes and cook for 5 more minutes.

7. Add water, garam masala, a splash of milk, and the fenugreek leaves. Cover and cook for 5 minutes to blend flavors together.

Broccoli Cupcakes

When I first went back to school to become a Registered Dietitian, I had no idea that such a wonderful community of dietetic students existed! I’ve only met Carlene via Twitter, but she is also a future dietitian and blogs at Carlene’s Figments. She came up with this creative recipe for Broccoli Cupcakes, complete with Hummus Frosting, and I just had to try it out.

I started with chopped frozen broccoli and thawed it in the microwave for convenience. After that, it was just a matter of mixing everything together. As usual, I couldn’t resist making one small change and I substituted half of the flour with whole wheat. The recipe came together quickly and while the cupcakes were baking I took out my food processor and made some hummus. I have to say, these are the cutest savory cupcakes I have ever made! And they tasted great too, with the fairly strong flavor of thyme and a light texture. The unfrosted cupcakes can be easily transported to wherever it is you need to be. Shhhhh, I even ate one in the library…..

Rice

Before we get to today’s topic of rice, the answer to yesterday’s question was cranberries, which account for 17% of the revenue of Massachusetts farms. Good job, Kelly P.!

My cooking club’s theme this month was rice. To be honest, the recipe I brought just isn’t “blog-worthy”. I made an avocado and rice milk salad dressing, with fresh chives and lemon juice and lemon zest. But the flavor fell flat, and the recipe wasn’t anything I’d make again.

So instead, I’ll share what the rest of the group put together, including peppers stuffed with Portuguese sausage and rice, a Mexican dish with chicken, beans, and rice, and an Indian rice dish which was slightly sweet and flavored with cardamom. It was a fabulous meal, and I wish I brought my real camera so the pictures would shine! Plus I forgot to take a picture of the amazing rice pudding that we had for dessert….

Massachusetts Grown…and fresher!

My friend Lee is always on the lookout for fun events where we can spend time together and catch up, and it’s even better when we can learn something along the way. I was excited when she suggested we attend a lecture sponsored by BU called “Marketing Massachusetts Agriculture”. And the title of the post is the state’s slogan: Massachusetts Grown….and fresher!

David Webber from the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources spoke about the great diversity in Massachusetts farms. Of course, I always think of fruit and vegetable farms first, picturing rows of cornstalks, apple orchards, and pumpkin patches. But there are also nurseries, and dairy farms, and aquaculture. (Yes, that’s the farming the shellfish.)

The good news is that the number of farms here is growing, and the amount of land dedicated to farming has stabilized, in part due to state programs to preserve farmland. Farms in Massachusetts are also conveniently located near densely populated areas which provide an excellent customer base for direct sales. This includes 221 Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs, 233 farmer’s markets, plus many farmstands and ‘pick your own’ operations. Direct sales also include the growing area of agri-tourism, which encourages visits to all types of farms in the state. There is a cool map of the state which highlights all the place you can go!

One of the big challenges in marketing local food is the cost. Consumers often complain about the price of local food, and can’t understand why you have to pay so much more. One reason is the cost of farmland in Massachusetts, which is among the highest in the nation at $12,000 per acre. Of course, other costs are higher here as well, including energy and labor, and that all factors into the food prices. Yet many people feel that local foods are worth paying for because of the quality of the products and impact to the environment.

David talked a little bit about the Boston Public Market which has been in the planning stage since 1996. It’s a wonderful concept to house several local vendors under one roof in the heart of Boston, and be open year round. As you can imagine, there are also a lot of logistical issues that need to be resolved. But stay tuned, because this would be a great accomplishment! In the meantime, one change you can look forward to right away is that due to recent state legislation, local wine can be sold at farmer’s markets and agricultural events.

If you’ve made it this far, let’s play a game. According to data from the USDA, what single agricultural product comprises 17% of the cash receipts in Massachusetts? You can guess in the comments, and I’ll give you the answer tomorrow!

Spring Tabbouleh

With the sun brightly shining this week, I couldn’t resist trying this recipe for Spring Tabbouleh from 101 Cookbooks. Instead of traditional tabbouleh which relies heavily on parsley, this version uses fresh chives. I modified things further and used quinoa instead of bulgur. So you might argue that this isn’t tabbouleh at all, and you’re right, but I can’t think of a better name at the moment.

I even shelled my own peas for this recipe, which actually turned out to be kind of fun. The peas and asparagus are lightly steamed, and then added to the cooked grain along with chopped walnuts, chives, and a bright dressing of lemon juice and olive oil. I skipped the hard boiled eggs here, only because I had used all the eggs last week baked in sweet potatoes. The walnuts give the salad a nice crunch, and the dish is easily portable, which makes it a winner. Does this look just a little familiar? Yes, I thought so too while I was eating it, and dug through the blog archives. I found this Spring Green Quinoa recipe from two years ago, which is indeed similar. But they’re both good recipes which use quinoa, a very fun whole grain!