Month: February 2016

Not surprising to anyone who has seen my posts, I’m learning how to take pictures that properly highlight the foods I’m presenting. As you can see from this post, I still have a good deal of work ahead of me 😊 but the dish itself is so tasty, I wanted to share the recipe now.

Recently, I wrote about ways to make creamy sauces without necessarily using milk or cream, and cannellini beans are a preferred method of mine:

https://thefoodpuzzler.com/2016/02/22/the-swaptastics-part-three-creamy-bean-sauces/

because they’re one of the quickest ways to introduce a creamy element to a dish, especially if you don’t know whether you’re serving to people with nut allergies. However, I also love cheese, and occasionally mix the two together, either as a bean and cheese wrap, tossed into pasta, even … oatmeal. Really, it’s very good!

I started wondering if I could bring out the flavors found in a Welsh rarebit dip — which is a cheese dip layered with aromatic and savory mustard, ale, Worcestershire sauce and a kick of heat — but using beans for a significant part of the dairy. It turns out that I can’t make it look good (I can’t believe I ‘had’ to have flowers made from carrot, celery and pepper…) but I can make it taste incredibly yummy.

This starts as a creamy soup which acts nicely as an appetizer, or paired with a salad as a light lunch. However, with the addition of a little shredded cheese while the soup simmers, this soup transforms into the cheese dip which had me and my faithful testers scraping the bowl clean.

Creamy Welsh Rarebit Soup/Dip from a Blender!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
4 cups cooked cannellini beans, rinsed and drained if from a can
1 bottle (about 1 cup) non-alcohol beer
1 teaspoon Mustard
3 teaspoons Worcestershire or soy sauce
1 1/4 teaspoons onion powder
8 shakes of Tabasco sauce or 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
FOR DIP ONLY: 1/2 cup shredded cheese like pepper jack or cheddar, divided

Procedure:

1. Place all but the optional ingredients in a blender and purée the mixture.

2. Pour contents into a large sauce pan (the beer will cause some lift during the initial cooking, so this can help avoid spillage) and bring contents to a boil.

3. Reduce to simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if needed.

Here, you have a lovely soup that provides 4 one-cup servings. Serve accompanied with crackers or crudités of choice.

However, if you prefer the thicker texture for dipping, and to add a boost of flavor, now add in 1/4 cup of the shredded cheese and stir to incorporate. This mixture thickens quickly (as you can see in the picture, I could place the bowl on its side and it didn’t shift much at all) so only add the extra 1/4 cup of cheese if necessary.

When I wrote my Swaptastics series recently, I started by thinking I could put the entire piece out in one fell swoop.

Then, I read it through. >blush<

If you’ve managed to get through everything else on this site, it’s probably not surprising that I’m known for being wordy. I’m working on it. 😉

I’m also known for being a bit nerdy in the research department, which is the reason for this post. As I researched the nutrition information for the various options for making Béchamel and alternative creamy sauces, I learned that the Béchamel sauce and its corresponding cheese sauce contain the best nutrition-to-calories ratio, followed by the butternut squash, nut sauces, and lastly, bean-based sauces.

That stated, depending on your preferred version of a creamy sauce, there’s plenty of room for achieving good balance with a ‘monster mashup’ of two or more sauces:

EASIEST: adding the butternut squash purée to any of the other sauces. You’ve likely seem scores of recipes online with butternut squash as a secret ingredient, and for good reason. It’s smooth and creamy, mildly sweet, low in calories, and contains a great amount of vitamin A and potassium.

RICHEST DEPTH OF FLAVOR: purée 1/4 cup soaked nuts to each cup of butternut purée. It’s terrific thinned with stock as a soup on a cool day, or as-is tossed into pasta or veggie noodles.

SMOOTHEST RESULT: For anyone with dairy and nut issues, the butternut squash and bean purées also work well in combination, in fact they provide the smoothest texture of the bunch, but you’ll have fewer nutrients than the other combinations.

I hope you try some of these sauce alternatives and monster mashups! Please let me know your thoughts if you do!

Meanwhile, what are your favorite sauces?

Creamy Butternut-white potato purée: really!

Puréed Butternut blends well into cheddar and spicy red sauces.

When I first tried this, my students never believed they ‘d want to eat the result…it was awesome!

Welcome back! In this final portion of Swaptastics, I am focusing on puréed root vegetables that can act as a substitute for sauce. My favorites are potatoes and butternut squash, which can mimic the appearance of some standard sauces.

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Creamy Root Vegetable Soup/Sauce

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: ~ 25 minutes
Inactive time: 15 minutes

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INGREDIENTS:
Butternut Squash
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2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup water
2 cloves garlic, whole
1 medium sweet onion, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced
2 cups vegetable stock
Pinch pepper of choice
2 teaspoons Salt, plus more to taste

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INGREDIENTS:
White Potato
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2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup water
1 small sweet onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, whole
1 teaspoon onion powder
3 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and diced
1 cup vegetable stock
1 cup water
Pinch pepper of choice
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

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STEPS: Both
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1. In a medium-sized pan, add in the first 1/4 cup water, olive oil and onion and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes, softening the onion. Add in the garlic cloves and stir frequently for 2 minutes.

2. Add in the diced root vegetable you’re using, salt, pepper, and the stock or stock-water combination (depending on the vegetable). Bring mixture to a boil, then simmer for 15-20 minutes to soften the vegetable.

3. Taste and adjust seasonings, then cool the mixture for 15 minutes to make it safe to purée.

4. If using a blender, you’ll need to purée in batches, filling the blender no more than 3/4 of the way and ensuring there is 1/4 cup water or stock at the base to keep the motor running properly. Hold the lid down tightly as you purée the mixture.

Once the blending is complete, you have a mixture that can be used just like any creamy sauce.

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Fun Facts and Figures

To make the sauce costs between $3-5, depending on whether you use potato or squash. The price for purchasing all ingredients for the first time is $10-12, depending on whether you use potato or squash and, after making the sauce, there’s still most of the other ingredients left to use in other recipes. The breakdown:

Olive oil: $4 for the bottle
Garlic: $0.50 for a whole bulb
Salt: $1
White pepper: $1
Onion powder: $1
White potato: $2-4 depending on type of potato
Butternut squash: $3

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NUTRITION
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White potato, peeled, 1 cup

258 calories
60 grams carbs (5.4 grams fiber)
0.3 grams fat
0.1 grams Saturated
0 grams Monounsaturated
0.1 grams Polyunsaturated
Protein 5.1 grams
Potassium 984 mg
Omega 3 fatty acids 30 mg
Omega 6 fatty acids 96 mg
Calcium 24 mg
Magnesium 60 mg
Vitamin C 22.2 mg

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Butternut squash, 1 cup

82 calories
21.5 grams carbs ( 0 fiber)
0.2 grams fat
0 grams Saturated
0 grams Monounsaturated
0.1 grams Polyunsaturated
Protein 2 grams
Potassium 582 mg
Omega 3 fatty acids 49.2 mg
Omega 6 fatty acids 28.7 mg
Calcium 84 mg
Magnesium 59.4 mg
Vitamin A 22,869 IU
Vitamin C 31 mg

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Nutrition facts gathered from purchased product labels and supplemented with information supplied by http://nutritiondata.self.com.

Welcome back! When we last met, the subject had turned from béchamel and subsequent cheese sauce to a nut-based variety. In this section, cannellini beans become the new creamy base, as an alternative for those with nut allergies.

Above, you see the memela picture I included in my Mad for Memelas post: https://thefoodpuzzler.com/2016/02/02/mad-for-memelas/ The creamy white sauce is made using the recipe below.

Puréed beans — or even store bought hummus — work amazingly well as a sauce base and can take nearly no time to prepare.

In this version, I’m using canned beans rather than cooking dried beans. Why? Time. As a Culinary instructor, I taught six classes per day lasting 52 minutes, so activities had to be designed to be completed within that timeframe. However, in the future I’ll outline how I have cooked beans from a dry state.

This creamy sauce is incredibly versatile. I’ve used it as the base of enchilada sauce and soups such as corn chowder. I’ve also used this mixture as a gravy substitute when making pot pies, and with chopped cooked spinach and artichokes for a vegan version of the classic dip. Those recipes coming soon; below is a recipe for a basic creamy sauce.

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Basic Creamy Bean Sauce, Version One

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Inactive time: 10 minutes
Serves 10

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INGREDIENTS
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2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, whole
1 teaspoon onion powder, plus more to taste
2-15 ounce cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
Salt to taste
Pepper* to taste
1 cup water, plus more if needed

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STEPS
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1. In a medium-sized pan, on a medium heat, warm your olive oil and garlic cloves for 2 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent the garlic from burning. Remove from heat and cool 2 minutes. This is to prevent an issue when you add in your water in the next step.

2. Add in the drained and rinsed beans, water, onion powder, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Bring mixture to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes, tasting and adjusting the seasonings to your preference.

*NOTE: White pepper has a much stronger flavor and aroma than black pepper. However, for cream-based sauces and mashed cauliflower, celery root, or potatoes, restaurants opt for white pepper because it blends seamlessly and is not visible. I’m more a fan of black pepper’s flavor so when cooking at home that’s what I use. If you prefer white pepper, start with pinches (1/8th teaspoon) and adjust after tasting.

3. Cool the mixture a bit before you place it in your blender or food processor. If using a blender, you’ll need to purée in batches, filling the blender no more than 3/4 of the way and ensuring there is 1/4 cup water at the base to keep the motor running properly. Hold the lid down tightly as you purée the mixture.

Once the blending is complete, you have a mixture that can be used just like any creamy sauce. Above, the memela is topped first with vegetable chili and salsa, then the creamy bean sauce, and lastly a sriracha swirl and chives.

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Fun Facts and Figures

To make the sauce costs $3.50. The price for purchasing all ingredients for the first time is $10 and, after making the sauce, there’s still most of the other ingredients left to use in other recipes. The breakdown:

Olive oil: $4 for the bottle
Garlic: $0.50 for a whole bulb
Salt: $1
White pepper: $1
Onion powder: $1
2-15 ounce cans cannellini beans: $2

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In terms of nutrition, beans are a good source of carbs, potassium and, if accompanied with rice, ‘complete protein’ with the nine essential amino acids also found in animal proteins.

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Based on a 1/4 cup (two ounce) serving
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Basic Creamy Bean Sauce
75 calories
9.5 grams carbohydrates (3 grams fiber)
3 grams fat
0.4 grams Saturated
0.4 grams Monounsaturated
2 grams Polyunsaturated
Protein 3.5 grams
Potassium 135 mg

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Nutrition facts gathered from purchased product labels and supplemented with information supplied by http://nutritiondata.self.com.

Cashews provide a lighter texture and appearance with a richness that imitates cream well.

Creamy walnut sauce, simple and sensational!

Welcome back! When we last met, the subject was béchamel sauce and subsequent cheese sauce, along with a recipe, some suggested uses, pricing and nutrition information. In this section, I explore the basic creamy nut-based sauces using walnuts, almonds, and cashews in the same light. Above, you see a cashew ‘cream’ served over orecchiette pasta and topped with smoky roasted mushrooms.

Why did I go in this direction? As a teacher, I occasionally had students interested in vegetarian and vegan cooking, but without using soy. In addition to research, I started trying foods at restaurants where nuts act in a variety of forms, from fillings to sauces. I was delightfully surprised at how easily nuts could be turned into their dairy counterparts, and started playing around on my own.

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Basic Nut-based Creamy Sauce

Inactive prep time: 8 hours or overnight (soaking the nuts)
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes

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INGREDIENTS
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1 pound bag of Unsalted Walnuts, Almonds or Cashews (or a combination of the three)
Salt and pepper* to taste
1/2 teaspoon Onion powder, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon Garlic powder, plus more to taste

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STEPS
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1. In a container with a secure lid, place the nuts you’ve selected as well as enough water to cover, and place in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight. This ensures a much smoother consistency, but if you want to skip this step, I’ve had luck bringing the same ratio of water and nuts to a boil for about 10 minutes. The mixture isn’t as smooth but it’s still delicious!

2. When ready to make your creamy sauce, drain and rinse off the nuts whichever method above you used above. Place in a food processor or blender with one cup cold water. Blend or process until smooth, adding in more water if necessary.

3. Pour the contents into a small sauce pan and add in pinches of the salt and white pepper along with the 1/2 teaspoons of garlic and onion powder. Warm as you mix the spices into the nut purée, taste and adjust the seasonings.

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NOTES and NUTRITION

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~ The price for making the nut-based sauce is overall more expensive than for the cheese sauce. To make the sauce costs between $9-11. For another $1 you can get a pound of pasta, cook half and toss with the sauce, serving 2-3 people with another half pound of pasta leftover for another time. For another $2 instead, make veggie noodles from a couple of zucchini and toss with the sauce and also serve 2-3 people.

The price for purchasing all ingredients for the first time is between $11-13, depending on which nut you choose.

Walnuts 1 pound bag: $8
Almonds 1 pound bag: $9
Cashews 1 pound bag: $10
Salt: $1
White pepper: $1
Onion powder: $1
Garlic powder: $1

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~ as mentioned previously, white pepper has a much stronger flavor and aroma than black pepper. However, for cream-based sauces and mashed cauliflower, celery root, or potatoes, restaurants opt for white pepper because it blends seamlessly and is not visible. I’m more a fan of black pepper’s flavor so when cooking at home that’s what I use. If you prefer white pepper, start with pinches (1/8th teaspoon) and adjust after tasting.

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Nutrition information is a catch-22. Nuts are cholesterol-free, rich in omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids, potassium and even calcium, but on the flip side they are also high in fat and calories. This is a flavorful sauce base, and I’ve used them for numerous items including cheese sauce, spicy garlic sauce and enchilada sauce, but it’s best to eat them in moderation.

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Based on a 1/4 cup (two ounce) serving of the sauce
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Walnut Sauce
366 calories
8 grams carbohydrates (4 grams fiber)
36 grams fat
3.4 grams Saturated
5 grams Monounsaturated
26 grams Polyunsaturated
Protein 8.6 grams
Potassium 246 mg
Omega 3 fatty acids 5,130 mg
Omega 6 fatty acids 21,442 mg
Calcium 54 grams
Magnesium 88 mg

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Almond Sauce
326 calories
12 grams carbohydrates (7 grams fiber)
28 grams fat
2 grams Saturated
7 grams Monounsaturated
18 grams Polyunsaturated
Protein 12 grams
Potassium 400 mg
Omega 3 fatty acids 3 mg
Omega 6 fatty acids 6816 mg
Calcium 150 grams
Magnesium 152 mg

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Cashew Sauce
310 calories
18.4 grams carbohydrates (2 grams fiber)
24.6 grams fat
4.4 grams Saturated
13.4 grams Monounsaturated
4.4 grams Polyunsaturated
Protein 10 grams
Potassium 370 mg
Omega 3 fatty acids 35 mg
Omega 6 fatty acids 4362 mg
Calcium 21 grams
Magnesium 164 mg

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Nutrition facts gathered from purchased product labels and supplemented with information supplied by http://nutritiondata.self.com.

Today, I’m starting an occasional series that ties together traditional cooking and healthy alternatives with an eye to budget friendliness.

My focus is on sauces, which can be brought together with very few ingredients, are incredibly versatile, and can make any dish extra special. As I’ve learned through puzzling with basic components, sauces can even be healthy, including the classic French Mother Sauce called Béchamel, a milk-based sauce with the texture and density of cream.

What is a Mother Sauce? The term was coined in the mid-19th century by Antonin Careme, one of the world’s first celebrity chefs*. Mother Sauces are essentially ‘parent’ sauces from which any other sauce can be created. This list was modified in the early 20th century by his successor, Auguste Escoffier*, but Béchamel remained firmly on the list.

Béchamel on its own is lovely as accompaniment to chicken or fish, but one of its more popular smaller sauces is cheese-based. There were few lessons which could get my students’ collective attention better than knowing they were about to make a cheese sauce. Through that, one can make a quick broccoli cheddar soup, fondue or Welsh rarebit, pizza base, or the ever-popular Mac and Cheese.

I modified the traditional recipe here, for ease of use as well as to minimize the number of costly aromatics, herbs and spices generally used.

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Modified Béchamel Converted to a Four-Cheese Sauce

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: ~10 minutes
Yield: 8 quarter cup/2 ounce servings

INGREDIENTS

Béchamel:​
2 tablespoons of wheat, spelt or gluten-free flour
2 tablespoons of butter
1 pint of whole milk
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Pepper* and Salt to taste

Cheese Sauce:
Yield from Béchamel sauce
1 teaspoon soy or Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon mustard powder or 1/2 teaspoon mustard
1 cup grated or cubed cheese of choice
Salt to taste

STEPS

Béchamel

1. In a medium sauce pan, combine flour and butter. Cook for 1-2 minutes on medium-low heat, continuously stirring to ensure that the floury taste is cooked out and the mixture doesn’t burn. You want there to be little color change, as otherwise the color of the sauce will be affected. Remove from the heat and set aside.

2. Gently heat milk in a sauce pan. Milk burns very quickly, and it’s a big hassle to get the burnt remains out of a pan, so it’s important to warm the milk at a low temperature. Alternately, warm slightly, uncovered, in 10-second stages in the microwave.

3. Once warmed, slowly incorporate the milk into the butter-flour mixture and return to heat. Whisk continually to ensure that the ingredients combine completely. As you warm the sauce, it will begin to thicken.

4. Take the mixture off of the heat once it begins to resemble cream, strain if necessary and season it with onion powder, pepper and salt to taste. Should the sauce over thicken before use, whisk in warm milk at tablespoon at a time to thin it out.

Here, you can stop, add fresh herbs or sliced mushrooms, and use it with chicken or fish, or as the base for a pizza. My sister-in-law likes to use Béchamel in place of ricotta in lasagna, and it’s equally tasty.

Otherwise, to continue to the cheese sauce stage:

5. Add in the soy or Worcestershire sauce and mustard, stir to combine.

6. Add in your cheese and stir to combine until the resulting product is smooth. Taste and adjust salt to taste.

At this point, you can stir in cooked pasta, or a combination of cooked pasta and vegetables for mac and cheese, chopped hot peppers for a dip, or broccoli for a warming soup.

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NOTES and NUTRITION

~ https://thefoodpuzzler.com/2016/02/02/adventures-in-teaching-round-one-nutrition-and-food-cost/

~ http://www.britannica.com/biography/Marie-Antoine-Careme and http://www.britannica.com/biography/Auguste-Escoffier

~ White pepper has a much stronger flavor and aroma than black pepper. However, for cream-based sauces and mashed cauliflower, celery root, or potatoes, restaurants opt for white pepper because it blends seamlessly and is not visible. I’m more a fan of black pepper’s flavor so when cooking at home that’s what I use. If you prefer white pepper, start with pinches (1/8th teaspoon) and adjust after tasting.

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Now for the fun part: facts and figures!

I’ll start with cost, first for the sauce itself and then for the initial outlay of money to invest in all of the components.

The price for making an individual batch of the cheese sauce is $2. For another $1 you can get a pound of pasta, cook half and toss with the sauce, serving 2-3 people with another half pound of pasta leftover for another time. For another $2 instead, make veggie noodles from a couple of zucchini and toss with the sauce and also serve 2-3 people.

The price for purchasing all ingredients for the first time is $16.50. The breakdown:

Milk: up to $1.50 for a quart
Butter: $3 for one pound
Flour of choice: $1.50 for a small package, depending on preferred brand
Salt: $1
White pepper: $1
Onion Powder: $1
2-cup bag of shredded 4-cheese blend: $2.50
Mustard/ mustard powder: $2
Soy or Worcestershire sauce: $3

The good news is that all but the milk and cheese will still be pretty much full and available for plenty of cooking and baking. Since you use only about half of the milk and cheese, you can also make another batch of the cheese sauce.

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Nutrition facts gathered from purchased product labels and supplemented with information supplied by http://nutritiondata.self.com.

The calorie and fat content for a 1/4 cup of the either the standalone béchamel sauce or corresponding cheese sauce isn’t as bad as you might imagine, but none of the nutrients are high either.

One way to boost that is through some healthy additions:

1. Depending on the color of your sauce, various puréed root vegetables blend well. For the Béchamel, add puréed creamy (peeled) potatoes like Yukon Gold or red bliss. For cheddar cheese sauces, fold in a cup of puréed butternut squash or (peeled) sweet potato.

2. Fold in chopped, steamed or sautéed vegetables to a base cheese sauce for a warming soup or to enhance a Mac and cheese.

Basic information appears below.

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Nutritional Information for 1/4 cup (two ounces) of Béchamel

58 calories
1.5 grams Carbohydrates
4.6 grams Fat
1.5 g Saturated
0.37 Monounsaturated
0.4 Polyunsaturated
2.2 grams Protein
10.6 mg Cholesterol
95 mg Potassium
2.5 mg Omega 3 fatty acids
18 mg Omega 6 fatty acids
72.5 mg Calcium
7 mg Magnesium
32 IU Vitamin D

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Nutritional information for 1/4 cup (two ounces) of the Cheese Sauce

72 calories
1.5 grams Carbohydrates
5.6 grams Fat
2.5 g Saturated
0.37 Monounsaturated
0.4 Polyunsaturated
3.2 grams Protein
13.6 mg Cholesterol
225 mg Sodium
95 mg Potassium
2.5 mg Omega 3 fatty acids
18 mg Omega 6 fatty acids
250 mg Calcium
7 mg Magnesium
32 IU Vitamin D

For the longest time, I saw chili powder as that, well, spice for chili. I really had no other use for it, and the poor spice bottle languished on the spice rack for a long loooooong time.

Then came Enchiladas! The subtle smokiness and hint of heat in the sauce was so enticing and delicious, that I started making everything into enchiladas, then just making the sauce just to have on top of anything that could do with a savory flavor boost. Vegetables, rice, chicken, eggs, oatmeal…

I may have taken it too far with the oatmeal. But it was *really* good oatmeal.

Enchilada sauce is very quick and easy to make; you can prepare it in advance or develop it as you cook the filling. My current favorite filling is mushrooms. With a texture and earthy flavor that becomes meaty after cooking, saucy enchilada mushrooms are great as part of a meatless meal. They’re equally yummy served over rice, cauliflower ‘couscous,’* pasta or Zoodles.*

Or, of course, wrapped up in your tortillas of choice, topped with more sauce along with melty cheese, and baked until bubbly and warm. 😊

Saucy Enchilada Mushrooms
Copyright 2015 Lauren Bradford (aka The Food Puzzler)

Serves 2 as a meal, 4 as a side
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15-20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

~ 16 oz. sliced white or baby portobello mushrooms, cleaned*
~ 2 cups cooked rice, cauliflower ‘couscous,’ pasta or Zoodles
~ 1/2 cup water, possibly more if needed
~ 4 heaping teaspoons chili powder
~ 1 teaspoon onion powder
~ 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
~ 1/4 teaspoon each of turmeric, salt, and cumin
~ 3 tablespoons of plain, spicy, garlic, or red pepper hummus

STEPS

1. Place your cleaned, sliced mushrooms in a frying pan with 1/2 cup of water, bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. If you’re serving this dish with pasta or rice, start getting the appropriate amount of water boiling in a pot as instructed by the manufacturer.

2. Add in the spices and salt, mixing completely. Continue to simmer for about 5 minutes. The mushrooms will start releasing their liquid, so the mixture will appear watery but that’s OK, this dish needs to simmer for a little while and the excess liquid will concentrate.

3. Then, add in 3 tablespoons of plain, spicy, garlic, or red pepper-flavored hummus and mix completely. This adds rich creaminess and texture. Continue cooking until the mixture concentrates to your desired thickness, about 10~15 minutes.

4. Prepare your base for the mushrooms as the mixture simmers:

~ For spiralized zucchini /summer squash or cauliflower: in a microwave-safe bowl covered with a moist paper towel and microwave for 3 minutes.

~ For rice or pasta, prepare now based on manufacturer’s instructions.

~ Pictured above is an enchilada bowl, including cauliflower couscous, jasmine rice, the mushrooms with a little grated cheddar, and salad loaded with carrots and tri-color peppers. Traditional style enchilada assembly warrants its own post and pictures, and is coming soon.

NOTES

~ Mushrooms spoil quickly after being washed, so they are packaged having been brushed off, and still should be cleaned before cooking. There’s a couple of ways to do this, the quickest is to rinse them thoroughly in a colander just before cooking. The way I was taught in Culinary school, and the method I still use for whole mushrooms, is to wipe them all completely with a damp towel.

~ If you haven’t tried spiralized vegetables before, it’s pretty neat! The basic spiralizer (like the one I have, the Vegetti) works sorta like a pencil sharpener. You take a vegetable like zucchini, trim off the end and place it into one of the two sides to get either linguine- or fettuccini-sized noodles by twisting the vegetable. The handheld Vegetti I have works best with zucchini, summer squash and cucumber.

~ When I pulse cauliflower pieces in my food processor (no more than a cupful at a time for best results) the pieces look more like couscous to me, than rice. Maybe I need to work on the process, but it still tastes good.

~ I like the texture and flavor of this dish when I use only water to cook the mushrooms, and the spices mix well in the water, but that doesn’t mean olive oil couldn’t be used if you prefer it. In that case:

1. Use a small amount (1-2 tablespoons) olive oil, place in the cleaned mushrooms and sauté on medium-high heat. You’ll get a nice crusting on the mushrooms before they start to release liquid.

2. To prevent the oil from coming out of the pan in reaction to the water needed to combine the spices, take the pan off of the heat, warm the water and then add to the pan with the spices. Combine and then bring to a boil before reducing to simmer.