Pizza with a Cauliflower Crust ~ Healthy Back to School Snack!

September 11, 2015February 21, 20168 Comments

Your hungry kids need a snack when they come home from school. Surprise them with gluten free CAULIFLOWER CRUSTED PIZZA! I tested a few variations for a cauliflower pizza in my foody lab (kitchen). In one version, I used ground almonds in the crust. It had a grainy consistency. Perfect for a base as an appetizer or an hors d’oeuvres. Thumbs down for a kid’s pizza. In another version, I combined eggs and cauliflower plus my magic flavorings. My friend’s kids eyebrows went up on the first bite. Mikey likes it! A home run!

Here is the healthy, yummy RECIPE
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INGREDIENTS
1 cauliflower medium head about 2 lbs.
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup shredded part-skim milk mozzarella
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. Wash and cut the cauliflower into florets and place in your food processor along with the garlic cloves. Pulse until fine, like rice.
3. Place cauliflower in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze out all liquid until very dry.
4. Place the cauliflower in a clean bowl and combine with mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, eggs, thyme, oregano, pepper and salt.
5. Place the cauliflower mix on a pizza pan (or baking sheet) lined with parchment and spread evenly with fingers or a rolling pin.

6. Bake in the oven until the crust is crisp and the edges are golden, about 25-30 minutes.
7. Allow the cauliflower to cool slightly while you assemble the toppings.
8. Add your favourite sauce and toppings. I used my baked tomato sauce as a topping.

9. Bake until cheese is melted and bubbly; about 15-20 minutes longer.

I left the kitchen and came back to take a picture of a slice and the pizza was all gone! The kids said the pizza monster was here . I enlarged part of the whole pizza to show you the added ham -for all you Carnevours. This veggie+(ham) powered pizza needs to make its way into your kitchen. Kids learn about gluten and grains from school. They may look forward to a gluten-free pizza. Today’s food buzz is “cauliflower” crusted pizza. Even though it has been around for a few years, there are still some people that have never heard of it. What’s neat is that it doesn’t taste like cauliflower.
FOOD TIP: Place a piece of parchment on top of the cauliflower mix and move a rolling pin over it. This will give you and even crust guided by the edges of the pizza pan. Make this crust in advance and refrigerate (up to 4 days). You can add the sauce and toppings later on. Use Asiago cheese in place of the mozzarella. Toppings: Add prosciutto, crushed red pepper flakes and basil (my favourite). YUM!

How do you fit parchment into a circular pan? First measure the diameter of the pan. Fold the parchment several times like you did when making a snowflake cut out in school and then cut to half the diameter of the pan. The parchment will now fit your pizza or cake pan.

About Broccoli

September 5, 2015October 25, 20154 Comments

Broccoli is a health power house and it is so readily available at this time of year.
HEALTH BENEFITS OF BROCCOLI
Broccoli contains cancer fighting glucosinolates which are transformed to disable toxins in the body. The younger the broccoli, the more glucosinolates. The cancer fighting sulforaphane is formed by the enzyme myrosinase which is activate when broccoli is chopped or chewed. To increase the absorption of sulforaphane, steam the broccoli briefly or even better, eat it cooked. In addition, if you have a slow thyroid, it is much better for you to eat your broccoli cooked. I have given you a recipe for broccoli soup this week. This recipe contains turmeric along with onion which forms and extremely powerful treatment for colon cancer. Turmeric also helps to prevent the damaging plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. The incidence of Alzheimer’s is the lowest in the world in India where they consume 80% of the world’s turmeric. Turmeric has also been shown to improve cholesterol results.

Ginger and Turmeric Roots

WELCOME TO FLAVOR TOWN!
I was surprised that when I gave a family member several soups to try that he liked the broccoli soup the best. Who likes broccoli soup? Especially over tomato but he said he liked that little “bite” that it had. That would have been from the ginger and turmeric.
POWERFUL COMBO!
Nutrients in foods work best as a team, like a baseball, hockey or all star team. The nutrients in fruits and vegetables are more powerful when combined with other fruits and vegetables. When broccoli is combined with tomato it affords a more powerful protection against cancer than just eating either vegetable alone. This is only achieved by eating the actual foods together and not a supplement. The antioxidant affect of any single food does not exhibit impressive results by themselves but the actual foods containing the nutrients when combined with other foods make a big difference.
FOOD TIP: To make this fun, tasty soup – pour them both into the bowl at the same time.

Healthy Broccoli Soup

September 4, 2015June 6, 20163 Comments

Green is Gold! The zinger is the added sweet peas (Pisum) adding more phytonutrients!

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INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or coconut oil
3 shallots
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger root, grated
1 teaspoon fresh turmeric or 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 1/2 cups frozen baby green peas
1 bunch broccoli about 1 pound, trimmed and chopped
3 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons toasted sliced almonds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

DIRECTIONS
1) Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add shallots and saute for about 5 minutes until translucent. Add the minced garlic, ginger, and turmeric. Cook until tender and fragrant. Add curry powder, salt and pepper and cook over low heat for a few minutes.

2) Add broccoli and combine well. Cook for a few minutes and add chicken stock. Bring to a boil and reduce heat until medium. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes until the broccoli is tender.

Add the frozen peas and cook for a few minutes only so that the soup will maintain it’s bright green colour.

Frozen Peas Adds Green Colour

3) Puree the soup in a blender or food processor and add salt to taste if required.
Serve hot sprinkled with almonds and optionally sour cream. This can be served cold as well.

Healthy Broccoli Soup Garnished with Sour Cream and Almonds

Broccoli contains cancer fighting glycosinolates which are transformed to disable toxins in the body. The younger the broccoli, the more glucosinolates.

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Recipes from Tomatoland

August 28, 2015September 8, 2015Leave a comment

Good Morning, It’s quiet in Toronto this week. The traffic is thinner than usual. There are more seats on the subway. But by golly, there are a ton of tomatoes. Tomatoes are so bountiful at this time of the year as well as beautifully ripe and flavourful. They are at the market. They are growing on the backyard or even balcony vines(such as mine)! We can take advantage of this and make dishes such as soups to enjoy now and freeze to enjoy throughout the winter. This is also a great time to make oven dried tomatoes and freeze the in those tiny mason jars. The flavours are amazing on your salads, sandwiches , pastas and pizzas throughout the winter. So delicious! And the health benefits are off the charts as well.

If you cook tomatoes more lycopene is released by the tomatoes. Lycopene is reported to protect against heart disease, prostate and cervical cancer. In addition, if you ingest tomatoes with oil then the lycopene is made more bio-available. Your body will absorb four times as much of the lycopene. This is another reason to avoid “fat-free” salad dressings. Tomatoes are an excellent source of Vitamins A, C, and K as well as many other nutrients. One cup of tomatoes has only 27 calories. Food chemists at the university of California found that organically grown tomatoes have significantly higher amounts of vitamin C than conventional tomatoes so it is worthwhile to buy them organic or grow your own. This is not true for all vegetables for example organic bell peppers. Tomato paste and ketchup are two of the richest sources of lycopene in our North American diets.

We can enjoy the health benefits of cooked tomatoes by utilizing the following tomato soup recipe. Please see my earlier tips on freezing soup. I experimented and developed this by trial and error over a 10 year period of time. Next week I will post a recipe for broccoli soup and I like to combine this with the tomato soup to give a yin/yang appearance with contrasting colour and flavour. Stay tuned…..

Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Soup Recipe

August 28, 2015December 31, 20165 Comments

A lovely fresh, sweet tomato and red pepper soup. Red pepper and onion and lots of garlic cloves add immensely to the flavour. Enjoy the fresh taste of tomato soup in the dead of winter with this freezer friendly Garden Fresh Tomato Soup Recipe.

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INGREDIENTS
2 pounds ( 1kg) ripe tomatoes
7 oz (200gm) cherry tomatoes
1 red bell pepper
1 red onion
4 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
2 cups water
1 cup red lentils
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp fresh thyme
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
Garnish: pumpkin seeds/purple basil /avocado
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DIRECTIONS
1) Pre-heat the oven to 400F (200C)
2) Place the olive oil in a baking dish or a large enameled cast iron soup pot on top of the stove and heat on high.
3) Slice the tomatoes in 1/2 and place cut side down in container to sear the tomatoes.
4) Cut the onions in quarters and place in dish.
5) Quarter and de-seed the red pepper and place in the dish along with the garlic cloves and cherry tomatoes.
6) Sprinkle with salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar.
7) Place in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes until juices run from the tomatoes.
8) Remove the dish from the oven and transfer to a soup pot if it is not already in one.
9) Add the lentils, stock, water, thyme, basil and simmer for 30 minutes.

10) Blend the soup in a food processor or blender or with a stick blender. My friends and I like a chunky texture to the soup. I puree part of the soup and combine the rest. After I taste the soup I may add a teaspoon of salt. This will vary each time you make this soup. It depends on the flavour of your ingredients that day.
11) Reheat your finished soup in the pot and serve.

You can serve this soup cold on a hot day like a gazpacho in southern Spain. I encourage you to enjoy this versatile freezer friendly soup hot on a cold winter’s day!

FOOD TIP: No need to sieve the soup. It’s a waste. Tomato canneries do not take the seeds out, why should you. Use a drizzle of chilli-infused oil at the roasting stage ( Step #7 above). Add a couple of cayenne chillis from your garden, or if you have them on hand. Before freezing your soup, you need to chill the soup. Never put hot food directly into the freezer. To store your soup, I use freezer friendly mason jars. For good Freezer Tips, please click here. If you are taking this soup out from the freezer, you can use it as a base and add additional vegetables, beans or rice – in a pinch, if you are having a lot of guests that day – more than you expected!