Curried Couscous Salad

I have one more week left at my current (non-teaching) job before I get a nearly a month of pure freedom until the next semester starts. That's five days. Are you just a teensy bit jealous?  I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my spare time when I'm not visiting family, prepping for my fall classes, and trying to find the husband a job, but I'm hoping it will involve a lot of cooking, reading, and sitting in the sun, preferably at the beach. We'll see what happens. Until the end of the week, however, I'll be eating leftovers of this salad for lunch and dinner, which doesn't bother me one whit.

This recipe makes a lot- you might want to cut it in half if you're cooking for a small family. And the flavor will be significantly improved if you have some good curry powder (the $.99 kind from the sale section of the grocery store won't cut it. Wish I'd mentioned that to T-rav before he went to the store so I didn't have to go back). Since curry powders often vary in strength and heat, I recommend waiting to add all the curry to the couscous until you've tasted it. If you need to add more, mix the curry powder with a teaspoon or so of olive oil before drizzling over the couscous. 

Vegetable Tikka Masala

I feel like I'm totally cheating on this recipe. I'm cheating because a real Indian chef wouldn't use a spice paste to get the delicious tikka masala flavor. A real Indian chef would grind up the spices herself and make the paste. But here's my justification: 1) A long list of ingredients can be intimidating and overwhelming. And this recipe is already sufficiently long. I did it for you. Really. 2) Most of the spices that would go into a tikka  paste are not commonly found in an American kitchen (well, aside from mine and others who like to make Indian food). Rather than tell you all to go out and purchase 7 new spices, you just need to buy one little jar that's most likely under $4. Again. I did it for you. Aren't you grateful?

Vegetable Biryani

 I can't get enough Indian food these days. And it certainly doesn't help that I work with about a dozen guys from Afghanistan who always bring The. Most. Delicious. smelling food for lunch. It's torture. Maybe one day I'll be "in" enough for them to share their food with me. But until that day (and I may be waiting a very long time), I'll have to do with my own South Asian cuisine.

A biryani is a spiced rice dish that is popular in countries all through South Asia. It can be meaty or meat-free.You'll find that unlike some other Indian dishes, this one is quite simple (throw everything in the pot) and doesn't have a huge list of ingredients, thanks to the tikka paste. Because your main flavoring comes from the paste, be sure you get a good brand. Of the ones I've tried, I like Patak, but couldn't find any at the store near me, and I think the flavor suffered a little as a result.

Cauliflower Salad with Orange Vinaigrette

Three more days. Three more days until I move into a new apartment with a real oven and stove. A gas stove. I haven't had one of those in a long time. And then a mere week until I get all my stuff out of storage, meaning the return of all my pots and pans. I can't wait. I've been perusing my cookbooks in anticipation...gingerbread, curry, raspberry rolls, berry slump, cookies...note that most of these happen to be desserts.

Roasted and Pureed Cauliflower

Maybe you've all been pureeing cauliflower for years, but I until last week, I had never heard of it. Apparently substituting cauliflower for potatoes is quite common these days. Who knew? Now since mashed potatoes are one of God's Divine Foods (especially the ones Lindsey Rich makes), I'm not sure why you'd want to do that...but I could see if maybe you're on a low-carb diet or potatoes make your sugar go wild. Then I could understand.

Baked Cauliflower with Cheese Sauce

I like cauliflower, it's just not usually on my list of top vegetables to serve. It should be though. It's low in fat, high in fiber and loaded with vitamin C. It's also supposed to have excellent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits (see here for more nutritional info). And did you also know that cauliflower is part of the cabbage family? So many things to learn...

This recipe is sure to be a hit with your kids...or anyone who previously claimed not to like cauliflower. The cheese sauce is subtle, but enough to temper the strong cauliflower flavor. And it's a comforting, homey type of dish that belongs in the realm or mashed potatoes and gravy.

Roasted Cauliflower

Cauliflower...did you forget about cauliflower? I know I did, and I actually quite like cauliflower, I just sort of forgot about cauliflower......so I found this simple recipe for roasted cauliflower, it incorporates a small amount of capers and the caper juice. Perhaps you haven't used capers much; the caper used in cooking is actually the bud of a flower that is picked and pickled. If left on the plant, the caperbud will flower and turn into a fruit called a caperberry. Capers are often served with fish, you might find them in some salads or Italian dishes, and it turns out they are a main ingredient in tartar sauce. Who knew? Pickled capers can be easily found in a bottle at your local grocery store.

Roasted Cauliflower
Recipe from Eveyday Food, Great Food Fast
Pictures by Caroline
makes 4 servings

1 head cauliflower (about 2 pounds), trimmed and cut into small florets

1 tablespoon olive oil

Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper

1 tablespoon butter

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon capers (I would suggest doubling the amount of capers)

1 teaspoon juice

Directions (slightly modified)

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F. In a medium sized mixing bowl, mix together olive oil and cauliflower; season with salt and pepper. Spread the cauliflower in a roasting pan. Roast, tossing once or twice, until the cauliflower is golden brown and tender, 20-25minutes.

2. In a small skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Cook the garlic, stirring unitl lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Add the capers and caper juice. Pour over the cauliflower, and toss to coat.