Buffalo Cauliflower Salad

Recipe from https://www.blissfulbasil.com

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Serves 4

What a fantastic salad!  My husband couldn’t get enough of the delicious dressing. This salad has everything going for it.  It’s beautiful, great tasting and good for you. 

Cool Cashew Ranch Dressing Ingredients

½ cup raw cashews

1 cup boiling water

2 scallions, trimmed and cut in half

2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar

½ cup fresh water

½ teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon Kosher or sea salt

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Salad Ingredients

1 medium-large head cauliflower, trimmed and cut into 1-inch florets

¼-½ cup vegan buffalo sauce (I used ¼ cup Frank’s Red Hot Sauce.)

4 cups baby kale or baby spinach

4 cups shredded purple cabbage (This was ¼ of a head of cabbage.)

1 stalk celery, thinly sliced

3 mini cucumbers, thinly sliced

1/3 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)* (I toasted mine.  Recipe follows.)

Place the cashews in a heat proof bowl.  Add 1 cup boiling water.  Allow to soak for a few hours or overnight. (The original recipe did not call for soaking the cashews, so you could skip this step.  However, I think the dressing has a smoother texture if the cashews soak awhile before using them.)

Drain the cashews.  Add them to a high speed blender.  Add the scallions, the garlic, the vinegar, the ½ cup water, the onion powder, the salt and pepper. Blend on high speed until smooth and creamy.  Chill, covered, until ready to serve the salad.

Preheat the oven to 425F.  Place the cauliflower on a large baking sheet.  Pour the buffalo sauce over the cauliflower and toss to coat.  Roast for 20-30 minutes, tossing halfway through roasting time.  Meanwhile, prepare the rest of the veggies. (Shred the cabbage, slice the celery and cucumbers, etc.)

To assemble the salad, layer the baby kale, the cabbage, the celery, the cucumbers, and the pepitas.  Top with the buffalo cauliflower and drizzle generously with the dressing.  Serve immediately.

**Spicy Pepitas: Recipe from Cowgirl Cuisine (Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen) Place 1 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds) with 1 teaspoon oil, 1 teaspoon chili powder, and ½ teaspoon Kosher salt on a rimmed baking sheet.  Toss to coat the seeds.  Slightly shake the baking sheet to evenly spread the seeds on the baking sheet. Roast at 375 until golden and fragrant, 6-8 minutes.  (You’ll hear them popping.)  Cool completely on the baking sheet.  (Can be made ahead and stored at room temperature in an airtight container.)

Nutritional Information:  By my calculations, 1 of 4 servings = 314 calories; 8.1 grams fiber

Spicy Buddha Bowl

Recipe from Crazy Vegan Kitchen

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Serves 2-3

The photo of this recipe on Pinterest was so beautiful and I was hungry so I decided to give it a try.  It turned out to be picture perfect and yummy to boot. It is spicy, but the creamy avocado and brown rice tame the heat. We especially loved the chickpeas and the dressing.  The dressing is so tasty and I plan to try it with other dishes. This is a vegan dish. 

1 cup Cooked Brown Rice (I made a batch of Coconut Brown Rice and used 1 cup of it.)

1 Sweet Potato, cut into large chunks

1 teaspoon Olive Oil

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 (15 oz.) can Chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1½ Tablespoons Sriracha Sauce

2 teaspoons Maple Syrup

½ teaspoon Paprika

½ teaspoon Garlic Powder

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 cup chopped Purple Cabbage

1 cup Baby Spinach

1 Avocado, sliced

Turmeric Tahini Dressing:

4 Tablespoons Tahini

4 Tablespoons Warm Water

1 teaspoon Maple Syrup

¼ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

½ teaspoon Turmeric

½ teaspoon Sriracha Sauce

Kosher salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 350F. Coat sweet potato in 1 teaspoon oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on baking tray and pop into the oven to roast for 35 minutes, turning once halfway through the cooking time. While the sweet potato is cooking, prepare chickpeas.

In a bowl, combine chickpeas, Sriracha, maple syrup, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix to combine. Heat a saucepan and transfer chickpea mixture into saucepan to cook for 5 minutes. (Make sure to keep the chickpeas moving so they don't burn.) Set aside.  In a clean saucepan, wilt spinach slightly and season. Transfer to a bowl and repeat the wilting and seasoning process with the cabbage. (I left the spinach and cabbage raw because I didn’t read the original recipe carefully enough.  I think wilting the spinach and cabbage would be yummy, but they were good raw as well.)  Once sweet potato is cooked through, prepare your Buddha Bowl by placing your rice in the bottom of a bowl and then topping with the sweet potato, chickpeas, spinach, red cabbage and avocado.

To make dressing, whisk all dressing ingredients together. Drizzle the dressing over Buddha Bowl and enjoy!!!

Caramelized Squash Salad with Pumpkin Spiced Almonds and Goat Cheese

Recipe from http://www.bhg.com

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Not only was this a lovely salad to look at, but it was mighty tasty and perfect for the holidays.  I didn’t have any pistachios, so I used Pumpkin Pie Spiced Almonds that I had made in advance.  They tasted fabulous in this salad!

1 cup orange juice

3 Tablespoons pure maple syrup

1 ½ tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 Tablespoon grated fresh ginger

1 ½ pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, halved crosswise and cut into 1/2-inch wide strips

Nonstick cooking spray

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

1/3 cup olive oil

6 cups mixed salad greens

1 small head radicchio or purple cabbage, cored and thinly sliced

½ cup roasted salted pistachio nuts (I used Pumpkin Pie Spiced Almonds!)

3 ounces goat cheese, crumbled (Blue cheese or feta would also be good.)

For marinade, in a small bowl stir together orange juice, maple syrup, mustard and ginger. Set aside ½ cup of the marinade. Place butternut squash pieces in a large resealable plastic bag set in a shallow dish. Pour remaining marinade over squash. Seal bag; marinate, refrigerated, for 1 to 4 hours (or overnight) turning bag occasionally.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray (or use parchment paper.) Set aside. Drain marinade from squash, discarding marinade. Place squash on prepared baking sheet. Roast squash until tender and lightly browned in spots, 26 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven; set aside.

For dressing, in a small bowl, whisk together the reserved marinade, salt, and pepper. Slowly whisk in the oil. Drizzle 2 to 3 tablespoons of dressing over warm squash; toss to combine. In a large bowl combine the mixed greens, radicchio, and half of the pistachios. Toss with half the dressing. Gently toss roasted squash into salad. Top with remaining pistachios and goat cheese. Pass remaining dressing. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

In a large salad bowl, gently toss greens mixture with roasted squash and garnish with remaining pistachios and goat cheese, if desired. Pass remaining dressing.

Nutrition Facts (Caramelized Squash Salad with Pistachios and Goat Cheese)

Per serving: 275 kcal cal., 17 g fat (2 g sat. fat, 3 g polyunsaturated fat, 11 g monounsatured fat), 0 mg chol., 346 mg sodium, 29 g carb., 4 g fiber, 13 g sugar, 5 g pro.  Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet