Curried Cauliflower Soup

A warm curried cauliflower soup is the perfect thing for cold gray days. I first tried a curried cauliflower soup at a restaurant called Greens.  It's a wonderful vegan-friendly place where all the dishes are elegant and served with panache.  I whipped up an easy Vitamix soup in recollection of that tasty meal.

Start by roasting the florets of a cauliflower and a medium starch potato.  I like to drizzle with a bit of olive oil and place in the cold oven.  Then, allow the oven to preheat to 400˚F and continue baking until the potatoes are cooked through.  This method causes nice browning on the cauliflower and potatoes.  While thongs are roasting, dice and sautee a red onion in olive oil.

Allow the ingredients - onions, cauliflower and potatoes - to cool slightly before adding them to the Vitamix.  Add in a hand full of cashews and enough water to cover all the mix.  Blend on medium to allow the ingredients to break down.  Then, add salt, curry powder and adjust the water to your desired thickness. (Clearly, this is a very flexible recipe, so make it your own!)

Serve garnished with chopped roasted cashews and tarragon.

Chickpea Curry Burger on Turmeric Rolls

A (fairly) quick and easy vegan burger: Curried chickpea on a turmeric biscuit.

Using the ratio 3:1:2 (flour:coconut oil:almond milk), portion out the ingredients.  Add a bit of flax seed, nutritional yeast, onion powder and turmeric.  If you're not using self raising flour, be sure to add a bit of salt and baking powder.

Cut the chilled coconut oil into the flour - a food processor makes it easy.  Mix the seasoning ingredients into the milk and add it to the flour.  Gently work the flax seed, seasoning and milk into the flour.  Be careful to not over mix or it will make the biscuits tough.  Shape into rolls and top with sesame seeds.  Bake at 350˚F until light brown ~25 minutes.

Start with chickpeas, pecans and almond meal, oatmeal and flax seed.  Season with tamari sauce, curry powder, onion powder, garlic powder, smoky and salt.  Add all the ingredients to a food processor.  Blend until smooth, adding a bit of water if needed to make it smooth.

Shape into patties and fry.

Build the burger.  I used lettuce, avocado, tarragon, basil, savoury soy youghurt, tomatoes and red onion.

Thai Curry From Scratch

This is probably my favorite food. Well, I don't really keep favourites, but this is top ten. A properly spiced thai dish is a pinnacle of human sensation. Thai food isn't always sharply 'hot,' rather contains the primal elements of good taste: sweet, savoury, slight acidity, umami and pungency. The fragrance of the cuisine cannot be overlooked or understated. Jasmine rice, citrus, ginger and richly flavoured vegetables/herbs create an unmatched aroma.

Here I plate an inverted arrangement of curry and cashews, beset with jasmine and black rice.

First, start sauteing the extra-firm tofu on low heat with coconut oil.  Turn every 5 minutes until tofu is chewy.

Home crown chili makes this fresh - as well as kaffir lime leaves from my tree and fresh pulled shallots.  I added a bit of salt and peanuts and bashed them in the mortar.

Bash the end of a lemongrass stalk and chuck into a pan with a can of full-fat coconut oil.  Add the bashed curry paste and lime juice or tamarind paste to pan as well.  Simmer the coconut milk mixture until slightly thickened and add in fresh veg.  I like sliced carrots, peppers, diced tomato and green onions.  Dice the tofu and add in.

Plate and serve with rice, cashews, thai basil and fresh grated coconut (unsweetened).

Curried Brussels Sprouts with Ginger Coconut Rice

A quick and easy way to make sprouts delicious.

First, halve the sprouts and remove the scruffy outer leaves.  Then, mix coconut milk, curry powder and salt.  This imparts a spicy richness to the dish.  Pour the mix over the Brussles sprouts and arrange on a baking tray.  Make it easy to tidy up by lining the tray with parchment paper.  I like to put these cabbage-wannabes in a cold oven and preheat to 400F - this cooks them quickly and browns the sprouts.

Serve with ginger coconut rice.  Simply add ginger, unsweetened coconut flake and a smidgen of coconut milk to rice and prepare as normal.

Thai Red Curry Soup with Cocunut Rice

An amazing flavour and comfort food, red curry is both spicy and smooth.  Curried coconut milk with carrots, bell peppers and napa cabbage, served with toasted flake coconut