Buffalo Cauliflower

-
We've had some really good buffalo cauliflower at Vegenation in Las Vegas, and I finally got around to trying to make it. It was tasty! Here's what a did - which is a combination of a recipe in Vegan Comfort Classics and some recipes I found on the web, like this one that has a nice video. Yum!

Ingredients

1 large (or 2 small) head cauliflower
2 cups bread crumbs
1/2 cup wheat germ (optional)

Batter:
3/4 cup flour
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder (optional)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
1 1/3 cup nondairy milk

Buffalo sauce:
2 T vegan butter
1/4 cup Sriracha (or more; 1/3 ?)
1/4 cup ketchup
1 T maple syrup

Ranch dressing:
1/2 cup vegan mayo
2 tsp apple cider
1 T chopped fresh dill or 2 tsp dried
1 T chopped chives
1 tsp onion powder (optional)
1/4 cup nondairy milk (optional; if you like it a little thinner; I do)
salt and pepper to taste

chopped chives for topping (optional)

Instructions

Clean and cut up the cauliflower. Mix together the batter ingredients - and you can add more or less nondairy milk depending on how thick you want it. I like the batter thinner, so I use almost twice the amount of milk as flour.

Make bread crumbs if needed (I make mine by toasting 3 pieces of whole wheat bread and processing them into crumbs in the food processor. I also like adding in wheat germ for autophagy / longevity reasons).

Dip the cauliflower in the batter one at a time, or just pour the cauliflower in the bowl and mix it up! Then coat the battered cauliflower with breadcrumb/wheat germ mixture. I did it one-by-one, picking up and spooning bread crumbs over each. Some recipes skip the breadcrumbs, but Comfort Classics says it's important - and it was tasty and worth the extra step, I think.

Place on a silicon-lined cookie sheet and bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.

At this point, you can either mix up the buffalo sauce (below), or take the cauliflower out after 15 minutes, let cool, freeze it, and come back another day and take it out to finish -- you could do this to make it faster to make for a get-together, for example (a Vegenation waiter mentioned that theirs is battered and frozen, and then brought out for the final cooking step when ordered).

Buffalo sauce: Mix sauce ingredients in a small saucepan. Brush or spoon the sauce over cauliflower and then put it in the oven for 10 more minutes. While you wait, mix up the ranch dressing.

Take it out of the oven right away; the bites are better a bit firm than a bit mushy/overdone!

Take out and serve. Oh, topping it with chopped chives looks good, too! Yuuuum.



And some photos of the process:

Can just throw it all in a big bowl of batter! Here with carrots :)

 




Yea, there are some open spots in the pan in the oven... some baked cauliflower mysteriously disappeared before it went back into the oven.




Popular posts from this blog

Blood Orange Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

-
Image
Shelley Million gave us a blood orange cake when we made a backyard visit in March, and it was divine! I asked Larry what he wanted for his birthday, and he said this cake. Shelley made it with regular oranges and without the topping, and we had lots of oranges on our tree, so I did the same - except I made the topping and used a few blood oranges there, figuring I'd make it extra pretty for the birthday boy. I also doubled the recipe to make 2 rounds since we had 2 birthday parties, but 1 round is plenty for one group. (Also, our tree's oranges are HUGE, and blood oranges at the store were much smaller, so I used fewer oranges; adjust depending on your orange size.)  Ingredients (Makes one tall round; double for 2 rounds) zest from 2 oranges 1/2 C orange juice (from the 2 oranges) 1/2 cup olive oil, plus more for greasing 1 1/2 cups flour 2/3 cup dark cocoa powder, unsweetened 1 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1 1/4 C sugar 1 C water 1 1/2 tsp white vinegar topping: 1 C powd
Read more

Za’atar Roasted Tofu with Chickpeas, Tomatoes and Tahini

-
Image
Judy and Robert made a variation of this delicious NYTimes recipe for Za’atar Roasted Tofu With Chickpeas, Tomatoes and Lemony Tahini for lunch before we enjoyed a beautiful hike through redwoods at Robert's Regional Recreation Area . Below is a variation close to what they made, and I want to replicate! Ingredients 14 oz firm tofu, drained 1 can chickpeas, drained, rinsed and patted dry 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes (can also try butternut squash) 1 (8-ounce) bag leafy greens, such as baby spinach, baby kale, arugula, or mixed greens Salt and pepper Marinade: 3 garlic cloves, diced 2 lemons 2T oil 1 1/2 T za’atar dry spice mix  1 tsp dried oregano or marjoram 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley 2 T soy sauce (for 2nd half of marinade, used on tofu) Dressing: 1/4 C tahini 1 T honey 2T water Farro, barley, wild rice medley, or other grain, for serving Instructions Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cut the drained tofu into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Combine the chickpeas and tomatoes on a half
Read more

Zucchini Mushroom Quiche with Red Pepper Relish

-
Image
Our neighbor Elsa gave us 4 beautiful fresh leeks from her garden. I had been planning to make my chickpea tart , but then I found a mushroom leek quiche in Vegan Comfort Classics that looked worth a try! Here's my slightly adapted version, using zucchinis and mushroom. The red pepper relish is amazing on crackers or anything else you might serve a chutney with.  If you don't have time to make the relish, cranberry sauce or mango chutney is pretty good with the quiche. The Parm is totally optional; I've made this several times and don't usually bother with it anymore. Ingredients 1 large or 2 medium pie crusts; I like Wholly Wholesome or an easy  whole wheat pie crust Veggie saute: 2 T canola oil 2 C leeks or onion, diced 1-2 C mushrooms, sliced 2 C zucchini or broccoli, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper 1 tsp sage (or 1T fresh) 1 tsp tarragon Tofu mix: 2 12-oz silken tofu 1/4 C nutritional yeast 1/3 C chickpea flour 1 T white v
Read more