Roasted Cauliflower: our favorite vegetable

I can not believe have not done a blog about roasted cauliflower. It is something we have probably once a week. Everyone loves it. My seven year old nephew asks for it when he comes over for dinner.

It's super easy and who doesn't love roasted vegetables?

Cauliflower sliced into planks
olive oil
salt and pepper

Roast at 400 for 20-25 minutes until tender and starting to brown. We love the little brown bits, so sometimes I leave it in a few minutes longer. For three of us, I usually do two heads of cauliflower because we love it so much.

Vietnamese Summer Rolls

I'd never had anything Vietnamese until a few years ago. We were living in San Antonio and our neighbors were Thai. I learned about and tasted a lot of wonderful homemade Thai food during those couple of years they were our neighbors. They also took us to different restaurants. One of our favorites was a Vietnamese place where we fell in love with summer rolls. I found a recipe online and decided to give it a try. They were good and they really are a great summer meal.

Since these turned out, I'm excited to try more new recipes, both Vietnamese and Thai.

I found this recipe at Chow.

INGREDIENTS

* 12 medium shrimp in their shells
* 2 ounces dried rice sticks or rice vermicelli
* 8 (8-1/4-inch) round rice paper wrappers
* 1/2 cup mung bean sprouts, rinsed
* 24 small mint leaves (from 1 small bunch)
* 16 basil or Thai basil leaves
* 8 small sprigs cilantro
* 1 Thai hot pepper, serrano pepper, or other small hot chile pepper, seeds removed and sliced into very thin matchsticks
* 1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/4-by-1/4-by-2-inch sticks
* 2 large scallions, trimmed, halved, and sliced into 3-inch lengths
* 4 Boston lettuce leaves, cut in half
* Peanut Sauce

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Add shrimp and cook for about 1 1/2 minutes, or until they are bright orange and just cooked. Drain shrimp in a colander and run cold water over them until they are cool. Peel shrimp and halve them lengthwise down the center. Cover and refrigerate.
2. Cook the rice sticks according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
3. Clear a work surface, such as a large wooden cutting board, for rolling the summer rolls and prepare a pan that is roomy enough to hold the finished rolls in a single layer. Place all filling ingredients in separate containers, and arrange them in the following order around the board: rice paper wrappers, shrimp, rice noodles, bean sprouts, mint, basil, cilantro, hot pepper, cucumber, scallions, and lettuce.
4. Fill a wide, shallow dish, large enough to hold the rice paper wrappers, with hot water. Evenly submerge one rice paper in the water for about 30 seconds, or until it is soft and pliable. Remove from the water and place on the work surface.
5. Working quickly, lay three shrimp halves in a row, cut side up, just above the center of the wrapper. Layer a scant 1/4 cup of noodles over the shrimp, followed by a few bean sprouts, 3 mint leaves, 2 basil leaves, 1 sprig of cilantro, and 2 pieces of the hot pepper (if using). Place 3 to 4 cucumber sticks and 3 to 4 scallion pieces on either side of the noodle pile. Roll one piece of lettuce into a cigar shape, and place it on top of the noodle pile.
6. Fold the bottom half of the rice paper wrapper over the filling. Holding it firmly in place, fold the sides of the wrapper in. Then, pressing firmly down to hold the folds in place, roll the entire pile up to close the top. (Don’t despair, this takes some practice!)
7. Turn each roll so that the rice paper seam faces downward and the row of shrimp faces up. Place in the prepared container.
8. Serve summer rolls with Peanut Sauce.

Peanut Sauce:

INGREDIENTS

* 1/2 cup natural-style creamy peanut butter
* 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
* 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
* 1 tablespoon soy sauce
* 1 small garlic clove, mashed to a paste
* 1 teaspoon chile-garlic paste
* 1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
* Juice of 1 lime
* 1/4 cup water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Stir until well combined, adding more water to thin the sauce if necessary.

Brussels Sprouts: another misunderstood vegetable

Brussels sprouts get a bad rap. I think it's because until Food Network came about people were throwing them in a pot of water and boiling them to death. Boiling too long makes them bitter. Now in the Food Network era, everyone is all about roasting vegetables. Brussels sprouts are perfect to add to the roasting pan.

Not only should you try roasting Brussels sprouts just because they're delicious, but they're also very good for you. They are high in potassium, vitamin C, vitamin A, folate and those phytosterols we are hearing so much about in helping to lower cholesterol.

If you've only ever had boiled Brussels sprouts, you owe it to yourself to give the roasted ones a try. They really are delicious. My husband used to say he hated them until he had them roasted. Now they're a favorite on our table.



Look for small brussels sprouts in with the fresh vegetables. If you can't find the fresh ones, you can thaw a bag of frozen ones and roast them. I've done both and get the same results.

Put Brussels sprouts on a baking sheet and lightly sprinkle on olive oil, kosher salt, and fresh ground black pepper. Roll them around to make sure they're all covered. Put in a hot oven, around 450. Roast them for 15-20 minutes depending on their size. Stir them about half way. The outer leaves will get browned. Eat them while they're hot.

Poor misunderstood Okra

Okra is often thought of as a slimy mess. Most people will say they don't like okra because all they think of is the slime. I'm one of the few who like them slimy, but only if they're really small. I love them thrown into stews and gumbos. The "slime" factor helps to thicken gumbos, not to mention then you can eat the okra.

My favorite way to eat them is fried. Breaded and dropped in hot oil, they get crispy, golden brown and delicious. Not one bit of the slime factor around. Yum!



* 1/2 lb. of fresh okra
* 2 cups of dry corn bread mix
* 1 cup of buttermilk
* Vegetable oil for frying
* Large frying pan

Steps

Rinse and dry okra. Using a sharp knife and cutting board, slice the okra into 1/2 inch slices or discs, discarding the pointed tips and the stem ends.

Begin heating the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Be sure to carefully monitor the oil during this process to ensure it doesn't get too hot.

Put the buttermilk and the corn bread mix into separate bowls. Coat the okra discs first in the corn bread mix, then dip them quickly into the buttermilk, then back into the corn bread mix again.

Carefully put the breaded okra into the hot oil and gently fry until the pieces are golden brown and crispy. Lightly salt the okra after removing it from the oil.

Pasta with grilled chicken and vegetables in a goat cheese sauce

Pasta. Chicken. Grilled vegetables. Sounds pretty ordinary. I had to come up with a way to have an ordinary dinner become a little different so we weren't eating the same things all the time. A quick look in the refrigerator and I found three small rounds of goat cheese (herb and garlic, four pepper, and plain) They were originally bought for crackers but since we hadn't used them, I decided maybe it could be part of dinner.

After checking various recipe sites looking for a way to use the goat cheese in this dinner, I found a sauce that sounded pretty good and it was easy too. I love it when a plan comes together. I now had my dinner planned.

Ingredients:

Chicken breasts, split lengthwise
vegetables (yellow squash, zucchini, red and yellow bell peppers, mushrooms if you don't forget them like I did)

Marinate the chicken and vegetables separately in olive oil, lemon juice and garlic.
Grill and slice them into small pieces.

Boil pasta. We used bowties because they are bite sized just like the vegetables and chicken. Cook until al dente and drain.

For the sauce:
1 cup chicken broth brought up to a boil. Crumble in 2-3 oz of goat cheese. I used a four pepper goat cheese for extra flavor. Stir until melted and smooth.

To save on dishes, mix everything in the pasta pot. Add sauce to the noodles, then stir in the vegetables and chicken. Once you dish it out, add fresh basil. This was the first use of the basil from my herb garden this spring.

This is a great one dish meal. You could make garlic bread to go with it like I did. Only remember it if you do. I had checked it early and it was almost done but it was going to take a bit for the rest of the dinner to go together. I cut the oven off and just left the bread in to finish cooking. We were clearing our plates when I remembered the bread.

Now I have garlic croutons for salads.

A spring favorite: Asparagus

I love spring and I love the things spring brings, like asparagus. In spring the stalks are small and tender. Plus they are so good for you: full of folic acid, potassium, and fiber. Our favorite way to have them is grilled with just olive oil, salt and pepper. They get a bit crispy and are just delicious. Who needs french fries when you can have crispy asparagus.



Asparagus was something I never had growing up. I can credit my time in New Jersey for my love of asparagus. Between a friend who loved them and watching hours of food network, they became a regular at our table. I hear so many people say they do not like them, then I find out they were forced to eat the canned ones growing up. Please, if you hated the canned ones, give fresh a try. Asparagus has become a favorite vegetable in our house.

We had grilled baby back ribs to go along with our asparagus tonight. Just a little salt, pepper and a bit of Scott's Barbeque Sauce, and adding mesquite smoke chips to the grill.



Do you see the pink smoke ring around the edge of the meat? That is what adding mesquite will do for your meat besides adding extra deliciousness.