Spaghetti with Cauliflower Meat Sauce

A little over two years ago when I posted this Cauliflower Taco Meat recipe, I mentioned wanting to tweak it with Italian seasonings to be used in things like lasagna, spaghetti sauce, and stuffed peppers. Well, it took me two years and several versions, but it’s finally exactly what I wanted it to be.

This hearty, meaty spaghetti sauce of my dreams will now be in regular rotation in our kitchen. Versatile cauliflower, along with meaty portabellas and healthy omega-3 fat-packed walnuts comes together with herbs and a rich red sauce to create a spaghetti dish I’m confident could hold its own in a cook-off against one made with ground beef.

You could use your favorite red sauce recipe, jarred marinara, or the quick homemade version I included that’s pulled from the headnotes of the Smitten Kitchen’s Stuffed Eggplant Parmesan, which sounds amazing in its own right.

Both the cauliflower meat and the sauce, if you’re making your own, can be done a day or two ahead, which would make this perfect for a weeknight.

To give it an extra dose of veggies, I sautéed some chopped onion and spinach from our garden with a little red wine before adding the sauce and meat. Feel free to leave that out if you’d like. Served over whole wheat spaghetti and topped with a little parmesan (omit for a vegan version) and fresh basil, you’ve got an amazing comfort food meal without the typical saturated fat and cholesterol. What could be better!?! Enjoy!

• Servings: 4
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Cauliflower Meat
3 cups cauliflower florets

1 ½ cups chopped cremini mushrooms

½ cup chopped walnuts

¼ cup tomato sauce

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon fennel seeds

½ teaspoon onion powder

¼ teaspoon dried marjoram

Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet.

Place cauliflower, mushrooms, walnuts, tomato sauce, salt, fennel seeds, onion powder, marjoram, and pepper in the bowl of a food processor and pulse on and off until the texture of ground beef. I found it easier to get the right texture by doing this in two batches, half of each ingredient in each batch. The first time I made it I did it all at once and half of it was almost like a paste—still tasted great, but just not the right texture. Transfer mixture to the baking sheet and spread it out in an even layer.

Bake for 30 minutes, stirring once at the half-way point.

Spaghetti or marinara sauce–homemade, jarred, or this quick Smitten Kitchen recipe:
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a pot over medium, add 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and a pinch or three of red pepper flakes, and a little dried oregano, if you wish. Cook for one minute. Add a 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes (it will splatter, be careful) and stir (I used a can of whole San Marzano tomatoes and crushed them with a potato masher once in the pot). Cook at a simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, until you get the saucy consistency you want. This yields 3 cups.

To bring it all together
8 oz. regular or whole wheat spaghetti

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

½ of a medium yellow onion, chopped

A couple handfuls of fresh spinach, chopped

A splash or two of red wine

Salt & pepper

Freshly grated parmesan cheese, optional

Torn fresh basil leaves for garnish

Place a big pot of well-salted water on the stove and bring to a boil. Cook spaghetti according to package instructions. Drain and return to pot to keep warm.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and sauté for several minutes until beginning to soften. Increase heat to medium-high and add spinach and red wine, plus a little salt & pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until spinach has wilted and wine has mostly cooked off.

Turn heat back down to medium and add 2 to 2 ½ cups red sauce. Add about half of your cauliflower meat (reserve the rest for another batch). Bring to a simmer and cook until heated through.

Pile pasta into bowls and top with cauliflower meat sauce, parmesan, and basil. Take a big whiff of all this wonderfulness, and dig in. Makes about 4 servings, with enough “meat” left for another batch.

Italian Meatless Balls

I’ve been working on my Christmas menu ever since Thanksgiving and have changed my mind several times, but finally settled on spaghetti and meatballs. Real meatballs will be served for most, with a meatless version for the vegetarian (me) and those wanting to try something different.

I made this Smitten Kitchen meatball recipe for the carnivores and used aspects of the same recipe for the veggie version, with the main ingredients from my Cauliflower Taco Meat as the base. The cauliflower florets, mushrooms, and walnuts are pulsed in the food processor with a little tomato sauce to make what actually looks a lot like raw ground beef. In addition to the ingredients from the meat recipe, I added fennel seeds, oregano, and marjoram for more Italian flavors.

I made these three times, tweaking things a bit with each version, to arrive at what I think are a pretty great vegetarian Italian meatball. I froze them and the “real” meatballs and will serve them in sauce with spaghetti on Christmas. They would also be good in a meatball sandwich, served on pizza, and as an appetizer with dipping sauce (a mixture of apricot preserves, barbeque sauce, and a little Dijon mustard is quite tasty!). Enjoy!

• Servings: 30 balls
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3 cups cauliflower florets

1 ½ cups chopped cremini mushrooms

1 ½ cups chopped walnuts

1/3 cup tomato sauce

¼ cup chopped curly parsley

¼ cup freshly grated parmesan or romano cheese

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 to 1 ½ teaspoons fennel seeds

½ teaspoon dried marjoram

½ teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment and set aside.

Place cauliflower, mushrooms, walnuts, and tomato sauce in bowl of a food processor and pulse until the texture of raw finely ground beef.

Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix to thoroughly combine. Form mixture into 2-inch balls; I used a #30 cookie scoop (press meatballs a bit to pack them before rolling into balls). Place on prepared baking sheet.

Bake balls about 20 minutes, until lightly browned and firm. Makes about 30 balls.

Use in spaghetti, meatball sandwiches, as a pizza topping, or with a dipping sauce as an appetizer (we’re talking a mixture of apricot preserves, barbeque sauce, and a little Dijon mustard—yum).

Chive Mint Pesto

There’s a patch of chives in front of our cabin that grows like crazy; not sure why it’s so prolific—could be it’s just as happy to be there as we are. I try and remember to cut some to bring home every time we’re there, but it seems like half the time I forget.

This time I remembered, and I brought home a lot! It’s especially nice if the chives are flowering their light purple blooms, so pretty and edible too—a mild onion flavor that works beautifully as a garnish on whatever you’ve used the chives in.

With this volume of chives, the first thing that came to mind was making pesto. I’ve made a rustic chive pesto in the past, but this time I decided to do the more conventional pesto method, in the food processor. And with my mint and basil plants needing a trim, I opted to include a good amount of mint and a little basil.

Following the basic pesto recipe I’ve used for years, but subbing in chives and mint in place of basil and throwing in a shallot for good measure, the result was wonderful! On pasta, as a marinade for grilled vegetables, on pizza, in mashed potatoes, eggs, sandwiches, the uses are endless.

As in other pesto recipes I’ve shared in the past, there’s no cheese, which is not typical for pesto, but with the olive oil, it seems rich enough in my mind already, so I do without. Feel free to include some parmesan if you’d like.

This recipe makes a big batch that would be hard to use between Pete and me in the week or so it lasts in the fridge, so I froze half. Pesto freezes well and it’s nice to have on hand for whipping up yummy recipes at a moment’s notice (a quick defrost in the microwave and your frozen pesto is ready to use).

The bonus is I have enough chives left over to make a couple loaves of buttermilk chive bread—I can’t wait!

• Servings: makes 3 cups
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2 cups firmly packed fresh chives

1 cup fresh mint leaves, or a combination of mint and basil, firmly packed

1 cup chopped walnuts, almonds, pistachios, or a combination, toasted

¼ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 shallot, chopped

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Place all ingredients, except olive oil, in bowl of a food processor. Process until combined. Scrape down sides of food processor bowl.

With food processor running, slowly drizzle in olive oil until mixture is completely blended. Scrape down sides again and give it a final pulse or two. Taste, and add more salt or lemon juice if necessary.

Keeps in the fridge for a week or so, in the freezer for a couple months. Makes about 3 cups.

Cauliflower Taco Meat

The humble cauliflower. That funny looking vegetable I hated as a child, continues to surprise me. First there was cauliflower pizza crust, then Buffalo cauliflower, cauliflower steaks, and now, wait for it…cauliflower taco meat!

Replacing the spicy ground beef in traditional tacos, this mixture of cauliflower, mushrooms, walnuts and bold seasonings amps up the deliciousness and it’s a healthy mix of superfoods to boot! What’s not to love? And I swear, even if you think you don’t like cauliflower, mushrooms, or walnuts, if you like tacos, you will like this.

I stumbled upon the recipe at Pinch of Yum, one of my favorite food blogs (and their photography is amazing!). Intrigued, I knew what I was going to make with that head of cauliflower in the fridge. The only thing that made me hesitate was the two cups of walnuts the recipe called for. I know walnuts are super healthy, full of good fats, omega 3s, and loaded with antioxidants, but they also pack a wallop of calories, which I certainly don’t need. Since mushrooms are so meaty, especially cremini mushrooms, I decided to replace half the walnuts with them. The result wowed us!

And don’t limit this yummy mixture to tacos; it would make a great filling for burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas, frittatas, taco salad and on and on. My mind is now working on a way to make this, with different seasonings, into a mixture for Italian recipes, lasagna, spaghetti sauce, meatballs, and stuffed peppers. And sloppy joes! I bet that would be wonderful!

The taco “meat” ingredients involve just a quick series of pulses in the food processor and then a half hour of baking, followed by a couple minute broil, then a sprinkling of fresh lime juice. While it’s in the oven, you can prep your taco accompaniments, so this is very doable on a weeknight after work. Plus, it reheats really well, and leftovers will not go to waste. Enjoy!

• Servings: 4
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Adapted from this Pinch of Yum recipe

3 cups cauliflower florets

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup chopped cremini mushrooms

2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

1/4 cup tomato sauce

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Fresh squeezed lime juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet.

Place all ingredients except lime juice in the bowl of a food processor and pulse on and off until the texture of cooked ground beef. I found it easier to get the right texture by doing this in two batches, half of each ingredient in each batch. The first time I made it I did it all at once and half of it was almost like a paste—still tasted great, but just not the right texture. Transfer mixture to the baking sheet and spread it out in an even layer.

Bake for 30 minutes, stirring once at the half-way point. After the 30 minutes, turn oven to broil and broil 8-12 inches from broiler for a minute or two. Watch carefully so it doesn’t burn. Drizzle with a tablespoon or two of lime juice and toss to distribute it.

That’s it. The “meat” is ready to use in tacos, burritos, taco salads, enchiladas, quesadillas, or whatever your heart desires. Reheats well and keeps several days in the fridge. Makes about 4 servings.

Mom’s Baklava

Way back when I was in high school, my mom made a mysterious dessert with a funny name that was unlike anything that had ever graced our kitchen . Dessert nirvana I tell you. But wait, it was full of walnuts, how could that be? I don’t like walnuts; at least not the big chunks found in brownies, fudge or cookies. Odd how you can dislike something when it’s one size, but fall in love when it’s chopped finely, mixed with cinnamon and sugar, suspended between butter-soaked, paper thin layers of pastry, and infused with golden honey. Swoon.

Yes, that dessert totally foreign to my adolescent self was baklava. Mom was so ahead of her time—making baklava in Fargo, North Dakota at a time when a Norwegian or Swedish treat was as exotic as they came. She doesn’t remember where she got the recipe, but I’m glad she did. It’s the best baklava I’ve ever tasted—no other version I’ve had has even come close over the years. Maybe it’s sentiment, but I doubt it; Mom’s baklava is just the best!

If you haven’t worked with phyllo (or filo) dough before, don’t be intimidated. It takes a little patience and diligently keeping the sheets of dough covered with a damp tea towel while you work with one sheet at a time, but it’s not difficult. Have everything ready and prepped before you open the package of thawed phyllo and you’ll breeze through this.

A bonus as desserts go, baklava has the super food factor with walnuts and cinnamon involved. It keeps unrefrigerated for about 5 days and I imagine it would freeze well. If you’re truly walnut averse (no matter how finely they’re chopped), almonds, pistachios or a combination of the two would work too. Enjoy!

• Servings: 24
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We’ve been making this recipe for decades and I have no idea of the source, so let’s just credit my mom, Annette, the best mom ever!

1 lb. (16 oz.) walnuts

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 pound phyllo dough, thawed

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

12 oz. honey

Butter a 9×13″ baking dish and set aside.

Place walnuts, sugar and cinnamon in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until walnuts are finely chopped. Alternately, finely chop walnuts and mix with sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl.

Trim phyllo to fit baking dish (mine just needed about an inch trimmed from the short end).

In the prepared baking dish, place 1 sheet of phyllo; brush lightly with melted butter. Repeat to make five more layers of phyllo; sprinkle with one cup of walnut mixture.

Place one sheet of phyllo in baking dish over walnut mixture; brush with butter. Repeat to make six layers. Sprinkle one cup walnut mixture over phyllo. Repeat layering two more times.

Over final sprinkling of walnut mixture, place a sheet of phyllo and brush with butter. Repeat to make six layers.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

With a sharp knife, cut layers just halfway through, in strips about 1 1/2″ inch wide the long way. Then cut halfway through on the diagonal, to make diamond shapes.

Bake 1 hour and 25 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Shortly before removing pan from oven, in a medium saucepan, heat honey until hot, but not boiling. After removing baklava from the oven, spoon hot honey over it evenly. Cool in pan on wire rack at least 1 hour. Cover and leave at room temperature until serving.

To serve: With sharp knife, finish cutting through the layers. Transfer to a platter (can place each piece of baklava in a cupcake paper to make things a little neater). Makes about 24 servings.

Note: Keep phyllo dough under a damp, clean tea towel to prevent drying as you work with it.

 

 

Roasted Beet & Portabella Mushroom Pizza with Beet Greens Pesto

Roasted Beet & Portabella Mushroom Pizza with Beet Greens Pesto

I have a new favorite pizza! Again.

Earlier this summer I discovered how great rainbow chard or beet greens and mushrooms taste when roasted and served together. With the beets in our garden finally ready, I had a huge bag ‘o beet greens to make into something delicious.

How about a pesto? Could it be that beet green pesto is really a thing? It is. And it’s really good. Skeptical at first about the chosen recipe because it was different from most pesto recipes I’ve done in the past—it didn’t include lemon juice, it called for raw rather than toasted nuts, and it had less than half the olive oil. Once made though, it had amazing flavor and I thought it’d be great on pizza. Of course I would include mushrooms for that great combo of greens and mushrooms, and why not include the beets too?

After roasting two portabella mushroom caps and a couple larger beets, I spread the beet green pesto over a homemade whole wheat pizza crust, topped it with sliced roasted beets and portabellas, and after pondering the best cheese to enhance this combo, I opted for a bit of shredded pepper jack. Not too much—just enough to add a creamy spiciness to go with the other robust flavors.

Veggies ready for roasting

Prepared for this uncharted pizza territory to be a total bust, I, along with my dinner guest and fellow foodie, Dawn, were surprised to fall in love with this new pie. The earthiness of the pesto and mushrooms, sweetness of the beets and the piquant heat of the pepper jack came together in pizza perfection. Enjoy!

Oh, and by the way, the pizza dough recipe makes enough for two pizzas. You can refrigerate half the dough for a day or two, freeze it for a couple months, or just make two pizzas. My second one was a roasted cherry tomato and onion pizza that just had a brush of good quality olive oil as a sauce. It was great!

Roasted Tomato & Onion Pizza

• Servings: 2-4
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This recipe sounds very time-consuming, but you can make everything ahead of time and then do the final pizza assembling and baking shortly before you’re ready to serve it.

Beet Green Pesto (from Oh My Veggies blog):
About 4 cups washed and dried beet greens, stems and thicker middle ribs removed

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 cup chopped raw walnuts

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Place the beet greens, garlic, walnuts, salt, and pepper in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. With the motor running slowly, drizzle in the olive oil. Continue to process until smooth, adding more oil if necessary to achieve a saucy consistency (I didn’t need any additional oil). Taste and add additional salt and pepper if desired. This can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for up to 2 days before using.

Pizza dough:
1 ¼ cups warm water (between 105 and 115 degrees F.)

2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (one packet)

1 tablespoon honey

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour

1 ½ cups unbleached white flour, plus additional flour for kneading and rolling

2 teaspoons sea salt

Place warm water in a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle in yeast and whisk in honey. Let stand until foamy, 5-10 minutes.

In a separate bowl, mix flours and salt. Add gradually to yeast mixture, either mixing with a wooden spoon or dough hook of a stand mixer until combined. If doing by hand, turn out of bowl onto a floured surface and knead by hand for about 5 minutes, adding more flour if necessary to make a smooth, only slightly sticky dough. If using a stand mixer, knead with dough hook for about 5 minutes, adding more flour if necessary to make a smooth, only slightly sticky dough.

Place dough in an oiled bowl and cover with a damp tea towel. Allow to rise till double in size (about an hour) in a warm, draft-free place.

Place a pizza stone or upside down baking sheet in oven and preheat to 525 degrees F.

Punch down dough and turn out onto floured surface. Divide dough in half and refrigerate or freeze half for another use (or better yet, make 2 pizzas!).

On floured surface, roll/toss dough to make a 12-14 inch round (or sorta round). Place round on pizza stone and bake 90 seconds to 2 minutes. Remove from oven to cooling rack. This can be made ahead of time and wrapped in plastic for up to a day or frozen for a up to a month.

Roasted Veggies:
2 portabella mushroom caps, cleaned, stems removed and gills scraped off

2 large beets, peeled and sliced ¼ inch thick

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Toss beet slices with about 1 tablespoon olive oil and salt & pepper to taste. Place beets in a single layer on a baking sheet. Brush tops and bottoms of mushrooms with olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Place stem side up on baking sheet next to beets. Roast for about 15 minutes, until beets are tender. You may need to remove beets from the pan and roast mushrooms for 5-10 minutes longer, until tender. Slice mushrooms into strips about ½ inch wide. Roasting can be done ahead of time.

To assemble pizza:
Beet green pesto

Roasted beets and mushrooms

1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

½ cup shredded parmesan cheese

Place a pizza stone or upside down baking sheet in oven and preheat to 525 degrees F.

Just before baking, spread pesto onto partially baked crust (you won’t use all the pesto). Top with roasted beet and mushroom slices. Sprinkle pepper jack and parmesan evenly over pizza. Bake about 5 minutes, until cheese is melted and crust is golden. If you’d like, turn the oven to broil for about a minute or two to brown the cheese slightly. Watch the pizza closely if you do this—it can go from perfect to burned in seconds.

Remove pizza from oven onto large cutting board and cut into wedges. Serves 2-4.

Carrot Top Pesto

On Sunday while stocking up on produce for my first foray into kimchee making (more on that in a future blog post), I saw the freshest looking bunch of carrots, complete with lovely green tops still intact. I’m always drawn to carrots displayed that way rather than the trimmed and packaged ones, even though each time I end up cutting off those pretty tops and throwing them away, and feeling terrible about it.

This time was different. A little voice out of nowhere said, “Make carrot top pesto and stop being so wasteful!” And so I did. And I’m happy I did. And Pete is happy I did.

I made it pretty much the same way I’ve made pesto with other green stuff, not expecting to be wowed by it, but surprisingly, carrot top pesto is a wonderful thing! Last night we had it over whole wheat spaghetti with some red onion, grated carrot and red and gold cherry tomatoes. The flavor of the carrot greens is subtle and I think that allowed the other ingredients to not be overshadowed like they tend to be with the bolder flavor of basil or arugula.

In addition to serving with pasta, this pesto would be great on roasted veggies, taters, as a spread for a hearty sandwich, in scrambled eggs, drizzled in a hot bowl of soup, as a pizza sauce—there are unlimited ways! Have fun with it!

• Servings: 6
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1 tightly packed cup carrot top leaves (stems removed)

½ cup chopped walnuts, toasted

1 large or 2 small cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Place carrot top leaves, walnuts, garlic, lemon juice and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until combined. With food processor running, add olive oil in a slow, steady stream and process until smooth. Taste and add more salt, if necessary. Keeps for a day or two tightly covered in the fridge. Enjoy!

Apple Walnut Cake with Cinnamon Whipped Cream and Caramel Drizzle

On this beautiful fall day with weather that couldn’t be more perfect, two of my favorite people were our guests for lunch. Ginny and Jack, Pete’s lovely parents, joined us for a meal full of some of my favorites of the season. Sweet potatoes got curried and blended into soup, wild rice and sharp cheddar made their way onto a honey whole wheat-crusted pizza, and apples & cinnamon were the stars of the dessert, apple walnut cake with cinnamon whipped cream and caramel drizzle.

The cake and whipped cream are my takes on recipes in gifted chef Chloe Coscarelli’s vegan cookbook, Chloe’s Kitchen, and the caramel drizzle is from her website. If a vegan version isn’t a must, you could make a more traditional caramel sauce using butter or do what I did and pick up a jar of Trader Joe’s Fleur de Sel Caramel Sauce, which I think is as good or better than homemade and doesn’t have any of the scary or unpronounceable ingredients that store-bought stuff often does.

The cake, whipped cream and caramel drizzle can all be made a day or two before—just warm the caramel a bit before serving so it’s drizzleable. The inclusion of almond meal (also called almond flour) and some whole wheat pastry flour give this dessert heart-healthy protein and the benefits of whole grain, and with the addition of super-food status walnuts, not even an ounce of guilt should be felt over this tantalizing treat! Enjoy!

1 cup almond meal (also called almond flour)

½ cup whole wheat pastry flour

½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour

¾ cup organic sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup grapeseed or canola oil

½ cup pressed apple cider

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

½ cup toasted walnuts, chopped

3 medium Gala, Fuji, Honey Crisp (or other sweet apples), peeled and finely chopped

1 ½ tablespoons turbinado or other coarse grain sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 inch square baking pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together the almond meal, flours, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, cider, vanilla, and vinegar. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mixed just until combined—do not overmix. Fold in the walnuts and chopped apple.

Pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake for about 40-45 minutes, until center is set and cake lightly browned. Place on wire rack to cool.

Cinnamon Whipped Cream

Solids from one can of coconut milk (not light), (chill can overnight; don’t shake can before opening)

½ cup powdered sugar (or more to taste)

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

½ – 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Chill a bowl and beaters in the freezer for 30 minutes. Place coconut solids in bowl and beat until smooth and thick. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon and beat to incorporate. Refrigerate at least two hours. Give it a whisk just before serving. This keeps in the fridge for several days.

Caramel Drizzle

1 cup packed brown sugar

¼ cup vegan, non-hydrogenated, margarine (Earth Balance is good)

4 teaspoons almond or rice milk

In a small saucepan, over medium heat, heat brown sugar, margarine, and non-dairy milk, stirring frequently.  Once mixture comes together, increase heat to medium-high and let cook for one to two more minutes, until it begins to boil and the bubbles move to the middle of the caramel. Remove from heat.

To serve, drizzle caramel over a dessert plate. Place a square of cake in the middle of the plate and top with a big dollop of whipped cream. Drizzle with more caramel. Makes about 9 servings.

 

Five-Spiced Apple Potato Hash

Fall came roaring in today with highs only in the 40s and sideways rain. I love it! I realize the actual change of seasons came over a week ago, but this is the first real autumn-feeling day we’ve had so far, and I’m happy as can be.

Appropriately, apples arrived at the farmers’ market last month, and I’ve been incorporating them into salads, sandwiches and soups ever since. This morning they made their way into my breakfast in the form of a hash. A good breakfast hash is true comfort food, and there’s no better time for comfort food than a blustery, rainy day made pretty by a wind-blown palette of gold, crimson, orange, brown and green outside the kitchen window.

Chinese five spice powder can be found at Asian foods stores, co-ops, well-stocked grocery stores and online. The actual number of spices it contains often is actually more than five (China Bowl Select, the brand I used, has six), and the spices can vary too, but typically contains star anise, cloves, cinnamon, and fennel, all great compliments to apples! I didn’t peel the apples and potatoes, but if your preference is to do so, go for it.

The optional apple cider vinaigrette (recipe below) is from the newest addition to my collection, Edible Twin Cities: The Cookbook. It can be made ahead of time, and is so versatile–great on both side and main-dish salads, drizzled in fall-themed soups, and on sandwiches.  Adding another layer of flavor, it’s a nice touch, however, if you don’t have time, just use the yogurt as-is, and the hash will still be delicious. Topped with perfectly poached or fried eggs alongside a slice of toasted good quality bread and jam, it’ll warm your insides and start your day off right. Enjoy!

• Servings: 2-4
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1 tablespoon butter or extra-virgin olive oil

1 large russet or 2 medium gold potatoes, cooked and cut into ½ inch chunks

1 medium sweet apple (honey crisp, gala, fuji, sweet 16), cored, seeded, and chopped

½ cup diced celery

½ cup chopped onion

½ cup chopped fennel (reserve some fennel fronds for garnish)

¼ cup Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon apple cider vinaigrette (optional – recipe follows)

1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

¼ teaspoon Chinese five spice powder

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

A handful of chopped, toasted walnuts

Heat butter or olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add apple, celery, and onion and cook about three minutes. Stir in fennel, sprinkle with salt, and cook another minute or two. Toss in the potatoes, sprinkle with a bit more salt, a few grinds of pepper and the 5-spice powder. Cook until potatoes get a little browned.

Mix yogurt with apple cider vinaigrette (if using) and stir into potato mixture. Add the shredded cheddar and stir until cheese melts. Stir in the walnuts. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve topped with poached or fried eggs, fennel fronds and a side of toast for a hearty breakfast. Serves 2-4.

Apple Cider Vinaigrette
From Edible Twin Cities: The Cookbook

1 cup apple cider

1 honeycrisp apple, peeled, cored, and chopped

½ cup cider vinegar

1 tablespoon grainy mustard

1 tablespoon honey

¼ cup canola or grapeseed oil

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a small saucepan, bring cider to a boil and cook at a low boil until it’s reduced by half.

Place the apple in a food processor. With the machine running, drizzle in the vinegar, mustard, honey, and reduced cider; puree until smooth. With the machine running, add the oils in a steady stream and process until the mixture emulsifies. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

 

 

Date Walnut Oat Balls

Psst…come here…I have a secret to share. It’s my new guilty pleasure, orbs of decadence, all sweet and satisfying, with a tantalizing texture reminiscent of cookie dough. Walnut Date Oat Balls! The best part of the secret? You don’t have to feel guilty about ‘em! They’re vegan, gluten-free, raw, without processed sugar, all that good stuff…but…they taste amazing and they are incredibly easy to make.

I came across the recipe a couple weeks ago while reading the online version of the Fargo newspaper. It’s been almost 18 years since I moved away, but the internet keeps me connected and they really do have a quality paper, which seems increasingly rare these days.

The column accompanying the recipe suggests eating these tasty treats when that mid-morning hunger starts gnawing at you, but you’re still frustratingly far from lunch time. So that’s my plan—I’ll bring a couple Walnut Date Oat Balls to work and keep them in the freezer till the need arises to stave off pangs that make me go in search of a candy dish to raid or head to the break room in hopes a co-worker has brought something yummy to share. I can’t wait!

Walnut Date Oat Balls
From The Great Indoors with Tracy Briggs in the Fargo Forum

2 cups raw walnuts
1 cup packed, pitted Medjool dates
1 cup rolled or quick oats
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup raisins (I used golden raisins)

Process walnuts in food processor until they are almost like butter. Add the dates and process until it becomes like cookie dough in texture. Then add the oats, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Process a little longer, then add the raisins and process just until they are combined.

Shape into balls about 1 ½ inches in diameter and freeze. They are the perfect texture straight from the freezer. Enjoy!