Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Cauliflower Overload & Healthy Shepherd's Pie Recipe

This recipe was inspired by one of those last-minute improvisation meals. I had some leftover meatless ground beef and a head of cauliflower in the fridge. Ok I'll admit that I bought three heads of cauliflower at the grocery store that week because they were on sale. I'm a sucker for a deal on produce!



What did a gal do with all that cauliflower? As per usual, I cut some up and froze it. I also made Cauliflower Buffalo Wings from the PETA website, which were fantastic by the way.
I had some similar "wings" at a local Ottawa restaurant and was inspired to make some at home. They turned out really good, even omnis approved!



I still had lots of cauliflower left so I made a Cauliflower-cream mac and cheese dish.  This is my favorite homemade mac and cheese sauce to make, comparatively to cashew or non-dairy cheese based recipes. I'm still tweaking my recipe for this, so stay tuned!



After this, I STILL had more cauliflower! What's a girl to do? Cauliflower mash. And then I put it in a shepherd's pie. How very French-Canadian of me ;)

I made them in individual servings because it's easy to serve and keep extras for lunches. And of course, because they are so much cuter!

Mini Healthy Shepherd's Pies

Ingredients:

For the cauliflower mash: Roughly 2 cups of chopped cauliflower
1/4 - 1/3 cup of potato starch or potato flour (depending on how thick you like your mash)
1/2 cup of nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon of vegan butter or oil (optional)
1 teaspoon of onion powder
A dash of garlic powder
A dash of salt

For the shepherd's pie: 3-4 small ramekins
1 batch of cauliflower mash (above)
1 cup of meatless ground beef
1/2 cup of canned corn (I used creamed corn but you can use regular corn if you like)
1 tablespoon of ground flaxseeds (also called flaxseed meal)
2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast
Ketchup, for serving (optional)

Directions:

Boil the chopped cauliflower in a saucepan for 15-20 minutes until it is soft. A fork should slide easily through the pieces. Drain out most of the water. You want it to be damp, but not so wet that you have a soup at the bottom. Add in the potato starch, nutritional yeast, vegan butter or oil, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and mix thoroughly. It should have a thick consistency like mashed potatoes.


Preheat the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Divide your meatless ground beef between your ramekins and pat down to make a somewhat smooth surface. Spread the corn on top the same way. Scoop out some cauliflower mash and fill the ramekin to the top. I like to smooth out the top again but that's totally optional. Sprinkle the flaxseeds and nutritional yeast on top of the mash. This will make a kind of crust and will turn golden in the oven.


Place the ramekins in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until the mash starts to brown slightly. Wait 10 minutes to serve, they will be very hot. Serve with ketchup if that's your thing. Enjoy!


Thursday, August 6, 2015

Restaurant: A Thing for Chocolate

I have a thing for A Thing for Chocolate. That's right, I've been there many times and I won't stop! There's buzz going on about this hidden gem in the Hintonburg neighbourhood of Ottawa. They even received a Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor! The French-themed restaurant has an extensive menu of sweet and savory crepes, coffee and mocha drinks. 


The owner, Omar, has developped a seperate vegan crepe menu and keeps