Cauliflowah in Chowdah

It’s chilly out, and all I want is comfort food. Comfort food to me means carbs and cream. Pasta, pastries, chowder, chocolate. I could go on.

Last week, I inhaled two bowls of clam chowder at work and immediately felt sluggish the rest of the afternoon.

Sigh, my craving for comfort food completely contradicts my desire to eat healthy.

Until this week.

I found a delicious and nutritious substitute for cream in my soups, stews, and chowders: pureed cauliflower.

One serving of cauliflower has 100% of our daily recommended amount of vitamin C and is high in fiber (source). Not to mention, cauliflower is super versatile to cook with and can often be found in grocery stores plastic-free. So many wins.

Here’s how I used pureed cauliflower this week in my chicken pot pie chowder:

Ingredients

• 1 small head of cauliflower

• 1 small yellow onion

• 3 cups of chicken broth

• 2 cups of shredded chicken

• 2 cups of frozen corn

• 2 cups of frozen peas

• 2 cups of diced carrots

• 2 cups of diced potatoes

• 1 cup of almond milk

• 1 tablespoon of ghee

• 2 teaspoons of thyme

• 2 teaspoons of chili powder

• 1 teaspoon of turmeric

• Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Side note: I roasted a whole chicken the day before, made broth from the bones, and shredded the breasts for the chowder.

2. Cut the cauliflower into large pieces.

3. Bring the broth and cauliflower to a boil in a large pot; cook until the cauliflower is tender. Let cool.

4. Dice the onions, carrots, and potatoes.

5. Blend the broth and cauliflower until smooth. Keep it in the blender for a moment.

6. In the empty pot, heat up the ghee. Soften the onions, carrots, and potatoes until the onions are translucent.

7. Add the pureed cauliflower and almond milk to the pot.

8. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Add the seasonings, frozen corn, and frozen peas.

9. Chowder is done once the potatoes are tender.

10. Enjoy!

Takes Two to Mango

Another recipe inspired by Samin Nosrat, this mango pie is a paleo version of the one she recently wrote about in The New York Times. While sitting on the bus home on Friday, I was super pumped for the weekend and excited to cook in the kitchen (weekends are usually the only time I get to do any real cooking). This is V0 of my mango pie. Hopefully I’ll learn to perfect it in years to come :)

Ingredients for the custard

• 2.5 cups of mango puree (about 3-4 mangoes)

• 1 pack of gelatin

• 1 tablespoon of honey

• 2 teaspoons of lemon juice

• 1 egg

• 2 tablespoons of tapioca flour

• Pinch of salt

Ingredients for the crust

• 1/4 cup of honey

• 1/3 cup of coconut oil or ghee

• 1 egg

• 2/3 cup of coconut flour

• 1/4 cup of tapioca flour

• Pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Mix the crust ingredients together. Roll the dough into a ball and freeze.

2. Blend all the custard ingredients together.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

4. Roll out the crust and press evenly into a pie tin. Poke holes in the bottom with a fork.

5. Bake the crust for 10-15 min.

6. Lower the oven to 325 degrees F.

7. Pour the custard mix into the pie tin.

8. Bake for another 18-20 min.

9. Let the pie cool and then when it’s room temp, put it in the fridge to set some more.

Almost Focaccia in the Oven

I try my best to stick to a paleo-ish diet but for some reason, all I want to do is make bread and pasta. I think it has to do with Bob’s Burgers and The Great British Baking Show being the only two TV shows I ever watch.

A couple months ago, I took a sourdough baking class at The Mill in San Francisco. The ingredients are simple but the process takes forever. From growing the starter to proofing the dough, baking good bread is a waiting game.

So when I watched Salt, Fat, Acid Heat, I was amazed how easily Samin Nosrat whipped up Ligurian Focaccia. No need for a starter and the main wait can take place overnight. But even Samin’s recipe takes some babysitting, so I took bits and pieces from hers and The Cafe Sucre Farine to create a super easy focaccia.

Ingredients for the dough

• 4 cups of all purpose flour

• 2.25 teaspoons or 1 packet of yeast

• 2 cups of warm water

• 2 teaspoons of honey

• 1 teaspoons of salt

• 1/3 cup of olive oil

Ingredients for the brine

• 1/3 cup of warm water

• 1 teaspoon of salt

Instructions

1. Mix the dry ingredients together.

2. Add the warm water to the mix.

3. Cover the bowl with a dish towel for 8-24 hours (or in my case, overnight).

4. In the morning, drop a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a 9-inch cake pan. Make sure olive oil generously coats the bottom and sides of the pan.

5. Give the dough a couple more kneads and place it in the pan. Note, the dough will be really sticky but that’s okay. It’ll spread nicely in the pan if you give the pan a few shakes.

6. Drizzle some more olive oil over the top of the dough.

7. Cover the pan with a dish towel for 45 min.

8. Check on the dough and dimple it with your fingers.

9. Mix the brine ingredients together until the salt dissolves. Pour the brine over the dough to fill the dimples.

10. Proof for another 30-45 min.

11. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

12. Sprinkle the dough with salt and add whatever toppings you want: rosemary, cherry tomatoes, red onion slices, olives, etc.

13. Bake for 30-35 min.

San Francisco Eats

I didn’t understand San Francisco cuisine until I lived here. And now, I’m obsessed. Here are some of my favorites so far:

Kingdom of Dumpling for comfort Chinese food and of course, the delectable dumplings

Flour + Water made me appreciate the art of pasta

Ananda Fuara (the vegan chocolate cake was delicious)

Hong Kong Lounge II for the best dim sum

Plow for amazing brunch (and I don’t even like brunch food that much)

Pho Vietnam for hot soup on a chilly day

Z&Y is my favorite place in Chinatown

Yuzuki Japanese Eatery for authentic, non-sushi Japanese food

Not technically San Francisco but Chez Panisse in Berkeley for quintessential Californian cuisine

When Life Gives You Bananas

...make banana bread!

My parents buy an entire case of bananas each week, which results in a lot of banana bread.

Over the weekend, I baked this beautiful mound of banana bread for my dad. It's a yummy whole wheat version. I also made a second batch in a muffin tin for my grandpa. Both were a hit!

INGREDIENTS

• 4 medium bananas (3 mashed and 1 sliced for the top)
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup of coconut oil
• 1/3 cup of maple syrup
• 1/2 cup of almond milk
• 1.5 cups of whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup of coconut flour
• 1/2 cup of coconut flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• Dash of cinnamon
• Dash of ginger
• Dash of allspice
• Dash of cardamom
• Dash of vanilla
• Sprinkle of salt
• Bag of chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Using an immersion blender, mix the wet ingredients.
2. Add the dry ingredients.
3. Blend well.
4. Fold in the chocolate chips
5. Grease a loaf pan or a muffin pan.
6. If you're baking in a loaf pan, slice the remaining fourth banana length-wise and place on top of the batter.
7. Bake for about an hour for the loaf or 25 minutes for the muffins.

Drinking Liquid Gold

In Chinese, turmeric translates to yellow ginger. In my mind, turmeric translates to liquid gold because of its health benefits. Also, because everything turmeric touches literally turns into the color of gold.

The first time I made golden milk, I didn't care for the taste at all. But, I forced it down because I knew I needed the nutrients. After a couple of tries, I think I got the ingredients down for the way I like to drink it:

• 1 cup of almond milk
• 1 tablespoon of freshly grated turmeric root
• 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon of ghee
• Sprinkle of cardamom
• Sprinkle of cinnamon
• Drop of honey

Making a Dutch Baby

Earlier this week, my husband introduced me to the Netflix show, "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee". In the show, Jerry Seinfeld meets up with his comedian friends in fancy cars and they get coffee together. The conversations they have are, not surprisingly, hilarious. But, I was more interested in the diners and cafes they go to for coffee. In one particular episode, Jerry asks Larry David to try a bite of a pancake for, presumably, the first time. And ever since I watched that episode, I couldn't get pancakes out of my head. I needed to eat a pancake immediately.

Yesterday, I had buttermilk pancakes for breakfast and Japanese pancakes for dinner. And still, my pancake craving was not satisfied. I woke up this morning thinking about a Dutch baby (also known as a "German pancake"). I've always wanted to order Dutch babies at restaurants but they usually have a long wait time, so I settle for a stack of regular pancakes instead. Making a Dutch baby on my own never even crossed my mind. I think it's because Dutch babies look intimidating to make, with their perfectly golden crusts caving up from the sides. There must be some secret to making Dutch babies that I'm just not privy to.

I decided to give it a go. The worst that could happen is that I make something that's pancake-like and I smother it in syrup and eat it anyway. What I discovered is that making a Dutch baby is even easier for me than making regular pancakes. I didn't have to worry about pouring precise ladles of batter on a griddle or watching each pancake like a hawk to make sure it didn't burn. Dutch babies are much simpler - I made the batter, poured it into the skillet, and left it in the oven for 20 min.

What resulted was a beautiful Dutch baby which to me, tasted like a cross between a crepe and a waffle. The only pancake thing about it was its shape. They're delicious paired with chopped fruit or simply powdered sugar and a squeeze of lemon.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup of almond milk
• 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons of sugar
• Dash of salt
• Dash of almond extract

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Drop the butter in an oven-safe skillet.
3. Place the skillet in the oven while it's pre-heating. This will allow the butter to melt.
4. While the oven warms up, put all the other ingredients (eggs, almond milk, flour, sugar, salt, and extract) in a blender.
5. Blend for 30 seconds or until the batter is light and frothy.
6. Check on the skillet to make sure the butter has completely melted.
7. Once the butter has completely melted, take the skillet out of the oven.
8. Carefully rotate the skillet with both hands so that the melted butter gradually covers the inner sides of the skillet. (This will keep the sides of the Dutch baby from burning.)
9. Pour the batter into the skillet.
10. Place the skillet in the oven at 425 degrees for 20-25 min.