Roasted Spiced Cauliflower with Sumac #GardenCuizine #NNM

Roasted Sumac Spiced Cauliflower 

This National Nutrition Month explore new foods and enjoy the taste of eating right. Try this tasty side dish of roasted cauliflower with sumac. Simply toss chopped cauliflower with olive oil and seasonings and roast until desired doneness. The spices add extra nutrients, plus a speckle of color to the cauliflower. Sumac in particular, adds beneficial antioxidants and anthocyanins. Roasting vegetables brings out delicious flavor.

What is Sumac?
Sumac comes from ground dried berries that grow on sumac shrubs in Sicily, Turkey, North Africa, Iran, Afghanistan and elsewhere. According to Penzys Spices, Sumac (Rhus coriaria) was used for its sour flavor before the arrival of lemons in Europe by the ancient Romans. Today, you'll find sumac used in Arabic spice blends such as Za'atar or as a tabletop Middle Eastern condiment. Sumac taste has a slightly bitter/sour flavor, but is much less acidic and not anywhere near as tart as lemon.

Ingredients
1 small head fresh cauliflower
1 tablespoon sumac
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese 
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Putting it all together
preheat oven to 350°F

Chop cauliflower into bite size pieces. Rinse in strainer; air dry. In a large bowl: toss with olive oil, grated cheese and spices. Spread in a baking dish and bake to desired tenderness. We bake it uncovered for at least 20 minutes before loosely covering with foil and continued roasting until tender. For a complete meal, serve as a side vegetable along with lean protein and whole grain.

Note: some sumac spices may have salt mixed in, even if it is not on the label; taste it and use your judgement. We use sumac from Palestine; it sure tastes like it has salt mixed in. Additional salt is usually NOT necessary, especially if using Parmesan cheese.

Buon Appetito!
Related Links
Eating Healthy with Cruciferous Vegetables
Photos and blog post Copyright ©2014 Wind. All rights reserved.

Sautéed Kale with roasted Tahini Sauce #GardenCuizine favorite!

Nutrient Dense

Sautéed Kale
with roasted Tahini Sauce

Back in the day, a favorite staple at my health food restaurant was Kale drizzled with tahini sauce. This was 15-25 years ago when Kale was not even popular in the main stream. Our health conscious customers would eat their kale and always comment "What was on the greens?" We sold many bottles of Helen's Pure Foods Michele's Sesame Tahini dressing back then. Michele's dressing is still available in the Philadelphia area if you want to check it out. Tahini dressing is high in fat*, so use it sparingly. *heart healthy monounsaturated fat from the pureed sesame seeds. You can whip up your own sesame tahini sauce at home too. All you need is some roasted tahini.

Many sesame tahini brands are on the market; look for roasted versus raw for best flavor. I often use Joyva brand. Having the highest oil content of any seed, sesame tahini will have a layer of oil on top even more than what you see with pure, natural peanut butter. It takes a little patience initially to cut into the settled brick of nut paste. Slowly cut and mix it to an emulsified consistency; it will be liquidy and much thinner than peanut butter. After mixing, store sesame tahini in the refrigerator and use as needed. Tahini adds flavor to homemade hummus recipes too.

Nutrient Dense Kale
Cruciferous vegetables include kale, cabbage, kohlrabi, cauliflower, collards, arugula, mustard greens, horseradish, broccoli, bok choy, watercress and Brussels sprouts. They are all cole crop members of the botanical genus Brassica. Kale (Brassica oleracea) has a long history and has been cultivated in kitchen gardens for over 2,000 years. 

Brassica veggies provide a wealth of nutrition and health benefits. Beneficial compounds may help prevent cancer. Boiling may decrease the bioavailability of beneficial glucosinolates, so steaming or sautéing is recommended as a preferable cooking method. Eat more of these vegetables as part of your healthy diet. To make Kale with roasted tahini dressing here's what you will need:

Serves 4 (with plenty of extra dressing to save for another time)
Ingredients
bunch Kale - from your garden or from the market - organic preferably
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
clove garlic
1/8 teaspoon dried hot pepper - optional
 
Tahini dressing:
4 tablespoons roasted sesame tahini
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
splash low sodium soy sauce
splash hot chili sesame oil

Putting it all together

• Rinse kale; no need to use a salad spinner to dry kale; any water on the leaves will help cook the kale
• Pull kale off stems and break into bite size pieces using your hands; set aside in a strainer
• chop the kale stems into small pieces
• chop the onion
• Mince garlic and if desired, pinch dried hot pepper from your garden

In a small bowl, combine tahini dressing ingredients and gently whisk until well blended. Taste and adjust seasonings to taste; add more or less water to desired consistency. Set aside.  

In a wok or large skillet, heat olive oil - sauté chopped onion and kale stems until onion is transparent and kale bits are tender. Add garlic, stir. Add kale and stir. Add a little (1-3 tablespoons) water, cover and simmer until tender.

Serve kale drizzled with tahini dressing and enjoy!

Grow your own Kale
Seeds are available from many providers. Look for heirlooms.

• Italian Lacinato Nero di Toscana 
• Dwarf Blue curled Scotch Kale
• Red Russian Kale 
• Redbor

GardenCuizine Kale Nutrition Data:  approximately 2 cup raw/ 1 cup sautéed Kale (not including other ingredients)
Excellent source: Vitamin A, vitamin C, Vitamin K, Copper, Manganese, Isothiocyanates
Good source: dietary Fiber, Thiamin, Riboflavin, vitamin B6, Folate, Calcium, Potassium

Dietary Fiber 2.6g (10% DV); Protein 4.4g (8% DV); omega 3 fatty acids 242 mg; Vitamin A 20,604 IU (412% DV WOW!);  Vitamin C 160mg (268% DV); Vitamin K 1,094 mcg (1,368% DV); Thiamin 0.2mg (10% DV); Riboflavin 0.2mg (10% DV); Vitamin B6 0.4mg (18% DV); Folate 38mcg (10% DV); Calcium 181mg (18% DV); Potassium 598mg (18% DV); Copper 0.4mg (20% DV); Manganese 1.0mg (52% DV)

Related Links
Growing Cole Crops 
Crispy Kale Chips
Eat More Kale - but Make Sure it's Edible Kale
Photo collage and blog post Copyright (C)2013 Wind. All rights reserved.