Cauliflower Pizza

I had assumed my pizza days were numbered after learning more about the dangers of refined grains until a friend suggested I check out cauliflower crust. I used a cheese grater to shred a head of cauliflower and threw in parmesan cheese, two eggs, rosemary and basil from my plants outside, and some salt and pepper. In the future, I will probably consider adding oregano and/or parsley to the crust mixture when my basil plants are no more. I cooked the crust for about 15-20 minutes on the pizza stone and then added sliced tomato, zucchini, artichoke, mozzarella, feta, and crushed red pepper. Needless to say, this was unbelievable. In the second round I got impatient, took the pizza out early, and lost some of the structure as a result. The key is definitely to cook the crust long enough to achieve the crispy texture. I'm glad I can continue to explore the pizza format!

Brule Paddle

This past weekend, four folks and I paddled ~20 miles down the Brule river in northern Wisconsin. Although we saw quite a few trout and salmon, we were not able to snag anything on our lines. Good thing we had stocked up on Aldi's canned salmon! Friday evening, we cooked up some salmon burgers with green peppers, onions, eggs, bread crumbs, and cajun seasoning. We added sliced tomato and wrapped them in cabbage leaves- pretty tasty. Later that night we cut some bananas lengthwise, filled the gap with nutella and marshmallows, wrapped them in foil, and cooked them on the coals. Saturday breakfast was eggs with cheddar cheese and a mixture of sauteed onions, broccoli, and green peppers. That evening I made my "vegetable pasta" (no refined grains included, the vegetables serve as a sort of pasta) with kale, cabbage, onions, green peppers, chopped almonds, parmesan cheese, and plenty of berbere. Gone are the days of eating crappy food on camping trips! The first day my steering abilities were tested by the many rocks in the river; I had to get out of the canoe to navigate some of the gnarlier rapids. There is really no greater feeling than being totally in the moment with one foot in the water paddling long stretches of whitewater. Saturday the logs strewn about the river were the main challenge, but I duffed for most of the day and manned the radio. I was tuning into some bluegrass and blues programs on the KUMD, which comes in better as you move further down the river towards Superior. Just an amazing trip: perfect weather, delicious food, and great company.

Breakfast Zucchini

The dishes keep getting uglier and uglier. I very loosely followed the recipe on Carolyn's blog http://primaltightwad.blogspot.com/2013/08/zucchini-meeny-miny-moe.html, substituting butter for coconut oil and sweetening with coconut milk instead of stevia. In the interest of time, I kept the skin and the seeds in the mix as well. I did not quite achieve the mashed texture, but with a little bit of cinnamon and Holy Land's Ras El-Hanout blend (per Carolyn's recommendation), this ended up being a great late breakfast.

Eggplant & Zucchini Curry

Credit goes to Carolyn again here. I had plenty of eggplant and zucchini left, so I started with yesterday's leftover ratatouille juices (frozen overnight) and then added chopped red onion, red bell pepper, eggplant, zucchini, Holy Land's Curry blend and cayenne pepper, and some coconut milk towards the end (I couldn't resist licking the lid). In retrospect, I may have let it simmer a bit too long and probably could have used more garlic. It ain't pretty, but tastes great! I still have half of the zucchini and no classes tomorrow, so you can look forward to my rendition of (you guessed it) Carolyn's breakfast zucchini.

Ratatouille!

I was at the N Lyndale Farmers' Market a week or two ago and found some of the biggest zucchinis and eggplants I have ever seen. I know the larger vegetables tend to be less nutrient-dense, but the sheer novelty of it all was too much to pass up. I then realized that I had never cooked eggplant before and turned to one of my main sources of culinary advice and inspiration, Carolyn, who suggested ratatouille! I skimmed the online recipes, and decided to include eggplant, zucchini, red and green bell peppers, tomatoes, plenty of garlic, and a large yellow onion and seasoned it mostly with salt, parsley, and thyme. I'm kicking myself because I forgot to add a few basil leaves from my plants outside, which even after a major harvest have nearly returned to full strength. Anyway, this was absolutely fantastic; I enjoyed one serving with a little bit of feta and froze the rest for my future self. Despite its size, the zucchini was not too woody and softened up nicely. On a side note, I love cooking at the Students' Co-op (my new home), especially for the set of cast iron skillets which live on the stove and absorb the flavors from the meals of 25+ Co-opers. It's also fun to have a gigantic spice collection, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil at my disposal free of charge!