Oven Roasted Cauliflower

We are on a diet  that involves eating lots and lots of veggies. After a while, eating steamed veggies gets old and boring. So I looked for alternatives and  started reading about how popular roasted veggies are right now. Apparently, roasting veggies makes their tastes explode into amazingness (that's as scientific as I get about my food). :)  So I decided to make a roasted cauliflower recipe that I found at OnePerfectBite. I admit that I was sceptical. It just seemed too simple to be "that amazing". 

But then I tried it. And it was so good that I was sad about only using one cauliflower head. I wanted more and more and more. Paul felt the same way. The cauliflower dish was supposed to be a side for two dinners in a row, but we loved it so much we ate it all on the first day. I don't like garlic all that much, but apparently, when it is roasted, it becomes delicious. I was seriously licking out the remnants of garlic from the pan after dinner. I will be making this dish many, many times in my life from now on and I really urge you all to try it! Hopefully, you all become addicted to eating this healthy like we have...

Ingredients:

1 medium head cauliflower (about 2-1/4 pounds), trimmed and cut into florets

3 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions: 
Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Combine cauliflower and garlic in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Transfer, in a single layer, to a large rimmed baking sheet. Roast at 450 degrees F for about 25 minutes, stirring once. Sprinkle with cheese. Don't use cheap parmesan: use the real thing and I guarantee that you will go crazy for more of this delicious dish. Enjoy!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

                              

Asiago Herb Bread

This bread is the easiest bread I have ever made and by far the most delicious. Besides the ease of getting the ingredients (I always have everything at hand except a block of asiago cheese), I love that the recipe makes 2 loaves. Seriously, the herbs and asiago cheese mingle together to make my stomach and my heart happy for days at a time. :)

I found this recipe at FoodiewithFamily almost a year ago, and I have probably made it once every month (on average) since then. The hardest part of this recipe is keeping the bread in the oven until it is done. See this picture of the bread? It is not golden brown over the entire thing, so the center was a bit doughy, especially on the loaf in the front. The smell was so intoxicating and I was so hungry that I couldn't bear the idea of waiting any longer to eat a piece. Even with the doughy center, however, it was still amazingly delicious bread and it was a great side with all the soups that we have been eating lately.

Ingredients:

• 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 1- 1/2 cups plus 2/3 cup (or more) grated Asiago cheese, divided
• 2 Tablespoons dry yeast
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 Tablespoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon dried Italian Seasoning
• 1 teaspoon dried Rosemary
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (adjust up or down according to heat preference)
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic (optional)
• 2 cups hot tap water (around 120-130 degrees)
• 4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided, plus a little for the bowl

Directions:

1) In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, 1.5 cups of Asiago cheese, yeast, sugar, salt, and seasonings.

2) Pour in the hot water and stir approx. 100 times.

3) Knead the dough on a floured board for 8 minutes. Form the dough into a ball.

4) Drizzle some olive oil in the mixing bowl and spread it around the edges. Place the dough-ball into the bowl and turn over a few times to coat with olive oil. Cover with a damp paper towel.

5) Allow the dough to rise for 15-20 minutes (check at 15 minutes to see if the dough is fluffy/risen. If not, add another 5 minutes).

6) Punch down the dough.

7) Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. Form them into rounds (basically what you want your bread to look like afterward).

8) Use a sharp knife to make an 'X' shape about 1/4 inch deep over the top of the loaves.

9) Put them on the pan and drizzle the tops with olive oil (putting them on the pan avoids mess on your counters). Spread the olive oil around and then top with additional Asiago. Put as much cheese as possible on it for a perfectly delicious taste. :)

10) Place the pan in a cold oven over a loaf/cake pan filled with hot tap water.

11) Set oven to 400 degrees F and immediately put the timer on for 40 minutes. Begin checking the bread when the timer goes off. If it is still light colored, add more time. I have never needed more than 10 minutes of additional time. Remove the bread when it is a beautiful golden brown color. Enjoy the best bread EVER! :)

Comments:

*The only comment I have is that if you wanted to use a food processor or a fancy blender, you can check her website for that information. I like to be old-fashioned and use my hands. :)

Slovenian Mushroom Soup

Okay, it's been a while, and I have all these recipes that I need to add to this blog. Time to get started!

Apologies for this poor-quality picture. This mushroom soup contains wine, and whenever I cook with wine, the smell is so fantastic that I can't help but eat it as soon as possible! After making the mistake on day one, I told myself that on day two of the soup, I would take pictures. I took this one and then forgot to take another picture of it displayed nicely in a bowl because once again, the smell of the wine made me stop thinking and just devour the soup in front of me!

This soup is amazingly delicious, very simple/easy to make, and very healthy. It is everything that I love about soup. :) I LOVED the clear broth, the texture of the mushrooms, the wine added to the broth. YUM YUM YUM! I will make this soup again and again in my future. I hope you enjoy it too!

I found the recipe at oneperfectbite, a blog that I discovered and enjoy. I changed some things about it, but the recipes at that blog are def. worth checking out! For this soup, use any combo of mushrooms that you desire. I used 10 oz. of normal grocery store mushrooms and 4 oz. of shittake mushrooms and it was really good. Someday, when we move, I will join a foraging mushroom club and use wild mushrooms in the soup. Or, if you are blessed with a good grocery store nearby, you could try new/foreign mushrooms to open up new possibilities for your palette. :) This soup made 4 hearty servings which lasted for two meals with a slice of bread on the side.

Ingredients:
*5 tbsp. butter
*1 onion, chopped
*14 oz. mushrooms, sliced
*1 tbsp. flour
*2-4 cloves minced garlic
*2 red potatoes, cubed (with skin on)
*4 cups of vegetable broth
*1/2 cup of water
*spices (I used marjoram and thyme from the garden)
*1/2 cup of white wine
*salt to taste
*Sour cream (optional topping)

Directions:
1) Melt the butter and saute the onion until it is tender. Stir in the flour and garlic, stir constantly for 1 minute.

2) Stir in the mushrooms, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Add the broth, water, and spices of your choice.

3) Bring to a boil and then simmer on low for 10 minutes. After this, add the potatoes. Simmer on low for 5-10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Add the wine and salt to taste. Pour into bowls and serve with a spoonful of sour cream and a slice of your fave bread if interested. Enjoy!

Comments:

*You can use dried mushrooms if you want. Simply pour warm milk over them in a separate bowl for a few minutes, drain the milk and add the mushrooms to your soup. I used fresh mushrooms in mine this time.

*The original recipe used white potatoes, so if you have a preference for them, you can use them instead of red potatoes. Also, if you don't like potato skins, you can peel them for the soup. I really enjoyed the taste of red potatoes and their skins in this soup, but everyone has different tastes, so I wanted you to know of other options.

*There isn't much to say, really. This soup is easy to make and has only a few ingredients and tasted fantastic. It's hard to go wrong with a soup like this!