Fresh cauliflower pulsed or grated into small rice pieces then stir fried is a delicious, low carb / low calorie substitute for rice in your favorite fried rice recipe. To me it tastes just like restaurant fried rice but it’s so good that my family gobbles it up when I cook it.
Watch how we did it, and try it, you’ll enjoy it.
Summer flavors blend to make perfect sauces. You can play with any combination. We combined tomato, nuts, extra virgin oil with basil, garlic and cheese! Perfect on pasta or spiraled veggies. Cold or heat. Tastes great as leftovers too or as a dip with crudités.
Switch up the herbs and nuts, have fun with the fresh flavors!
Love summer squash? Try it spiraled and enjoy as a pasta substitute. We boil it for a few minutes, just like you do with pasta.
It’s simple. Spiral or ribbon, boil, drain, squeeze extra water out in a clean towel, them dress with your favorite topping.
Pan frying is another option, as well as microwaving but lately we enjoyed it boiled as described above.
Mix together with spaghetti too for a less filling pasta option.
Tangy, crisp, acidic Green Tomatoes become sweeter and mellower when air-fried. Enjoy the traditional flavor of corn meal coating or combine with almond meal as we did here. For a twist, we created a “mock” buttermilk egg dip using fat free Greek yogurt! Karen & Marni show you how they did it with the Philips airfryer.
Ask Karen and she’ll tell you she’s on the “air-fryer diet” – it’s one of her favorite kitchen tools. Of course you can bake this recipe too at 350F on a lightly greased baking sheet for 30 to 45 minutes until tender (but still firm).
Don’t forget a dash of salt on top when hot out of oven, and stay tuned for the Garlicky Basil Aioli topping recipe soon.
You vary the amounts of ingredients depending on your need and pressure cooker size, and of course this recipe is great no matter how you cook the potatoes!
Ingredients:
6 lbs red-skinned potatoes (fork-prick tops)
6 cloves garlic (peeled & chopped)
1 cup water or stock for cooking
12 oz sour cream
1 stick butter (melted)
1/2 – 1 cup milk (or half-and-half)
8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)
1/2 – 1 lb bacon (cooked crispy & chopped)
6 green onions (thinly sliced)
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
Pepper to taste
Step 1: Scrub red-skinned potatoes (or other variety) and prick with fork. Half larger potatoes.
Step 2: Place in pressure cooker with 1 cup water or stock, adding salt and garlic to mixture.
Step 3: Cook potatoes on high pressure for 8 minutes (stovetop cooker) to 10 minutes (electric cooker). Carefully use quick release method to open pressure cooker, or wait until it naturally releases.
Step 4: Drain potatoes and then use a masher (or ricer) to mash the potatoes (reserving some cooking liquid to add back in if needed later). Mix in butter, sour cream, and milk in stages stirring as you go to check for consistency.
Step 5: Mix in shredded sharp cheddar cheese, chopped scallions, and chopped bacon, reserving some of all for the top.
Step 6: Check salt and pepper level – adjust according to taste.
Step 7: If serving that day, keep pressure cooker on warm and it’s ready to enjoy when you’re ready to party. Recipe also reheats well, but might want to reserve some chopped crisp bacon, cheese, and green onions for top for when you reheat.
AVOID GUMMY MASHED POTATOES: Draining potatoes before mashing, as well as using a masher or ricer instead of a food processor, electric mixer, or immersion blender to mash the potatoes helps avoid the dreaded gummy mashed potato.
Recipe is inspired by Shellery’s recipe but adapted to be lower fat and a faster cook time.
Ingredients
1 head fresh raw cauliflower, florets
1-3 garlic cloves, minced (~2tbsp)
1-3 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp breadcrumbs
salt and pepper to taste
Optional: chopped fresh herbs for topping
Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash and cut cauliflower into evenly sized florets, smaller will cook faster. Mince garlic. Toss garlic, oil, and cauliflower florets to coat and add to greased baking tray. Salt and pepper as desired.
Bake at 450 degrees for 13 minutes, then remove and stir. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs (or in our case some leftover whole wheat matzo meal).
Bake for an additional 5-6 minutes until topping is golden brown.
If your cauliflower florets are larger, then you might want to stir cauliflower at 13 minutes, return to oven for an additional five minutes and then proceed to cheese and crumb topping step.
Eating beets raw and sliced very thin gives a crunch and nutrition boost from this My Copenhagen Kitchen inspired pickled beet recipe.
Recipe
3-4 beets
½ cup white wine vinegar
1 cup filtered water
1 tsp salt
(add 1 tbsp sugar or honey for a sweeter recipe)
Directions
Peel and slice the beets as thin as possible – a mandolin makes this easier. Combine vinegar, water and salt in a jar, stir or shake to combine. Add thinly sliced beets and marinate for several days before eating.
We vacuum sealed in mason jars and stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks to enjoy when we wanted. The vacuum-sealing process also speeds the marinating process by drawing the liquid through the veggie in the vacuum seal process but this is not shelf-stable – it must be refrigerated!
Directions
Soak the corn in the cob in cold water for 30 minutes. Place on the preheated grill. Cook for 15-20 minutes, turning every 5 minutes. Remove corn from heat and peel back and enjoy. The silks peel back very easily and the corn is moist. Add butter, salt or nothing at all. The corn is nice and sweet and tender.
If you want a variation, you can add melted butter, minced herbs and other seasonings to the husks before cooking, but in this case you are opening the corn and removing the silk in advance of cooking. This works well if you wish to cook corn in a packet or on indirect heat. You would close up the husks as tightly as possible also.
We were heading to an afternoon BBQ and wanted to bring something easy but delicious … and so this salad was born.
Variations of this could include adding some feta cheese, or using cilantro/lime combo instead of basil/lemon combo for more of a salsa feel. Anyway you chop it you will be so happy you did. If you are lucky enough to have leftovers, refrigerate and enjoy over several days with the flavors intensifying in a very pleasing way.
Ingredients (party-sized to fit half a watermelon shell, adjust as needed – this is a very forgiving recipe):
4-5 large Ripe Tomato
5-6 Pickling Cucumbers
10 Small Radishes
Basil bunch
Can of Pink Beans (or kidney beans, chickpeas)
Olive oil (quarter-cup or more to taste)
White balsamic vinegar (quarter-cup or more to taste)
Juice of half a lemon
Salt and Pepper to taste (we used 1/4 teaspoon of both as a starting point)
Watermelon shell (for easy serving at a party)
Step 1:
Wash veggies well including the basil (which you can blot or spin dry).
Step 2:
Chop, chop, chop … tomatoes, cucumbers into chunky bite sized pieces. Trim and slice thin pieces of radish. Combine in a big bowl using care to not lose the tomato liquid from chopping (so much flavor there).
Step 3:
Remove basil leaves from stems then using a scissors to cut the basil into strips and add to veggies in the bowl.
Step 4:
Rinse canned beans to reduce starch, drain and add to chopped veggies. Mix well to distribute.
Step 5:
Make the dressing by mixing oil, vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. We started with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper and adjusted after 10 minutes to taste adding more as needed. If you need more vinegar or oil add it but as this salad sits more juice is released from the tomatoes.
Step 6:
Transfer veggie salad to hollowed watermelon half (and if you are adventurous you can even add some of the watermelon to the salad)
When I think of summer I think of tomatoes, cucumbers and fresh Gazy Brothers Farm veggies. Panzanella is a great way to use leftover veggies and bread. It’s also a wonderful salad to bring to picnics and outdoor events.
For this particular recipe I started with a basic panzanella recipe from Ina Garten. Instead of a simple oil and vinegar dressing I made a sun-dried tomato vinaigrette . I really love the flavor and intensity that sun-dried tomato brings to any basic vinaigrette recipe. Sun-dried tomato vinaigrettes can be used thru the summer as a way to add a depth of flavor into any summer salad; like this panzanella.
Panzanella Ingredients: 
1 small French bread or boule, cut into 1-inch cubes (6 cups)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large, ripe tomatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and sliced 1/2-inch thick
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 red onion, cut in 1/2 and thinly sliced
20 large basil leaves, coarsely chopped
Ingredients for the vinaigrette:
3-4 heaping tablespoons of sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
6 tablespoons good olive oil
1 garlic clove, diced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Drizzle bread cubes with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Place on sheet pan and toast in 325 degree oven until golden brown. It usually takes 10-20 minutes. Make sure to keep your eye on it doesn’t burn.
Make the vinaigrette by adding sun-dried tomatoes, vinegar, and garlic in food processor blender. Pulse to combine. Add cherry tomatoes and olive oil – blend till smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper, red onion, and basil.
Add the bread cubes and toss with the vinaigrette. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Serve, or allow the salad to sit for about half an hour for the flavors to blend.
