Asparagus Pesto over Roasted Cauliflower & Amaranth Crisps!

Happy Mother’s Day!! I hope everyone was able to spoil their mom today and show her gratitude and love. I am so blessed to be my mother’s daughter. She’s taught me so much about life, faith, love, what it means to be a good wife, and mother.

check out the fabulous texture on the crisps! — and the little ball:)

So tonight, I wanted to treat her to her favorite vegetable…cauliflower! We’ve been showing cauliflower some major love lately. So far, we’ve roasted it as a steak, mashed it like potatoes, made a PIZZA CRUST out of it, and made apasta sauce out of it!

such a fantastic meal!

Tonight, we replaced pasta with Roasted Cauliflower Florets in a delicious Asparagus Pesto! And it was AMAZING! Truly delicious! I served it with mini veggie frittatas! Mmm!

gorgeous, just gorgeous!

Let’s start with the Cauliflower “Pasta.” Here’s what you need:

1 head of cauliflower, broken into bite-sized florets

Asparagus Pesto:

1/2 bunch of asparagus, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces, steamed
1 cup basil
1/4 – 1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tsp – 1 Tbsp EVOO
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
salt
water to consistency

Preheat oven to 350. Place your drycauliflower florets in an even layer on a baking sheet lined with tin foil, and sprayed with olive oil. Spray the florets with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and then place in the oven. Bake for about 40 minutes, flipping half way though.

In the meantime, make your pesto! Steam your asparagus until tender, and then shock with cold water. Let them cool. Once cooled, put everything into your food processor and whirl them up until smooth. Toss with the roasted cauliflower florets, and garnish with an Amaranth Crisp! (or 2!) Delish!

The amaranth crisps were a hit!

Here’s what you need for the Amaranth Crisps:

1/2 cup Amaranth, cooked in 1 cup vegetable stock

Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Once your amaranth has cooked and absorbed the liquid, take it off the heat and let it cool. Once cooled, take 1/2 Tbsp of the cooled amaranth, roll it into a ball, and place six balls on the baking sheet. Then, take another piece of parchment paper and “smoosh” them flat into thin crisps! Then, carefully peel off the 2nd piece of parchment. Spray the tops with olive oil spray. Bake for about 20 minutes, and then broil for the last 3-4 minutes — careful! The edges can burn! They’re so crispy and wonderful!

light and airy egg white frittatas!

Finally, I served my mini veggie frittatas.

This serves one — as my parents wanted cheesy scramblers:) And, they aren’t allergic to egg yolks like me!

Here’s what you need:

2 egg whites
salt and pepper
3 button mushrooms, diced
2 green onions, sliced
2 asparagus stalks, sliced
big handful of spinach, chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Combine your egg whites and veggies in a bowl and stir to coat. Spray a muffin tin with olive-oil. Spoon the mixture into 3 cups. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, until cooked through. Run a knife around the edge to help them out. YUM!

green food = happy tummy!

This meal was awesome — and my mother loved it!! The Asparagus Pesto over Cauliflower “Pasta” absolutely stole the show! The pesto’s flavor was outstanding! My parents had NO idea there was asparagus in it! They just knew it was creamy, bright, fresh, and amazing!

amazing roasted cauliflower :)

And the cauliflower was so wonderful. It caramelized beautifully during the roasting process, creating this fantastic crisp outside with a nice bite, yet tender center. The natural sugars from the cauliflower were released and it gave the dish an almost anise-y undertone. Just delicious.

gluten-free, vegan, AND Body Ecology Diet Friendly!

And the amaranth crisps! WOW! They were so crispy — like a cracker!! And the texture was so interesting: a little bit like crunchy caviar — they are tiny seeds after all!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend. Let’s make it a happy, healthy week!

My food processor strikes again! I just love this machine. Here's the one I use: