Cozy Golden Cauliflower with Red Sauce! GF, Vegan, SCD & Paleo!

Hey Happy Tummies!

How is everyone's week going?

Good news...tomorrow's FRIDAY!!! :D

What do you have planned for the weekend?

Well today it rained. All. Day. And there's no better remedy for a rainy day then a lovely home cooked meal -- preferably involving the oven and roasted veggies:) haha

Enter: today's recipe: Cozy Caramelized Cauliflower with Red Sauce!

Half a head of cauliflower roasted to golden brown perfection, topped with a beautiful tomato sauce and fresh basil. Y-U-M.

And it's Gluten Free, Vegan, Specific Carb Diet Friendly, and Paleo!

Here's what you need: (Serves one)

1/2 head of cauliflower

handful of baby spinach
3 button mushrooms, sliced
fresh basil, chopped (garnish)

Sauce:
1 tomato, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp herbs de provence
1/4 tsp salt
several "cracks" of black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place your halved cauliflower, cut-side-down on a tin foil-lined, olive-oil sprayed baking sheet. Spritz with olive oil, and bake for about 45 minutes, until its golden brown and delicious, otherwise known as GBD :)

In the meantime, make your sauce. In a skillet, sauté your onions and peppers in 1 Tbsp olive, salt, pepper, and herbs de provence. Let those soften for about 5 minutes. Add your garlic and let it cook for another 3 minutes. Finally, add your tomato and let it cook for about 4 minutes. Carefully transfer to your food processor, and process until smooth.

Finally, brown your mushrooms in the skillet - about 3 minutes per side.

At this point, you should have about 10 minutes left on your cauliflower -- which is the perfect amount of time to clean the food processor, set the table, and pour a glass of wine :)

To assemble, place your cauliflower on a bed of spinach. Top with the tomato sauce, mushrooms, and garnish with fresh basil. Serve warm.

My goodness, what a delightful dinner! The perfect ending to a rainy and rather gloomy day.

It was such a stunning dish - with the golden brown outlines of the cauliflower, and the bright red tomato sauce. It was so beautiful against the bright green from the spinach and basil.

But more than that, it was DELICIOUS. If you've never had roasted cauliflower before, consider this your personal invitation. It is seriously amazing. I'm not kidding -- magic takes place in the oven, my friends, magic! It becomes caramelized and has a nutty flavor! For a girl that can't eat bread, it almost tasted like bread! hah ok, well...how about...reminiscent of bread. :)

And the sauce was wonnnnderful. The herbs de provence gave it a warm and cozy flavor that had a delicate sweetness to it. And the basil gave it a nice *pop* of freshness.

So. Good. This is my next dinner party meal for sure:)

Finally, I was watching Gilmore Girls, and to my delight, check the sign on the door of the town grocery store...you may know my love for all things winter squash, so the screen grab was particularly humorous. Check back on Monday for a special butternut squash recipe:)

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Spicy Butternut Zucchini Pinwheels over Cauliflower Rice! GF, V, SCD & Paleo!

Hey Happy Tummies!

I hope everyone had a terrific Halloween weekend! I definitely did! I dressed up as a cheerleader :)

And look at how cute my little niece is! She was an owl:)

What did you dress up as?





Well November is officially upon us! Can you believe it!? And I've decided to rededicate myself to posting more often! SO - I'm officially donning this month: NOMvember! Because I'm going to be making so many delicious things!

You see, next month, I'm going to be in Philly filming the new TV pilot, "Heroes of the Street!" So there will be NO cooking going on. And also, right now, leading up to filming, I've got some time on my hands, so what better to do with it than to share some food love! :D

So lets kick things off with a goodie: Spicy Butternut Zucchini Pinwheels over Cauliflower Rice!

It seems like lately, EVERYTHING is pumpkin this, and pumpkin that! For goodness sakes, Starbucks and their #PSL (Pumpkin Spice Latte) hashtag is taking over the world! -- Well, I've always been one for the underdog, so I've decided to pay a little homage to the pumpkin's humble, lesser-known cousin: the butternut squash.

Yes, butternut squash: the gourd with a funny name that is a bit cumbersome to peel, but that is equally delicious, and -- dare I say it -- BETTER than pumpkin?! *gasp* "Did she really just...." Yes. I. Did.

So -- let's kick off NOM-vember with this little doosey of a recipe!

It's Gluten Free, Vegan, Specific Carb Diet and Body Ecology Diet friendly, and Paleo!

Here's what you need: (Serves one)

1 zucchini, sliced into ribbons, either with a vegetable peeler, mandolin, or sharp knife

Filling:
1 cup butternut squash, cubed and steamed
1 medium carrot, diced
1/4 cup cashews
1 garlic clove, minced
2 Tbs onion, diced
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chili powder
<1/4 tsp salt (if you have a salt grinder, about 3 turns)

4 cauliflower florets, riced in the food processor
3 button mushrooms, sliced
basil (garnish)

First, slice your zucchini into thin ribbons. I got 7 ribbons from my zucchini.

Next, in your food processor, rice your cauliflower by processing it until it resembles rice. Remove, place in a bowl and set aside. Reassemble your food processor (you don't have to wash it) - you'll use it again soon.

Steam your butternut squash by either steaming it in a steamer basket or microwaving it in a 1/2 inch of water for about 7 minutes. (I microwaved mine).

Meanwhile, sauté your onion, garlic, carrots, and spices in 1 Tbsp EVOO. Let them cook for about 6 minutes over medium heat, until the carrots soften. Then, add your cooked squash. Let that cook for another 4 minutes, and then remove from the heat. Carefully transfer to your food processor, add the cashews, and process until smooth. You'll need to scrape the sides several times.

Next, grill your zucchini on a grill pan, over medium heat for about 3 minutes per side. You'll need to grill in batches. Lay flat and set aside. Also, grill the mushrooms for about 3 minutes.

Finally, transfer the mash into a ziplock bag. This will serve as a makeshift "piping bag." Snip one corner of the baggie and pipe the mash onto each zucchini ribbon.

To assemble: roll up the zucchini ribbons, and place on a bed of the cauliflower rice. Garnish with the mushrooms and basil.

Goodness gracious, you guys. What a delicious and striking meal! It was tasty, filling, and beautiful to boot!

The flavors were wonderful - warm and spicy from the cumin and chili powder. It was complimented by the subtle sweetness from the butternut squash and carrots. And there was a slight smokiness from the grilled zucchini. Just perfect!

Finally, I loved the colors! The deep green with the burnt orange filling looked so autumn-y! :) Plus- they looked like flowers!

Alright, that's it for now!

What are you looking forward to this week?

Also: a little news: the pilot I'm working on is having a fundraiser "Meet and Greet" with the cast from 6-11pm in Philly! So if you live in the area and have a free Friday night, come on out! Tickets here!

Okey Dokey, that's all for now!!

See you tomorrow!

Tempura Cauliflower Steak w/ Blistered Italian Spring Veggies! GF, V, SCD, BED & Paleo!

Hey Happy Tummies!

Alright. It's time for a show stopper recipe. Holy cow you guys this is one for the books, I'm serious.

So while I was in Wisconsin, my family wanted to celebrate my graduation. So we decided to have a BBQ -- a classic Northwoods celebration!

Since clearly I can't eat BBQ fare, I was encouraged to make a nice dinner. Challenge accepted.

So what did I make?? "Tempura" Cauliflower Steak with Blistered Italian Spring Veggies.

Wow wow wow. That's about all I can say. My dad, who has an aversion to all veggies other than corn and Lima beans:) proclaimed that this was the best thing I've ever made.

I'll take that as a win for team GFHT! :)

This treat was Gluten and Grain Free, Vegan, Specific Carb Diet & Body Ecology Diet friendly, & Paleo!

Here's what you need: (Serves one)


1/3 head of cauliflower 

1 egg, beaten (vegan option: plain almond milk)
1/3 cup almond flour

handful green beans
1/2 zucchini, sliced
6 mushrooms, sliced (BED use shittake mushrooms)

Sauce:
15 grape tomatoes or one large tomato (BED sub one red pepper)
1/2 red pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves
1/2 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried oregano

Fresh basil, chopped (garnish)


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut 1/3 of your cauliflower head. I used the "center cut" that included the root, and saved the outer thirds for snacking and other meals. Set aside and set up your breading station.

Breading process: You'll need a bowl, medium sized plate, and your tin foil-lined, olive oil-sprayed baking sheet. In the bowl, beat your egg and add a pinch of salt (or use almond milk). On the plate, spread out the almond flour with a pinch of salt. Take your cauliflower, coat it in egg, and then place it on the plate with the almond flour and coat it evenly with the almond flour. Then place it on one half of the baking sheet. Spritz with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

On the other half of the baking sheet, place your green beans in a single layer. Spritz them with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and place the entire baking sheet into the oven. You'll bake the cauliflower for a total of 40 minutes. But at 20 minutes, when you flip the cauliflower, remove the green beans and set aside.

Meanwhile, create your sauce. Saute your onions and garlic in 1-2 tsp EVOO, salt, pepper, and dried herbs over medium heat. After about 4 minutes, add your red peppers. Let those soften, about 4 minutes. Then add your tomatoes and let them cook for about 4 more minutes. Then, carefully transfer the veggies to the food processor, and process until it is smooth. You'll need to scrape the sides a few times.

Also meanwhile, sauté your mushrooms and zucchini in 1-2 tsp EVOO. Let them brown on one side (about 3 minutes), and then flip and let the other side brown. Set aside.

To assemble, place your cauliflower on the plate. Top with the veggie mixture and sauce, and garnish with chopped fresh basil. I put the majority of the sauce around the cauliflower on the plate to minimize the contact between the sauce and the breading on the cauliflower so it would stay nice and crispy:)

You guys. I cannot even begin to tell you how amazing this was. I know I can be a bit of a "gusher" about food...but this is next. level.

The first thing you notice when you bring it to the table is how freaking gorgeous it is. There's something "rustically fabulous" about the "breaded" and substantial steak of golden brown cauliflower, topped with a stately pile of blistered veggies, and bright red tomato sauce. It is regal. It is elegant. It is something to be proud of:)

Then, the taste is just outrageous. The bright and subtly sweet tomato sauce is the perfect backdrop to the nutty and homey cauliflower. The bright basil accents the caramelized green beans and zucchini. So. Good.

And then the textures. This may be the best part. Let me tell you- you've got to cut into that cauliflower with a steak knife! It is still crunchy, but the outsides have caramelized and become a little chewy and have some give. And coating the outside is this sweet and nutty coating of almond flour that give it a richness and butteriness that you've never experienced with cauliflower before. It was cauliflower, transcended :)

And the creamy sauce with the crunch veggies was just delightful.


So all in all, this was a terrific meal to celebrate my graduation. It was special, and seemed a bit extravagant--but in reality, it was just the humble kitchen superstar--cauliflower!

As summer is beginning to wane, we're going to have lots of "special occasion" meals. Give this one a try! 

Brussels Sprouts Italiano! GF, V, SCD, BED, & Paleo!

Hey Happy Tummies!

How's everyone's week going?

It's FRIDAY!! What a week, what. a. week!

Can I just say...I am flabbergasted that it is already JUNE! I mean...seriously?! We're almost officially in the summer season. Spring in NYC has been pretty crazy...I mean, I was still wearing a heavy winter coat just last weekend! Seriously! It's been unseasonably COLD! I'm so excited to finallyyyy be able to whip out the shorts and sundresses! :)

It's pretty clear: I love food. But there's one food in particular that holds a special place in my heart:) haha....and that, it the Brussels sprout!

Yep, the humble Brussels sprout is probably my favorite food...well, besides butternut squash...and a sweet Honeycrisp apple...and dried mangos...and gosh, I could go on forever...haha

But for real, I love Brussels sprouts. SO, tonight, I decided to make a delicious recipe starring those little nuggets.

I made Brussels Sprouts Italiano!

SO. GOOD. And it's Gluten Free, Vegan, Specific Carb Diet and Body Ecology Diet friendly, and Paleo!

Here's what you need: (Serves 1)

12 brussels spouts, halved
4 mushrooms, sliced (BED use shittake)
handful grape tomatoes (BED use red peppers)
1/2 onion, sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried oregano
fresh basil, chopped

In a large, nonstick skillet, sauté your Brussels sprouts over medium heat for 7 minutes per side, in 2 tsps EVOO, salt, pepper, and half of the dried basil and oregano. Do this by placing them cut side-down, and then let them sit and brown for about 7 minutes. Then, flip, and let sit for another 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a separate nonstick skillet, brown your mushrooms, using the same technique for 4 minutes per side, in 1 tsp EVOO. Then, add your onions, and an additional tsp EVOO, salt, pepper, and the other half of your herbs, and let them soften for about 3 minutes before adding in the tomatoes and garlic. Let those cook for another 3 minutes.

Finally, combine the onion and mushroom mixture with the Brussels sprouts and toss together. Before serving, stir in the chopped basil.

There's nothing better than Brussels sprouts and homey Italian flavors. It's seriously the best combination ever. The fresh basil complements the bright tomatoes and earthy mushrooms. And the oregano and basil give it nice, hearty warmth.

And the textures are fabulous. The Brussels sprouts are nice and perfectly crunchy. They've softened just the right amount where they've still got a nice bite, but are a tiny bit soft on the inside. And they've caramelized wonderfully, giving them a delicate sweet note. The onions have also caramelized, and become almost slurpy. Finally, the little cherry tomatoes explode in your mouth, giving you a surprise *brust* of sweetness.

This meal is Italian at its finest. It really elevates the Brussels sprout to "superstar" status!

What's your favorite food?!

Until Next Time!

Spinach and Mushroom Brunch Frittata! GF & SCD!

Hello Hello Happy Tummies!

How was everyone's Memorial Day weekend?

Mine was great! Yesterday, I went to Coney Island beach with my friend, and boy, was it a sight to behold! There were so. many. people! Like, THOUSANDS!! A great way to spend Memorial Day.

What did you do?

So last month, I was lucky enough to fly home to Cincinnati to celebrate the spring birthdays in my family! It was so wonderful to see my family and my little niece. :) She's growing up so fast! I love being an aunt:)

Kisses for Grandma and a straight arm for Auntie C:) haha

On Sunday morning, we had a big birthday brunch. One of my sister-in-laws is also gluten free, so we got a beautiful GF cake from a local bakery. And it was GOOD. And it was heavy...as in...it weighed A TON! I mean, look at that frosting! 

Check out my dad's piece of cake....it was bigger than my head! haha :) Also -- check out my dog in the upper left corner of the photo...Roxy is such a little beggar!

We had quite the spread of deliciousness. I made my crowd pleasing guacamole. Every time there's a get together, I'm always asked to make it...it's THAT good! So we had that with veggie dippers.

We also had a marvelous fruit salad, and my mom's cheesy mexican egg bake.

My favorite part was our mimosa bar! We had bubbly with fresh squeezed orange juice, mango juice, and pomegranate juice. I may or may not have sampled all three!! :D

I contributed a delicious and healthy Gluten Free frittata! It had spinach, onions, and mushrooms. It's not vegan of course, but it was delicious and SCD legal.

Here's how you make it: (Serves 8)

12 eggs

6 egg whites

2 cups baby spinach, chopped
1 carton button mushrooms, sliced
1/2 onion, diced
1/4 cup real (aka from a block) pecorino romano cheese - grated (optional! Omit for Dairy Free. However, it is SCD legal)
3 Tbsp real (aka, not from the green can) parmesan cheese, grated (optional! Omit for Dairy Free. However, it is SCD legal)
1/2 tsp salt
pepper


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Chop all your veggies. In a large frying pan, sauté your onion over medium heat in 1 tsp EVOO, pinch of salt and pepper, until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in your baby spinach to wilt. Transfer the onion and spinach to a plate and set aside. Add another tsp EVOO to the pan and brown your mushrooms by placing them in a single layer. Let them cook, untouched, for about 3 minutes. Flip each mushroom, and let the other side brown for another 2 minutes. Once brown, remove from heat and set aside.

Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, egg whites, salt and pepper together in a large mixing bowl.
Stir in the pecorino romano cheese, if using. Then, stir in the vegetable mixture.

Spray your largest non-stick, oven-safe skillet with cooking spray and add 2 tsp EVOO. Pour in your egg mixture. Place on the stove over medium-high heat, untouched, for about 4 minutes, until the bottom starts to set. Then, transfer to the oven, and let it cook for about 15-20 minutes, until cooked through.

When you take it out of the oven, immediately sprinkle with the parmesan cheese, if using.

Serve immediately.

How delicious was this frittata!?! It was savory and creamy, and beautifully hearty, yet light and healthy!

It looks beautiful with all the green from the spinach, and the golden brown mushrooms.

And it was so yummy! The mushrooms were chewy and earthy, while the spinach was fresh and springy. You felt like you were indulging in something decadent...however, it's secretly healthy!

The additional egg whites gave it a wonderful texture as well. They made it puff up in the oven, almost like a souffle. It deflated once we took it out, but it kept the light and fluffy texture.

Needless to say, we gobbled it all up!

What's your favorite brunch dish?

This week is going to be an exciting one! I just now am getting back from an audition. I've got another audition tomorrow, and then Thursday I'm shooting a commercial!

I've got another delicious recipe coming up later this week!

See you then!