Roast Cauliflower

Not long ago, if you mentioned cauliflower to me, I would have said that it was probably my least favourite vegetable. Not anymore! It's been a staple on the menu recently, and simply because I tried it a different way.

Simple. Roasting it changes everything. The flavour of cauliflower is rich, creamy and slightly sweet. Yum!

Ingredients:

1 head of cauliflower
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2-3 cloves of crushed garlic
salt to taste

Method:

Heat oven to 180C.
Separate florets and wash under cold water. Pat dry gently with a paper towel and arrange on a baking tray.
Drizzle over oil, garlic and salt and toss gently with hands to ensure all florets are coated evenly.
Bake until golden and enjoy as an accompaniment to fish, or in a salad.

Or, try this:

To the above ingredients, sprinkle some ground cumin and coriander - delicious!

The most decadent chocolate ice cream ever!

Fancy a velvety, rich, chocolatey frozen desert that not only tastes delicious and hits the spot, but is actually healthy? Well, you've come to the right place!

The ingredients may look familiar, and that's because they make up the filling of the chocolate avocado tart I posted earlier. I wondered what would happen to any leftover filling I had, so I froze it, and voila! And here's the good part... it is a good source of antioxidants, healthy fats and is low in sugar. Plus my kids love it. And I like that a lot.

Ingredients:

3 ripe avocados

1/2 cup raw cacao powder

1/2 cup coconut oil

10 medjool dates

2 tbsp agave syrup

Method:

Place all ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend till smooth. Transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze overnight or a minimum of 8 hours. Enjoy!

Cashew Nut Cream Cheese

I've been making various versions of cashew nut cream cheese ever since discovering that I had a mild allergy to dairy, and it is a dairy-free alternative to regular cream cheese. It's always been good, and useful in so many ways, but today I tried something different and I really like it. See what you think...

Ingredients:

2 cups raw cashews (unsalted)
1 litre water
1 cup unsweetened rice / oat / soy milk
pinch of sea salt
1 tsp garlic powder (optional)
2-3 shallots
3 basil leaves
juice of 1/2 a lemon

Method:

Put the cashews and water into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce the temperature and simmer (lid on) for about 20 minutes.
Drain the cashews and transfer to a food processor with the rest of the ingredients.
Blend till smooth and the consistency of cream cheese. I did this in stages, so as not to overheat my processor, and also to keep scraping down the sides of the bowl to ensure an even result.

Enjoy as you would regular cream cheese, or as a condiment, an addition to pestos and salad dressings (just add a little liquid to thin). I also use cashew nut cream cheese on my pizza - yum!