Grilled Cabbage Wedges with Gochujang Mayo

 

Somewhere someone declared that cabbage was the vegetable of the moment. I say, what took you so long?!

I was the lunchroom weirdo who ate raw hunks of green cabbage all through high school, but raw cabbage is not something that everyone's tummy can handle. Here it is seared on high heat and then drizzled with gochujang mayo - a gift of the gods!

You want to use green cabbage and not Napa or Savory cabbage, since green cabbage has a dense and compact interior that is best for slicing into wedges to sear. Buy a cabbage that feels heavy for it size, ensuring that dense interior.

Tattie Scones AKA Mashed Potato Cake

Mashed potato anything is always a winner in my book. I have made mashed potato cakes from leftovers just by adding an egg and some flour, but if you don't have leftovers, this recipe is easy and fast.

These tattie scones are great on their own straight out of the pan or add your favorite toppings. Pesto, cream sauce, cauliflower cream, anything you need to use up that goes with potato would suit these lovelies.

I highly recommend making them just to have some in the freezer; popping them into a toaster oven is a quick and highly satisfying snack option!

Celery Root Pastrami Sandwich

More than a year ago I googled "vegan pastrami" and came across Derek Sarno on Youtube. What a revelation! Watch his stuff, learn from it, and adapt it. You won't be sorry.

It has taken me a little time to whittle his technique down to something that works in my kitchen - I don't have a smoker like his Green Egg - but this is something that I am happy with and feel is doable for others.

Needless to say, I LOVE this sandwich, and while it takes a little advance preparation, it is worth it. And since Celery Root aka Celeriac is now in season, now is the time to make and eat this amazing homemade faux meat!

Asian Style Root Slaw

Here we are deep in winter and it is the perfect time to make root vegetable based slaws. My favorite way is this Asian version, super simple and works with any root vegetable. It's great on tacos, and this version is inspired by Korean flavorings.

Grate any of those knobby roots - turnips, celery root, carrot, daikon radish - and add cabbage if you like, some red or green onion, sprinkle on some rice vinegar, a little sesame oil and soy sauce and presto! You have a fantastic slaw that is delicious, and packed with nutrition! All of those roots are high in potassium as well as great sources of fiber, so they fill you up and keep you hydrated. Win win!

Baguette - Gluten Free

Ahh, the baguette. One of life's pleasures when you can eat wheat. Since going wheat and thus mostly gluten free, I keep searching for a good gluten free baguette. Gluten-Free on a Shoestring introduced me to this one and then I found The Loopy Whisk.  

Kat of the Loopy Whisk calls this a white bread, which I do make in the way she directs and it is more of a batard size bread, but when I want a long thin baguette style, I make the dough into two thinner breads, and voila!

I have to admit that Gluten Free on a Shoestring was my salvation for a long time until I discovered the Loopy Whisk. Kat has a different method for preparing the use of psyllium husks and uses less starches in her flour mixes which I like better. By hydrating the psyllium husks before adding them to the batter, it makes a better crumb in the breads. 

Italian Sausage Crumbles - Quick, Easy, Vegan

True story - I fell off the vegetarian wagon over homemade sausage. Yup, visiting friends in Montana more than 20 years ago and they offered homemade, homegrown pork sausage for breakfast and I didn't blink. Forget bacon, sausage and salumi are my downfall.

In my defense, I had been trying to make my own vegetarian sausage for years; I just couldn't stomach faux sausage anymore. And after too many failed attempts, I returned to the real deal. My sisters called me a "Sausa-tarian" to mock me. 

While faux sausage has gotten better - less unpronounceable ingredients - it still is expensive and or includes wheat, which I longer can eat. But Italian sausage is still one of my favorite foods, especially crumbled on pizza. So I created this recipe, and it is a winner!

Quick, easy and even stores well, I try to have it on hand for Friday Night Pizza, and it never lets me down!