recipe: buffalo cauliflower

taken from: Real House Moms

changes: scaled down to 1/2 a recipe (original recipe for 4 servings / 1 whole cauliflower posted)

ingredients list: 
- 1 medium cauliflower, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
- 2/3 cup buffalo hot sauce 

to make: 
preheat oven to 450 F degrees. spray a large cookie sheet with cooking spray or line with parchment paper, and set aside.

in a large bowl, whisk together flour, water, garlic powder, salt and pepper. add cauliflower florets and toss to coat. spread evenly on cookie sheet, and back for 15 minutes, flipping once mid-way through.

remove from oven. in the large bowl, stir the melted butter and buffalo sauce together. add baked cauliflower and toss to coat. spread evenly onto cookie sheet, and return to oven to bake for 25-30 minutes or until crispy, flipping once mid-way though.

results: another winner winner, cauliflower dinner. good texture, good buffaloy flavor. i served this in a kale salad with avocado-poblano dressing, tomato, parmesan, and garlic croutons -- it was a perfect healthy dinner, would make again, esp considering how easy it is. 

recipe: non-dairy (cashew) ricotta

photo from The Simple Veganista 

taken from: The Simple Veganista 

changes: skipped the nutritional yeast

ingredients list: 
- 1 & 1/2 cups raw cashews, soaked
- 1/2 cup water (reserved from soaked cashews)
- juice of 1 large lemon or 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1-2 tbsp nutritional yeast, optional
- 1 garlic clove
- dash of onion powder
- himalayan sea salt & cracked pepper, to taste

to make: 
soak the cashews for at least 2 hours in a bowl of water, covering the cashews with about 2-3 inches of water. 

drain the cashews, reserving 1/2 cup of the water. add reserved water, cashews, and all remaining ingredients into a blender or food processor, and process until creamy, scrapping the sides down every few minutes. add additional seasoning to taste, if needed. 

store in the refrigerator for up to a week. 

results: 
we were skeptical when we tried cashew mozz cheese, but liked it, and even still just as skeptical when we tried cashew ricotta... and liked it. we used it for a mushroom marsala pasta bake and a white pizza with mushrooms... the slight nuttiness of the cashew ricotta worked quite well on both. it was good enough that i'd attempted to make a 100% dairy-free lasagna with this and cashew mozz cheese. 

recipe: general tso's cauliflower

taken from: PureWow

changes: 
- skipped the 5 small dried chiles, added some cracked red pepper
- skipped the 2 tbsp mirin (didn't have any, added 1 tbsp dry sherry)

ingredients list - cauliflower:
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1/2 cup neutral oil (peanut or vegetable)
- 1 head cauliflower, cut into bite-size florets 

ingredients list - sauce:
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 6 scallions, white part finely sliced, green part chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp minced ginger
- 5 small dried chiles (optional, i subbed some cracked red pepper)
- 1/4 cup vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp mirin 
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- sesame seeds, for garnish