We Interrupt The Discussion on Herbs to Talk About...CAULIFLOWER

It seems everyone these days is trying to cut out the starchy carbs that can pile on weight, or at least make it hard to lose weight.  We've heard how cauliflower is the "new mashed potato" dish of the year, but I don't know many people who are actually using it as a replacement.  I was curious to see how riced cauliflower would hold up against real rice in a recipe.  I made stuffed cabbage this evening, mixing half of the ground beef with brown rice to stuff half of the cabbage leaves, and the other half with riced cauliflower.  Aside from the cauliflower pieces not looking as even as rice, the appearance wasn't very different.  But, oh joy, the taste difference was barely noticeable!  Cauliflower has a slightly peppery taste, but mixed in with the other ingredients, you couldn't tell, plus it had the texture of rice, and only 1/7 the calories!  A cup of cooked cauliflower has 34 calories, a cup of cooked white rice has 205, and a cup of cooked brown rice has 218.  So if you're watching your weight, try this great substitution.

To "rice" cauliflower, break off florets and cook in boiling salted water for about 10 minutes, until soft.  Grate the florets, discarding the stems, although if the cauliflower is soft enough, it will break into fine pieces as you press it against the grater.  Here is my version of stuffed cabbage.  A lot of recipe books will tell you to cook the cabbage rolls in layers in a Dutch oven, but I've always liked the way they turn out in a roaster in the regular oven.  That's the way Mom did it...

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 med. to lg. onion, chopped
1 tbsp. olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste
1 head cauliflower
1-2 eggs, beaten slightly
2 cans cream of tomato soup
1/2 can (6 oz. can) tomato paste
1 can or small bag sauerkraut

Remove core from cabbage, drop into a large pot of boiling, salted water, allowing the leaves to soften until they can be pulled away from the head, one at a time and placed in colander.  Continue until the cabbage head is small and leaves no longer pull off easily.  Set aside the remaining small head for use in another dish.  Put olive oil in a large skillet, saute until med. soft.  Add ground beef and cook, breaking up chunks and stirring until beef is no longer pink.  Drain off the fat.  Add salt and pepper, mix in approximately 1 cup of riced cauliflower (more or less as you like) and the beaten eggs.

Taking one cabbage leaf at a time, remove the tough center seam but cutting out with sharp knife or kitchen shears (just cut out an inverted v shape about halfway up the leaf). Use the largest leaves first, as they are greener and softer, so that any left over when you run out of the meat mixture will be the smaller, whiter leaves.  Put a large spoonful of the meat-cauliflower mixture in the center, fold in the sides, and roll up, securing with a toothpick.  Place each roll side by side in a roasting pan or baking dish until you have used up all of the meat mixture.

Combine the 2 cans of soup, tomato paste and water in a bowl, using a whisk to blend.  Pour over all of the cabbage rolls in the baking dish.  Put a large spoonful of sauerkraut on top of each cabbage roll, more or less as you like.  Bake in a 350 degree F. oven for approximately 1 1/2 hours, checking to make sure sauerkraut doesn't burn.  About halfway through the cooking time, you can spoon some of the soup mixture from the bottom of the pan over the sauerkraut on the top of the rolls.  Serves 6-8.

Parsley - Not Just a Pretty Thing!

Curly leaf parsley, with it's bright green color, is often used as a garnish.  There is also flat leaf, or Italian, parsley and a lesser known (in the U.S.) root parsley.  Many recipes containing garlic also call for parsley because it is commonly thought to offset the odor of garlic after eaten. Whether that's true or not, who knows?  Try a test on your friends - they'll tell you!  Parsley's fresh taste is mild, and goes well with potato and rice recipes, and in soups, stews and meat dishes.

Parsley is difficult to start from seed if you wish to grow it because germination takes from 3-6 weeks, then it needs at least 5 hours of sunlight per day.  I'm trying it for the first time this year, and while my chives, thyme and basil have already sprouted, I haven't seen anything from the parsley yet.  However, whether you start it from seed, or buy plants from a nursery, parsley is a wonderful addition to your garden.  It is attractive, can be planted with flowers, and is especially nice planted near tomato plants because the parsley nectar attracts wasps which kill damaging tomato hornworms. 

Parsley is the main ingredient in a popular Lebanese dish called Tabbouleh (Tabouli), often found prepared in the deli section of grocery stores near another popular dish, hummus.  Here is the link to a good tabouli recipe:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/AUTHENTIC-LEBANESE-TABOULI-1219893

Below, I am posting a recipe for Stuffed Acorn Squash which is good any time of the year, but particularly in the fall and winter.  I would give credit to the originator if I knew who it was, but I don't.  It's delicious!

Wild Rice Acorn Squash

1 acorn squash, cut in half, seeds removed by scooping out
1 tbsp. olive oil
4 oz. mushrooms
2 cloves garlic
3/4 tsp. ground dill seed
4-5 green onions
3 cups cooked wild rice
1/2 cup toasted walnuts or almonds, chopped coarsely
2 tbsp. fresh parsley
Sea salt and pepper, to taste
1 egg, beaten lightly

Place acorn squash on lightly greased baking dish, cut side down.  Bake at 350 degrees F. until tender, about 25 minutes.  Meanwhile, chop mushrooms, onion and parsley.  Mince garlic.  Heat oil in skillet, add mushrooms, garlic and dill seed.  Stir in green onions, rice, parsley, and 1/3 cup of the nuts.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Stir in beaten egg.  Spoon stuffing into baked squash, divided evenly.  Arrange squash in baking pan and sprinkle with remainder of nuts.  Bake at 350 degrees F. until squash is steaming and nuts are lightly toasted.  Arrange on platter and serve.  Makes 2 servings as entree, or 4 servings as side dish (cut each half in half).