The Unkempt Kitchen

You have probably heard of cauliflower "rice". It has gained popularity over the past few years because of its texture that is similar to rice but without the same carbohydrates that rice has. Many use it as an alternative and now cauliflower is everywhere. I've seen cauliflower pizza crust, cauliflower bread, and I think even cauliflower taco shells. One of my favorite results of the cauliflower craze is frozen riced cauliflower. I first saw it at Trader Joes. They sell the cauliflower already processed into the "rice". It's in the frozen section with the vegetables. I now see it at other grocery stores too. I love this option because making my own cauliflower rice is messy. Cauliflower seems to get all over the kitchen when I do it. But, the problem with the frozen bags, is that it doesn't seem to have enough. If I'm making a dish for us and we want to have leftovers for the next day, we need 2 bags. As much as I appreciate the lower carb optio...

Made an experimental soup that turned out pretty good. I still need to work out the kinks but I thought I'd share what we did so you can try it too! You may want to experiment with the seasoning. Next time I might add some rosemary. Creamy Cauliflower Soup 1 head garlic 1 head cauliflower (or a bag of frozen cauliflower, thawed) 2 medium sized potatoes 2 stalks celery 1 c. diced onion 1 T. butter 1 T. olive oil plus extra for drizzling 2 c. low-sodium broth (chicken or vegetable) salt pepper 1/4 of a baguette 4 slices of bacon 2 green onions, sliced cheddar or Parmesan cheese, grated Slice the top point of the head of garlic off to expose most of the cloves. Drizzle olive oil on it and season with salt and pepper. Roast the garlic in foil at 425 degrees for about 10-15 minutes. until garlic is soft and caramelized. Set aside to cool. Break the cauliflower head into pieces and wash. Peel and dice the potatoes (about 1 inch dice is good). Dice the celery. Heat...

Like Pasta Fagioli but using barley instead of pasta. INGREDIENTS 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1/2 lb Italian sausage (mild or spicy), optional 1 large onion, sliced 2 celery stalks, trimmed and chopped 2 carrots, peeled and chopped  Salt and pepper 3 cloves minced garlic 1 bay leaf 1 sprig rosemary, chopped 1 cup hulled barley 1 can white beans (cannellini), rinsed 1 can tomato sauce 6 cups stock or water, more as necessary 1/2 bunch kale (about 4 cups, off the stems), roughly chopped  Freshly grated Parmesan PREPARATION Cook sausage in soup pot and then remove to bowl. Put oil in a large, deep saucepan over medium heat; a minute later add onion, celery, carrots, a large pinch of salt and some pepper. Cook until vegetables are glossy and onion is softened, 5 to 10 minutes. Add garlic, and herbs. Add kale and cover to steam and wilt. You may need to add some chicken stock or water to help the kale cook down. Deglaze the pan with stock then add th...

Roasted Carrot Curry Soup 6 carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces 1 yellow onion, cut into 1 inch pieces 4 large cloves of garlic, peeled 2 small potatoes, or 1 medium sized, cleaned, skins pricked with a fork olive oil Salt & pepper Preheat the oven to 400℉. Put vegetables on a roasting pan, coat them with oil, salt, and pepper. I kept the potatoes whole and put them on the pan with the other vegetables. Roast for 20 minutes, turn vegetables over and roast for another 15 minutes or more. The potatoes may need to go longer, depending on their size. 1 c. coconut milk 2 c. or more of low sodium chicken stock (use vegetable if you want this to be vegan) 1 T. curry powder 2 t. tumeric 2 t. cumin 1 bay leaf cayenne pepper to taste Once vegetables are cooked, combine them in a blender, food processor, or use immersion blender to blend together. Heat in a pot on the stove with stock. Add coconut milk and spices and warm up the soup. Add more stock as needed to reac...

In the hottest days of summer, you don't feel up to cooking or doing much to prepare for dinner. Salads are a great meal that requires little work and can cool you off.  Recently, I decided to make a Greek salad with lentils. In the past, I haven't enjoyed lentils too much. They don't always have the right texture or they cause "intestinal distress". So this time I decided to buy a can of brown lentils instead of cooking them from scratch. I then thought about how I could save time during the week and also add more flavor to the salad by marinating the lentils in a Greek dressing. Also, I prepared the salad in the Greek way that my mom taught me from when they visited Greece. Just a little adapted. She said they don't use lettuce as much.  It turned out really good. A salad that I could eat a lot of and will make again.  So I thought I would share my recipe with you!  Greek Salad with Marinated Lentils Ingredients: Marinated Lentils 1 can lent...

So I have been tweaking and trying different versions of my ranch dressing. Since we're currently trying to detox, I wanted to cut back on using yogurt or other dairy. I did use buttermilk just because I had it around and I think it's healthier than other dairy. Feel free to dispute that, I haven't done a lot of research on buttermilk vs. other milks. I'm thinking I'll try this again some time using a plain nut milk and see how that tastes. Or maybe a non-dairy yogurt. Here's about what I made last night: 1 avocado, seeded and skin removed 2 T lemon juice, more or less to taste 2 T or more chopped herbs, I used a combination of thyme, oregano, basil, and sage (I think chives, parsley, or other herbs would be good too) 2 small cloves of garlic, peeled salt and pepper to taste buttermilk - to desired thickness Combine all in a blender or in a bowl and blend using an immersion blender. Add buttermilk until you reach your desired thickness. You may al...