Grilled Cauliflower with Harissa

This harissa packs a whole lot of flavor and is awesome served alongside grilled chicken that has been marinated in Greek yogurt, garlic, ground cumin and lemon juice, but is equally delicious served on top of grilled cauliflower or pretty much any grilled vegetable for that matter.

Harissa

1 roasted red pepper, seeds removed and roughly chopped

1 (14-ounce) can tomato puree

3 cups cold water

1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2-1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 tablespoon sweet paprika

1/2 tablespoon smoked paprika

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

15 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

6 tablespoons coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley

6 tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Put all of the ingredients except for the olive oil in a large saucepan.  Stir to combine.  Place the pan over medium-high heat and bring to a low simmer for 1-1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally and adjusting the heat when necessary, until the mixture has thickened and reduced to 2 1/4 cups.  Once mixture has reduced, transfer to a blender, turn blender on, and slowly drizzle in the olive oil.  Blend until smooth.  Store in the refrigerator in an airtight jar, with a film of the olive oil on top, for up to three months. 

Grilled Cauliflower

1 large head cauliflower

Olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper 

Preheat grill.

Wash and dry cauliflower.  Place on a cutting board, stem side down, and slice vertically, top to bottom, into 1/4-inch slices. Drizzle olive oil over cauliflower steaks and season with salt and pepper.  Carefully place the cauliflower on hot grill and turn heat to medium high.  Cook cauliflower until both sides of cauliflower have nice dark grill marks.  Remove from grill and serve with harissa and chopped cilantro.  

Recipe slightly adapted from Not Without Salt

Brown Butter Banana Muffins

These muffins are the banana version of the brown butter blueberry muffin recipe that is one of my very favorites.  My sister was the first to try it with bananas and because I had bananas sitting on my counter that were getting more brown speckles by the hour, banana muffins became a must for an afternoon snack.  I decided to put chocolate chips in half the batter, this way I would have an excuse to have two muffins, I had to sample one of each, right?  (At least one thing turned out delicious today because dinner tonight was a big fat failure).

Brown Butter Banana Muffins

7 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup whole milk
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 medium bananas, mashed

Topping

3 tablespoons cold butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Line muffin pan with paper liners

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Keep an eye on the butter. Melt and cook down the butter until little brown bits appear in the pan.  The crackling will subside and the butter will begin to brown fairly quickly.  Keep a close eye because it can burn in hurry (speaking from experience).  Remove from heat and pour into a bowl to cool slightly.

Whisk milk, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla until combined.  Add the brown butter and stir to combine.

Whisk together flour, sugars, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.  Add milk and butter mixture all at once a stir gently to combine.  Gently fold in mashed bananas.

Divide batter among muffin cups.

To make the topping, combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and rub together with your fingertips until crumbly.  Sprinkle evenly over the batter in the muffin cups.

Bake until golden brown and a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes.  Cool in pan on a rack for 15 minutes then remove from pan and serve warm with butter.

Adapted from Joy the Baker

Cocoa Coconut Bites

If you like chocolate, coconut and almonds...BEWARE!  These little bites are extremely addicting and with their size being "bite-size," eating a few too many can happen all too quickly!

Cocoa Coconut Bites

1 1/2 cups dried, unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt 
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

In a mixing bowl combine the coconut, cocoa powder, rolled oats and almonds together.  In a small bowl combine the maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla and cinnamon; pour over coconut mixture and mix to coat everything evenly.  Set in the fridge for 20 minutes.

At this point you can eat them two different ways (both are delicious).  The first way is to scoop the coconut mixture into 1-inch balls and chill for an hour before eating.   The second way is to scoop into 1-inch balls, set them on a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake in a 215 degree preheat oven for 20 minutes.  Remove from baking sheet to cool (or eat warm).

Recipe slightly adapted from Sprouted Kitchen