Experimenting with food

Seeing as I love to cook, I decided to commit to making a new vegetarian dish every night for 14 days. My family is adventurous when it comes to food and they are willing to try all types of food. I have numerous recipe books and at least 30 Vegetarian Times magazines that I have looked through and have said that I'd try and make the recipes that look so good. This time I am determined to make them...

Tonight for dinner I will make baked mac and cheese with cauliflower and elbow noodles since I do not have enough cauliflower.  Tomorrow I will make Hungarian green pea soup, with the fresh peas that we picked this past Friday when we went upstate to see my step daughter and her family.

Substitute cauliflower for the white pasta to make this meal a little bit healthier, the flavor is almost the same. My kids actually prefer this to the regular home made mac and cheese I make occasionally.  I try to substitute for lower fat ingredients where I can.  I know the recipe says it serves 8, but for my family of 5 I have to use at least 2 heads of cauliflower, or substitute a little of the elbow or medium shell pasta and add a little more of the cheese and milk mixture.

nutritional information

Per 1-cup serving:

• Calories: 273
• Protein: 16 g
• Total Fat: 16 g
• Saturated Fat: 9 g
• Carbohydrates: 18 g
• Cholesterol: 94 mg
• Sodium: 314 mg
• Fiber: 4 g
• Sugar: 6 g

• 

Mac-and-Cheese-Style Cauliflower

Serves 8

Get all the creamy, cheesy goodness of mac and cheese—without the high starch content of macaroni. To make your own breadcrumbs, tear firm, fresh bread into pieces and whirl in a food processor or blender until crumbs form.

• 1 large head cauliflower (1 ½ lb.), cut into medium florets (8 cups)
• 2 Tbs. butter or margarine
• 3 Tbs. all-purpose flour
• 2 cups low-fat milk
• 1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp.)
• 2 cups grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
• ½ cup nutritional yeast
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 ½ cups fresh breadcrumbs

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Add cauliflower florets, and boil 5 to 7 minutes, or until just tender. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid, and set aside.

2. Melt butter in same pot over medium heat. Whisk in flour, and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Whisk in milk, garlic, and reserved cooking liquid, and cook 7 to 10 minutes, or until sauce is thickened, whisking constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in cheese, nutritional yeast, cayenne pepper, and egg yolks until cheese is melted. Fold in cauliflower.

3. Coat 13- x 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Spread cauliflower mixture in baking dish, and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Spray breadcrumbs with cooking spray. Bake 30 minutes, or until casserole is hot and bubbly and breadcrumbs are crisp and brown.

January/February 2012 p.46