Cauliflower Pizza Crust (with Kale, Sweet Potato and Mozzarella)

Cauliflower Pizza Crust Topped with Kale, Sweet Potatoes and Mozzarella - It tastes amazing and it's non-GMO and gluten-free.



5 Health Benefits of Cauliflower:
1. A cup of boiled cauliflower delivers about 3.35 g of dietary fiber, which helps clean your digestive system and gets rid of unnecessary substances.
2. A diet high in cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower has been been linked to a significant reduction in the risk of cancer
3. Cauliflower provides a lot of nutrition for very few calories. A 1/2 cup of cooked cauliflower contains only 15 calories.
4. High vitamin K content, cauliflower helps to reduce inflammation. It also has omega-3 fatty acids!
5. Decrease chronic ailments such as atherosclerosis, a leading cause of heart attack and stroke. Cauliflower can help keep your blood flowing to essential organs of the body!
Reference below




Ingredients for cauliflower crust:

- 1 large cauliflower 'riced' - Remove leaves and steams first
- 1 teaspoon dry oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dry parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon dry basil
- 1 egg (depending on how much cauliflower you 'rice'. I had 2 cups riced cauliflower so I used 2 eggs
- 1 cup grated cheese - I used monterey jack cheese in my crust, but you can use parmesan, mozzarella, monterey jack, manchego, ect.
- salt and pepper to taste

Rectangular Pizza Stone, 13" x 15" (Google Affiliate Ad)

Ingredients for topping:

- 1/2 cup saute kale
- 1 yam - sliced and bake for 20 minutes (yams are sweeter than most sweet potato)
- red onion to taste, thinly sliced
- mozzarella di bufala, thinly sliced
- salt and pepper

Microplane Better Box Grater (Google Affiliate Ad)

Tools:

- Pizza stone or large cookie sheet
- grater or food processor







After removing the green leaves and stems, use a grater to 'rice' the cauliflower. You can use a food processor, but I found that it didn't rice evenly. Once the cauliflower is grated, cook for 5 to 7 minutes in a pan or if you have one, a microwave. Place the simi-cooked cauliflower in a tea towel and sqeeze as much moisture out as possible.



Mix all ingredients for cauliflower crust in a bowl.



Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Once everything is mixed well, place the cauliflower dough on a greased cookie sheet or pizza stone sprinkled with cornmeal. The shape is not as important as the thickness of the pizza dough: 1/4 inch or so. No need to measure it, but be sure not to press it too thin.

Cook the cauliflower crust at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Once the crust looks cooked, set it aside and let it cool for about 15 minutes.



While waiting for the pizza crust to cool, start cooking your toppings. Bake the yams or sweet potatoes for 20 minutes and saute your kale. Don't forget to remove the stems from the kale. You can cook the red onions as well or leave them raw. Up to you.



Once cauliflower pizza crust has cooled and all toppings are pre-cooked, assemble your pizza! I didn't use a sauce, but you can use pesto or tomato sauce as your base layer.

- First layer of pizza - mozzarella di bufala. I didn't want to use too much mozzarella because there is cheese in the crust.
- Next layer of pizza - thinly sliced cooked yams / sweet potato
- Last layer of pizza - saute kale and red onions







Broil the pizza for 4 to 8 minutes or until the cheese is melted. This is risky. I sometimes burn toast in the broiler. It's hit or miss. If you do not trust your broiler, bake on 450 for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Keep an eye on it!



Let it cool for about 5 minutes or more. Cut and enjoy with a fork. You will be surprised at how good the crust tastes! The crust was so good, I want to make it again and eat it plain or with a dipping sauce.


Let me know what you think? I'd love to hear your feedback.


Websites:

- fullcircle.com

- 3fatchicks.com

- healthdiaries.com

- livestrong.com

Chickpea Coconut Curry on Black Forbidden Rice

Tomato Chickpea Coconut Curry on Black Forbidden Rice a dish inspired by The New Vegan Cookbook: Innovative Vegetarian Recipes Free of Dairy, Eggs, and Cholesterol by Lorna Sass. The book is easy to follow with simple directions and colourful photos. I do not eat eggplant, so I changed the presentation by deleting the roasted eggplant and substituting black rice.

Short-Cut Vegan: Great Taste in No Time by Sass, Lorna J. [Paperback] (Google Affiliate Ad)



Soak chickpeas for at least 8 hours before cooking, but never soak longer than 24 hours. I typically soak them in the morning before leaving for the day.



Once hydrated, cook chickpeas for about 55 minutes on medium/high heat. To save time, you can purchase canned chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans. I try not to eat food out of a can.

Some interesting information about Chickpeas:  high source of protein and fiber, one cup of cooked chickpeas contains 269 calories, low-glycemic and its the primary ingredient in hummus.



Instead of roasted eggplant, I've used black forbidden rice. I would also suggested using quinoa or brown rice. If you want to stick to the original recipe, you can find it here on cookstr.com.

Black forbidden rice is high in nutritional value and contains 18 amino acids, iron, zinc, copper, carotene, and several important vitamins which I can not recall at this time, but they are very important! Forbidden black rice turns the water its cooked in a deep purple color due to its high anthocyanin content, an antioxidant. I could go on and on about the health benifits of anthocyanin - water-soluble vacuolar pigments, but I'll let you read all about it here: The Possible Health Benefits of Anthocyanin Pigments and Polyphenolics by Ronald E. Wrolstad, Ph.D. Thanks Ron!

What's really important to me: a 1/4-cup serving of forbidden rice contains 160 calories, it's gluten free, non-GMO, and I like the color.



Ingredients:

- 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
- 3 tablespoons brown mustard seeds
- 2 cups of diced tomatoes with liquid or one 20 ounce can
- 2 cups coarsely chopped white onions
- 1/2 cup dried, unsweetened, grated coconut or more (you can not use sweetened...no!)
- 3 1/2 tablespoons mild curry powder - Merwanjee Poonjianjee & Sons
- 1 teaspoon or more of Cayenne
- Sriracha as needed (I like it hot)
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil

Tools:

- Deep heavy saucepan with cover

Babycakes: Vegan, Gluten-free (Google Affiliate Ad)



Heat pan, add oil and add mustard seeds. Cover and cook for 30 seconds on high heat or until you hear the seeds 'pop'. Once you hear the seeds popping, turn stove off and keep covered until popping stops.



Turn heat to medium/high and add the white onions. Stirring frequently. Add oil if needed. Cook for 5 minutes.



Now add curry powder and stir for 30 seconds



Add the rest of the stuff; tomatoes, chickpeas, coconut, and cayenne to taste. Also salt and pepper is you wish



Simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes or less while stirring frequently. If the mix starts to stick, add water.



While all this is happening, cook the grain of your choice. Quinoa, brown rice or black forbidden rice



Plate and eat. boun appetito

How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great F (Google Affiliate Ad)

You can also see my photos here:

Roasted Moroccan Sardines with Quinoa

Roasted Moroccan Sardines with a side dish of coconut quinoa. You can grill the sardines on an outdoor barbecue, but it's winter here in San Francisco and I'm not venturing outside in the cold. Today I'm going to roast my sardines in the oven in a Staub au gratin cast iron pan.

Some people do not like the 'fishy' smell or taste of fresh sardines, but the good outweigh the drawbacks with these affordable, super healthy little fishies. It's the good fat!

They are packed with Omega-3 fatty acids:
-- cancer prevention
-- anti-inflammatory effects for people with arthritis or joint pain
-- raise high-density lipoproteins, or the good cholesterol
-- high calcium content
-- youthful, healthy skin
-- very high in vitamin B-12
-- may help prevent degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer's



You can pair this dish with a spinach salad, 3-bean salad or gluten free grain. I felt like having coconut milk and quinoa side dish.

I had the butcher at the fish market remove the head, spine and tail while leaving the skin on the fish. Skin-on is great for grilling and roasting.

Sardines in Olive Oil (Google Affiliate Ad)



Ingredients:

- 1 pounds sardines
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 lemon zest and juice - finely grate the zest
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, minced
- 2 1/2 teaspoons paprika
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 3 tablespoons olive oil (or more if needed)
- salt
- saffron threads (if you can afford it, not needed) pinch



Place the fish skin down on a plate. Mix all other ingredients in a bowl, then drizzle it on the Sardines. Cover and place in the fridge for at least an hour.


Pre-heat oven to 350. Place the fish in a Staub cast iron au gratin pan or a cast iron fry pan and cook for 20 minutes - more or less (depends on how you like your fish - go longer if you like it crispy)



Sardines in Olive Oil (Google Affiliate Ad)



DDI Polar Sardines in Mustard- Case of 24 (Google Affiliate Ad)

Fort Funston Beach Day - Get Out and Hike!

It's the end of January! Why is it so warm? Because it's winter in San Francisco! Gotta love the reversed seasons here in SF. We call it Jun-uary! Get out there and Urban Hike while the weather is nice. Saltwater, fresh air, and a dog friendly beach is just what the doctor ordered after being stuck in the flat with a cold for almost 2 weeks! Yikes!

Fort Funston was named in honor of Frederick N. Funston (1865–1917), a General in the United States Arm.



Even cooler historical fact, my brother and I had our birthday parties here. Birthday cake with a little wind-blown beach sand, sandy feet and lot running around laughing and freezing. Great memories at this beach!



Lost of parking (not sure it's free), two sets of bathrooms and a Dutch sand ladders leading down to the beach. A Dutch sand ladder is a cable ladder with rungs usually made of wood - Great leg work-out on the way back up to the parking lot.



Above the beach are a network of trails for hiking, horseback riding or off-lease dog walking. The trails are lined with trees to protect hikers from the wind and it's great for dogs to exploring the area.



Decaying structure on the beach, now home to some fish street art.



I don't know what these big, round circles are? Do you?

This area (San Francisco Defense Area Site SF-61R), is part of the California State Military Museum - read about the history and use of Fort Funston before is was a public beach.




Fort Funston, San Francisco. Mosaic octopus at Fort Funston.  Street art made with found sea glass or beach glass on the outfall structure on the beach.



Doggie street art at on the watershed or outfall structure



Submarine discharge pipeline next to the sewer overflow structure - The sewage overflow receives only primary treatment, excluding bacterial disinfection, before being released from overflow structures into the ocean.

Please check the water condition before swimming after a big storm. You can here at SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION website.



Decaying wooden pillars on the southend of the beach at Fort Funston.



No leash needed at this beach. Dog heaven!



Reminder! This is a dog friendly beach. If you do not like off-leash dog, maybe this isn't your spot!



Long our 2 hour exploration, we saw many dead and half dead crabs. I tried to put one back in the water. The birds were really enjoying their fresh crab! Most birds at this beach are seagulls and Bank Swallows



Look at that old ice-chest! Fort Funston 1977 - Brother's birthday party



Family Birthday party - Ski jackets on in the parking lot of Fort Funston 1977 - best birthday party!

Seaweed Soup Regatta on the San Francisco Bay

Zamazann Sail boat at the Seaweed Soup Regatta on Feb. 2, 2013. The race is hosted by the Golden Gate Yacht Club located next to the Marin Greens.

What I didn't know was that there was a Alcatraz swim that day as well and made for some close calls in the bay. Check out Pressure Drop's Blog for some really cool photos and a more detailed description of the day.

"There was a bit of a parking lot at Aquatic Park where the wind went really light, and the current had yet to switch from ebb to flood. To make matters even more interesting, a group of swimmers from Alcatraz were working there way in the protected bay, creating another challenge for the fleets." -- Pressure Drop

Here is Pressure Drop's Full Seaweed Soup Photo Gallery. Really nice photos.



Crew on the boat in San Francisco Bay - Winter



Zamazaan (Farr 52) on San Francisco Bay



Late start as we wait for the wind to pick up. It did around 1PM



It's a big boat with lots of halyards and Sheets



The race is hosted by the Golden Gate Yacht Club - home of the America's Cup

Here is a video I took with the GoPro of the Manuel Fagundes Seaweed Soup Regatta