If you are tired of eating too much meat and want a flavorful alternative then try these cauliflower tacos. Not only is it meat free it is also pretty low carb since it uses lettuce to wrap the taco in, instead of shells/tortillas.

This saute would also go wonderful over steamed rice and still topped with the cheese, sour cream, and wonderful harissa! Of course, then, it wouldn’t be as low carb anymore but still a wonderful vegetarian/vegan meal.

I have to confess, I meant to saute the peppers and onions with the cauliflower but forgot so just used it as garnish, which was great since it gave another crunchy element (next to the crisp iceberg lettuce) to the taco, but if you aren’t a fan of raw peppers and onions then by all means throw them into the pan!

You will need:

• 1 medium head of cauliflower, leaves removed, washed and dried
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 teaspoon of taco seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder
• 1/4th teaspoon each of garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, sugar (or a pre-blend of spices)
• 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
• a sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper
• iceberg lettuce leaves, washed and dried
• shredded cheese (vegan or regular)
• sour cream (vegan or regular)
• harissa sauce
• diced peppers and onions, for garnish (if you prefer you can saute these with the cauliflower)

Steps:

1. Cut cauliflower into 1″ steak pieces and then futher into medium sized chunks.
2. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil onto cauliflower pieces and give it a quick stir to coat.
3. Add all the seasonings to it (taco through black pepper) and combine well.
4. Add the other tablespoon of olive oil to a heated non-stick pan, continue heating on medium-high for 20 seconds than add your cauliflower and saute until softened (but not moushy) and has good color on it, turn off heat and set aside.
5. Double up on your lettuce leaves and put a heaping half of a cup of sauteed cauliflower in the center and top with shredded cheese, sour cream, harissa, and chopped peppers and onion.
6. Before picking up each lettuce taco, fold in both sides to hold it like a taco. If you want you can also fold in a third side for more of a wrap feel.

Kali Orexi!

I love making edible items for Valentine’s Day. I have wonderful memories of Valentine craft parties that I would have a week or two before Valentine’s Day, every year, for my youngest daughter and her friends. We’d make cards, frost cupcakes, eat, and play games. Fun times, now she is too old to want to do that 🙁 . Not sure why, cause I still would love to do it 😉 .

I use heart shaped cookie cutters since this is for Valentine’s Day but you can use any shape (a football for a Super Bowl party, perhaps?), or just cut squares, or other shapes, using a knife. Also, you want one of the cutters, if using, to be slightly smaller than the other, to create a pastry border around the fruit that puffs up nicely.

I use strawberry jelly, or any red jelly, in the mixture to brush over the tarts when they are done but, really, you can use anything that compliments strawberries…orange marmalade, apricot, etc. You can even change up the fruit, if you prefer. If you use a jam or preserve, that have pieces of fruit in it, just make sure you strain the pieces out before brushing over tarts…and add those pieces to a piece of toast with butter 🙂 .

Another variation is mixing 4 ounces softened cream cheese with 2-3 tablespoons of powdered sugar (mixture you would use in a danish, for example) and putting a dollop in the middle of the tart before laying down the strawberry pieces…or even some homemade frangipane instead, ummm.

You will need:

• 1 package puff pastry (such as Pepperidge Farm), defrosted
• 1 pint fresh strawberries (give or take)
• 1/4-1/3 cup granulated sugar (depending how sweet you want it)
• 4 tablespoons of butter, diced small
• 1/4 cup strawberry or raspberry jelly
• 2 tablespoons orange liquor, orange juice, or water
• Ground cinnamon, optional
• Powdered sugar, optional
• 2 heart shaped cookie cutters, different sizes, optional

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line 2 sheet pans with parchment or silicon baking mats.
2. Rinse and clean strawberries, removing the stem by cutting deeper in the middle so when you slice the strawberry it looks like a heart (slice into 1/4 inch slices), and set aside.
3. Using the larger heart shaped cookie cutter, unfold the puff pastry and cut as many hearts out of each sheet (there should be two), no need to roll out any further, as you can, and lay on sheet pan, about 1 inch apart.
4. Take the smaller cookie cutter and press it gently in center of bigger heart to create a ridge. Refrigerate one sheet pan while you cut for the second.
5. Take cut strawberries (try using inner slices first) and layer into inner part of the pastry (trying not to cross the ridge you created with the smaller cookie cutter too much).
6. Sprinkle about 1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar on top of each of the tarts and then dot with 3 small cubes of butter. Add a sprinkle of cinnamon, if you like.
7. Bake for about 30-32 minutes on middle rack, until pastry has puffed and is golden brown on the edges. Don’t worry if you see burnt sugar around the tarts, that is normal. Just pull it off after the tart cools.
8. Five minutes before the tarts are done, heat the jelly with liquor, orange juice, or water and brush over the whole tart once they come out.
9. Loosen tarts with a firm spatula, so they don’t stick more as they cool, and let cool to room temperature.
10. Serve on plate and dust with powdered sugar, if you like.

Kali Orexi!

Do you like lamb? I am Greek so I grew up eating lamb a lot, especially during Orthodox Easter, and LOVE it no matter the cut or preparation. If you are skeptical about eating lamb, or have tried it once and didn’t like it, give this recipe a try. Lamb rib chops are personally my favorite cut so the recipe uses them, but you can also use lamb loin chops if you can’t find ribs. They grill crispy on the edges, moist in the middle, and have a wonderful flavor from the marinade that I use.

If you ever go to Greece then you definitely should give lamb chops (pieethakia arnisiou) a try…no country prepares them as good as Greece 🙂 . I remember the first time I took my husband to Greece and I wanted him to try them and he wouldn’t…for one, he didn’t like them when he tried them once when he was younger, and secondly (which I didn’t know until after I tricked him into trying them) he mostly didn’t like the fact that they are young when butchered. Well, we went out and I told him they were pork rib chops and he devoured them and thought they were amazing (he does not know his meat cuts)…until I told him it was lamb and he got mad at me and told me the real reason he preferred not to eat them…my bad. The moral of the story is that lamb chops can be wonderful if you prepare them right.

You can prepare lamb chops rare, if you like, but make sure you give it a good sear on the outside to kill any surface bacteria. I personally wouldn’t go any rarer than medium rare, although my favorite temperature to eat lamb chops is medium because it has time to burn off and crisp up most of the fat on the edges. Nothing like that lemony crispy crunch on the edges when you bite down on them…and if you have marinated them well the center is still moist.

This recipe calls for 2 racks of lamb but if you want to make more just double or triple the recipe. If you can’t find lamb rib chops then substitute with about 8 pork rib chops per recipe (since they are bigger). This marinade is excellent on pork too, and often used for pork or chicken souvlaki! Whatever you do, make sure you also have some French baguette, pita, or Italian bread handy to dip in the wonderful marinade juices after they are cooked. A side of tzatziki wouldn’t hurt either 🙂 . So let’s do this!

You will need:

• 16 lamb rib chops, frenched (about 2 racks)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 lemons, juice (about 1/4 cup) and zest
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced or finely shredded
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/4 freshly ground pepper, or to taste
• 1 loaf French baguette, pita, or Italian bread, for dipping (optional)

Steps:

1. Cut the ribs into individual pieces, if they are still in rack form, and place them in a plastic zip bag or other container with lid and refrigerate until you are ready to marinate.
2. When you are ready to marinate your chops, mix the olive oil, lemon juice and zest, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper in a mason jar (or any jar with lid), put on the lid and…shake, shake, shake well until fully combined and pour half of it over the lamb and stick them back into the refrigerator to marinate for 4 to 6 hours. Reserve the rest of the marinade in the frig until right before you start grilling.
3. Every couple of hours, go back to the frig and massage the bag and turn it so marinade gets to all sides. If you put them in a container just use some tongs and give them a stir.
4. Thirty minutes before you are ready to grill, take the chops, and reserved marinade, out of the fridge to come to room temperature.
5. Fire up your grill and grill your chops to a safe temperature of your liking, at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit, discard the marinating liquid that was already in with the chops.
6. Remove from grill into a small roasting pan or heatproof casserole dish, shake the reserved marinade in your jar and pour it over the cooked lamb chops, cover (don’t seal) with a piece of foil and let sit for 15 minutes to 30 minutes to rest and to infuse the yummy marinade into the meat while you get out your sides 🙂 .
7. Make sure you get some of the saucy marinade onto your plate with your chops and dip some crusty bread into it and enjoy.

Kali Orexi!