Roasted Romanesco with Creamy Horseradish Cashew Sauce

Oh horseradish, where have you been all my life? Technically horseradish isn’t completely new to me, but it wasn’t until very recently that I experienced it fresh. And now I’m hooked.

This crazy root vegetable satisfies my cravings for tang and heat, with a painful in a good way blast through the sinuses burn. Here I’ve combined it with creamed cashews, lemon, and a little garlic– ingredients which temper its heat somewhat but keep its essence intact. So far I’ve enjoyed this sauce on a tempeh sandwich, with beets, and dolloped on top of another freak vegetable (and fellow member of the brassicaceae family), romanesco, roasted in olive oil and garlic. Most assuredly, if there’s a silver lining to the dropping temperatures and increasing dreariness, it’s the ability to use the oven without cooking myself into a sweaty mess. In fact, a little oven warmth is now welcome. Isn’t the pursuit of coziness kind of what fall is all about? And while bathing myself in hot buttered pumpkin spice isn’t really my jam (but if it’s yours, rock on! no judgement here), enjoying roasted vegetables on the regular? That I can get down with.
*This recipe makes more sauce than you will use on the romanesco. Try it on a sandwich, on a baked sweet potato (or regular potato), on roasted beets, and so on. I originally tried to make it with half the amount of all the ingredients, but had trouble processing such a small volume as smoothly as I wanted in my blender. But if you have a mini-processor or blender and want to try halving the recipe you might have more success.
*I pulsed in the horseradish for some texture, but if you’d prefer a smoother (and probably slightly spicier) sauce, you can add it at the same time as the other sauce ingredients.

1 head of romanesco, trimmed of outer stems and stalk, cut into chunks
2-3 garlic cloves, lightly smashed with the side of a chef’s knife handle
2-3 tbsp olive oil
sea salt and black pepper
horseradish cashew sauce (recipe follows)
handful of fresh parsley, chopped, optional

Preheat oven to 400˚F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Toss romanesco with olive oil, smashed garlic, salt, and pepper, and spread out on prepared baking sheet. Roast for about 30-35 minutes, stirring once half-way through, until nicely browned. Serve topped with a few dollops of horseradish cashew sauce and sprinkled with parsley (if using) and black pepper.

Yield: About 4 servings

Horseradish Cashew Sauce
1 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 4 hours, drained
1 garlic clove
¼ + 1 tbsp water
4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
sea salt, to taste
4 tbsp grated fresh horseradish

Combine everything but the horseradish in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth, stopping the machine to scrape sides as necessary. Add grated horseradish and pulse to combine. Taste for seasonings and adjust accordingly.

Yield: About 1 cup

Lentil Salad with Apple & Arugula

Here, hearty lentils, crisp apple, arugula, and sunflower seeds are tossed in a zingy ginger orange dressing, making for one very flavorful salad. It’s basically fall in a bowl. And it’s good for you. Relatively inexpensive and a great source of protein, iron, folate and thiamin, among other nutrients, lentils are no doubt one of those foods that we all should probably be eating more of. On top of that, they’re easy to make.
In her wonderful (highly recommended!) cookbook My New Roots, Sarah Britton writes that she presoaks all legumes, even split peas and lentils, because it helps make them more easily digestible and decreases the active cooking time. I’ve tried her method a few times now, and must say that I am absolutely a believer. Adding a sheet of kombu to the cooking pot further aids in making legumes easier to digest. Lentils minus the, um, side effects? Sign me up!
*To make this salad more of a meal, serve with something grainy– quinoa, wild rice, and farro are all good choices– and/or some crusty bread. Roasted beets also make a nice addition.

1 cup French (de puy) lentils, sorted and rinsed
Couple spashes of fresh lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, optional
1 piece of dried kombu, optional
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
sea salt and black pepper
1½ cups arugula
1 apple, diced, tossed with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice
3 tbsp sunflower seeds

For the dressing, shake together in a tightly closed jar:
¼ cup olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1½ tbsp fresh orange juice
½ tsp whole grain mustard
½ tsp maple syrup
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
sea salt and black pepper

Optional: Before cooking lentils, soak them in hot water with a bit of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. I soaked mine for 5 hours.
Place lentils and kombu (if using) in a pot, and cover with about 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until done (but not falling apart). If you’ve presoaked your lentils already, this can be as quick as 10 minutes. If not, it might be closer to 30 or 40 minutes. So be sure to keep an eye on them and check regularly for doneness. Drain (and discard kombu), give a quick rinse, then toss with apple cider vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Let cool completely.
Toss lentils with the dressing, arugula, apple, and sunflower seeds. Serve at room temperature.

Yiled: About 4 cups

Summer Squash, Green Bean, & Tofu Stir-fry

Is anyone else feeling totally stuffy-headed? Between the shifting weather and all around bustle that autumn brings, it’s easy to feel run-down. And yeah, sure I want cappuccinos and roasted butternut squash and stews– but I also want to eat things that are refreshing and keep me feeling energized. I love a good stir-fry because it’s warm and nourishing yet still light. This one is verdant and a little fruity thanks to the apricot spread, with lots of garlic and ginger to help keep immune systems strong and heads clear.

For the tofu:
½ tbsp coconut (or other) oil
1 tsp nutritional yeast
¼ tsp garlic powder
1 package firm or extra firm tofu
1½ tsp tamari

For the rest:
heaped ½ tbsp coconut (or other) oil
heaped 1 tbsp minced ginger
3-5 garlic cloves, minced
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 smallish bell pepper, cut into ¼” thick strips
2 cups green beans, trimmed of ends
2-3 smallish summer squash, cut into ¼” thick half-moons
1½ tbsp tamari, divided
2 tbsp apricot (or peach) fruit spread/not too sweet jam, divided
¼ cup water
1 tsp toasted sesame oil

Rice for serving, optional

Pat tofu with a couple paper towels. Cut into 1” cubes, then pat again to soak up extra moisture.
Mix nutritional yeast and garlic powder in a small dish.
Heat ½ tbsp oil in a large wok or skillet over medium high heat. Add tofu cubes, sprinkle with nutritional yeast-garlic powder mixture, and stir gently to distribute seasonings. Then let cook– without touching, so it can crisp up– for about 5 minutes. Turn down the heat (just for your own safety), carefully flip over the tofu, and splash with 1½ tsp of tamari. Turn heat back up, and cook (without touching) for a few minutes more. Turn off burner and transfer tofu to another dish. Let the pan cool a little bit, then give it a gentle wipe with a paper towel to remove any blackened bits.
Heat the rest of the oil in the pan over medium heat, and add the garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant.
Stir in bell pepper, green beans, 1 tbsp tamari, and 1 tbsp fruit spread. Add ¼ cup of water, cover, turn the heat up a bit, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove lid, add squash and another 1 tbsp fruit spread and ½ tbsp tamari. Cook for about another minute.
Stir in the tofu and cook one more minute, then turn off the heat and drizzle in the sesame oil. Let sit for a few minutes for best flavor, and adjust seasonings as desired. Serve.

Yield: About 4 servings

Strawberry Shortcake Shake

The mornings are now cool and the evenings breezy, but– at least in my neighborhood– afternoons continue to be hot and sunny. I’m still taking my coffee iced at least most of the time, still stuffing my face with tomatoes and peaches, still scratching mosquito bites. It’s technically still summer. So it’s rather perfect timing that Philip and I recently acquired our very own Vitamix (many thanks to my sister Norah for the Crate & Barrel gift card! one of the many perks of getting married). I finally get to see what all the hype is about and am totally geeking out. When I tried this shake with strawberries, almond butter, and coconut, I was instantly reminded of a Good Humor Strawberry Shortcake ice cream bar. The speckled pink and tan kind with the deep cerise middle I so loved as a kid. Indeed, this shake is pretty and sweet and completely delightful– the perfect after school, after work, anytime treat.
*This shake is quite thick– like ice cream!– so feel free to add more almond milk if you’d prefer something more straw-friendly.

¾ cup unsweetened almond milk
1/8 tsp vanilla extract
3 tsp agave nectar
2 tbsp plain almond butter
pinch of sea salt
2 tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut
2 cups frozen strawberries

Add all the ingredients, in listed order, to a high speed blender and process until fairly smooth, about 45 seconds or so. You may have to stop once or twice to scrapes the sides of the blender with a spatula (or tamper).

Yield: 2 servings

Peachy Avocado Toast

If I had my little way, I’d eat peachy avocado toast every day.

For each piece of toast:
½ peach, sliced
drizzle of balsamic vinegar
1 slice of bread
¼ ripe avocado, peeled and sliced
sea salt
black pepper
1 tsp hemp seeds
a few leaves of fresh basil, torn at last minute

Drizzle peach slices with balsamic vinegar and set aside.
Toast bread.
Mash avocado on toast with a knife and season with salt. Top with peach slices, black pepper, hemp seeds, and basil.