Aloo Gobi, or Mashed Cauliflower and Sweet Potato

Dear Indian Food,

I love you.  Adore you, even.  You are rich and flavorful and full of whole, healthy ingredients that are so easy to manipulate.  Thanks for being awesome.

Love,
Danae

In all seriousness, this dish rocks!  I was browsing foodbuzz a few days back and saw this gorgeous picture of aloo gobi by Spicie Foodie.  It was simple and easy to paleo-fy, so I gave it a go!  I also used her recipe for garam masala and modified it slightly based on the ingredients I had available – it made more than enough so I definitely plan on trying more of her recipes!  Also, you can cut down on cook time by making the garam masala while the cauliflower and sweet potatoes are cooking if you don’t have some made already.

Garam Masala: adapted from Spicie Foodie

• 1 T coriander seeds
• 2 T cumin seeds
• 1 t cardamom seeds
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 T black pepper
• 1/2 T ground cinnamon
• 1/4 t ground nutmeg

In a small skillet, roast the coriander, cumin, cardamom and bay leaf for a few minutes until the seeds are fragrant and hot – don’t let them burn!  Once they’re toasted a bit, turn off the heat and let them cool a bit, then grind them up in a spice or coffee grinder.  Transfer the ground spices to a small jar with an airtight lid.  Add the remaining spices and shake to combine.  You can also add 1/2 t of both cloves and fennel seeds (roast them with the other seeds!), but I didn’t have either of those ingredients and just left them out – it was still delicious!  This made about 5-ish tablespoons, so you’ll have plenty leftover for future use!

Roasting the spices

Aloo Gobi: adapted from Spicie Foodie

• 1 head cauliflower, chopped (don’t worry about making them perfect florets!)
• 1 medium-large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 T garam masala
• 1 t ground ginger
• 1 t ground turmeric
• 1/4-1/2 t red pepper (depending on how spicy you like your food!)

Start by boiling your cauliflower and sweet potatoes – I just threw them in together and they came out just fine.  Cook till fork-tender, drain and set aside (I just left mine in the colander).  While the water boiled and the veggies cooked, I made the garam masala and chopped my onion.  Hooray for multitasking!

Once the veggies are cooked, add a few tablespoons of olive oil to the same big pan and heat it up.  Add the onion and cook till translucent, then throw in the garlic and let it cook for another minute or two.  Add the veggies back in and mix in the garam masala, ginger, turmeric, and red pepper.  Stir to combine and mash with a potato masher, and that’s IT!

Easy, fast, delicious, AND healthy – I’m hooked!  I’m also looking forward to mixing this in with my eggs tomorrow morning, Indian food is SO GOOD cooked up with scrambled eggs for a savory breakfast.

Spaghetti Squash Caprese Salad

Ever since going primal I have struggled with figuring out what to eat for lunch.  Right now I go home for lunch every day, so I don’t have to be organized, but starting in June I’m going to have to be packing lunches again.

My ideal lunch is something that I can make a big batch of at the beginning of the week and that doesn’t require heating up.  I can only eat so much chicken salad, so will be testing out new recipes for the next few months!

I was craving pasta salad, so I decided to make a healthy version with spaghetti squash instead.  I really liked how this turned out, I will most definitely be making it again!

Spaghetti Squash Caprese Salad
1 Large Spaghetti Squash
1 lb. Chicken Breasts
8 oz. Mozzarella Cheese
2 Plum Tomatoes
4 Cloves Garlic (or less if you don’t like garlic!)
1/4 C. Olive Oil
Fresh Chopped Basil
Balsamic Vinegar to taste

Boil chicken for an hour in water that has been seasoned with garlic powder.  You can cook it however you want, but boiling it is a pretty foolproof way to make sure it doesn’t dry out.

Microwave spaghetti squash about 3 minutes to make it easier to cut.  Split it in half and scoop out the seeds.  Rub olive oil inside each half and bake at 425 for 40 minutes, turning halfway through.

Chop the cheese, tomatoes, garlic, and basil.  When the squash and chicken are finished cooking, let them cool and add them to a bowl.  Add the olive oil and everything else you have chopped.  Toss everything together until well combined.

Drizzle balsamic vinegar over each serving.

This made a fairly large portion-hopefully enough to last for lunch for the week.  Possibly because I didn’t realize until I was checking out that the spaghetti squash was 4.5 pounds!