Ingredients

Cooking oil/butter
1 onion, diced
2 cups of spinach, shredded
5 eggs
2 cups of cheese, shredded

Method

Preheat oven to 300°F. Spray casserole dish with non-stick spray (or butter). Put oil/butter in frying pan. Add onions, fry till translucent. Add spinach, fry till wilted and excess moisture has evaporated. Cool spinach mixture. Beat eggs in a bowl, add shredded cheese and mix together. Add to spinach mixture. Place in greased/buttered casserole dish. Bake until top of quiche is golden brown.

Comments:

• On my first attempt I used 12oz of frozen spinach. That was probably too much; you don't get much of the quiche-y/custardy effect. Next time I'll use half the amount.
• It took about 40 minutes to cook, but I opened the oven three times, so I could probably eliminate 5 minutes if that didn't happen.
• I chopped a single serrano in with the frying onions. That added some nice heat without being overwhelming.
• I bet this would be great if you added a teaspoon of cumin toward the end of cooking the onions.

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odtIX8dGMgQ

---

2014-03-23: I tried this recipe again from memory. Misremembered the number of eggs and used 8 instead of 5. That meant it took 60 minutes to bake, but that was with opening the oven a couple times. 55 minutes would probably work next time.

Ingredients

• 5 to 6 cups cauliflower florets, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter (from 1 medium cauliflower)
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sliced garlic
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• Chopped chives, for garnish

Directions Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Place the cauliflower florets in a large saute pan or a roasting pan. Drizzle the olive oil over the cauliflower, and season with the garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Place the saute/roasting pan in the oven and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure even roasting. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the Parmesan. Garnish with chopped chives and serve immediately while still warm. Comments

• First off, this stuff is massively better than steamed cauliflower.
• Be careful not to cut the florets too big, otherwise they are a bit tougher than you want.
• This recipe might have a bit too much salt. I think I tried a tbsp instead of tsp. Double check next time.
• Instead of just drizzling the dressing over it, it would probably be better to mix it in a bowl and then toss the cauliflower in it. Then drizzle the extra over it.

Source: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/oven-roasted-cauliflower-with-garlic-olive-oil-and-lemon-juice-recipe/index.html

Update: 2014-09-16 I made this again this evening. The 1 tsp of salt is a good amount, although may 3/4 tsp would be better, but maybe not. I was out of lemon juice, so I used 2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar. Worked well. If there is only a tiny bit of carmelization on the bigger chunks, you might want to add 2-3 minutes of cooking time. Definitely mix the marinade in a bowel first and toss all the cauliflower so that it is all evenly coated. I'm now of the opinion that this is about the best way ever to serve cauliflower. I'll never steam it again.

Update 2014-10-09 I made this again this evening. Cooked it for 20 minutes this time, which was too long because some pieces burned on the bottom. I also used green cauliflower, but I don't think that tasted as good as plain. Next time, just use 15 minutes but make sure all the pieces are small enough.

Update 2020-03-14 Today I was a bit lazy. Instead of mixing all those ingredients, I just used one cup of ubercheap Italian dressing. It was a really big head of cauliflower. I put it in the oven at 500 degrees for 17 minutes. Then I took it out, pushed it around a bit, and put it back in for three minutes. Tastewise this entirely worked. I would serve it to guests, although it's not a professional offering. The big issue is cutting the pieces small enough to cook decently. It may take you two or three times to figure it out. Okay, this was actually awesome. The cauliflower had enough resistance to be enjoyable chewing, and it was soft enough not to be annoying. My skills are improving.

Update 2023-03-30: today I made the recipe using broccoli instead of cauliflower. Broccoli is less dense, so I checked after 10 minutes, then let it sit in the often with the heat off for three more minutes. I only used 3/4 tsp of salt, which was still too much.  Alas, this version with broccoli doesn't seem as good as the cauliflower version.

Update:  I've come to the conclusion that the salt should be left out of the recipe completely because the parmesan cheese has more than enough salt in it.

I'm continuing my experiments with palak paneer. Here is what I did this time. If this is your first time trying the recipe, use the youtube link below for your first-time recipe.

Ingredients

12 oz frozen chopped spinach
2-3 tbsp of neutral tasting oil
1 tsp of ground cumin
10 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 serranos, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 heaping tbsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
regular salt to taste
1 cup of yogurt
10 oz of queso panela
1 lemon

Method

Boil a big pot of water. Put the spinach in. Once it starts boiling again, boil the spinach for three minutes. Drain. Save 1 cup of the water in which the spinach was boiled. Cool the rest of the spinach in cold/ice water. Drain. Put the spinach in the blender with enough reserved spinach water to turn it into a paste.

Heat the oil. Add the garlic, onions and serranos. Cook until the onions are translucent. Add yogurt and spices. Mix. Cook until somewhat thickened. Add the spinach puree. Simmer a bit. Add the cheese, then serve once it is all warmed.

Squeeze the lemon and pour the juice over the spinach dish.

Result

This turned out quite well, and it was within my range of spice tolerance, although barely.

Discussion

• Last time I made this, I used mozarella, but for this recipe you really want a non-melting cheese. The queso panela worked better than the mozzarella, so that could be repeated. Really I want queso blanco. Next time I'll try queso fresco if I can't find real queso blanco. Since I live in Arizona, paneer is not available everywhere, which is why I think of substituting Mexican cheeses. Farmer's cheese or any other non-melting cheese should probably work as well.
• Three serranos were too much, most likely, for most house guests. Next time try one (two max). Since the tiny green chiles one finds in Asian stores are not generally available in AZ, I wanted to substitute serranos.
• The purpose of the cold water bath is to preserve the color of the spinach. Ideally, this dish is intensely green.
• In the long run I may want a slightly more complex dish. Maybe add 1/4 tsp of cinnamon?

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYsLWpcbWqU

---

Third attempt:

• I accidentally used a tbsp instead of a tsp of cumin. Still worked fine.
• Used two serranos instead of three. Still good. For guests probably one serrano would be fine.
• Used queso fresco. Seemed too tender, started to break apart. Queso panela is better.

---

2019-01-19: This is my fifth attempt I think. Turned out quite well. Details:

• Used 10 oz of frozen spinach.
• Used queso Panela instead of paneer. This worked great. I'll do it henceforth.
• Use one large, deseeded jalapeno instead of three serranos. I think this is the perfect heat for guests.
• I didn't have garlic/ginger paste, so I used half the amount of prechopped garlic in a jar, and half the amount of pureed ginger from a tube.

This turned out well. Definitely a repeater. Next time I think I would chop the garlic finer. That said, I think I liked the taste of Anita Chawla's palak paneer better. I'll have to email her.

Ingredients

2-3 tbsp of neutral tasting oil
1 tsp of cumin seeds
20 cloves of garlic, chopped
4-5 chopped green chiles (the skinny, tiny ones)
2 small onions, chopped
1 heaping tbsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp black salt (can skip)
regular salt to taste
1 cup of yogurt
2 cups of pureed spinach
1 pound of paneer, cubed

Method

Heat the oil. Chop the garlic. Add cumin to the oil. Add the garlic, cook over medium heat till slightly gold. Add onions, cook till translucent (limp not brown). Add yogurt, coriander, turmeric, black salt, regular salt. Let it simmer for some time. Add the spinach. Simmer a bit. Add the cheese, then serve once it is all warmed.

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYsLWpcbWqU

This turned out decent the first time.

Ingredients

1 lg head of cauliflower, chopped/shredded
1 1/2 cups of salted peanuts (red, skinned, Spanish)
7 oz dried cranberries
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sugar

Method

Place cauliflower, peanuts & cranberries in bowl. Mix mayo & sugar together. Stir into salad. Mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Makes 10 cups.

Thanks to Katie for the recipe. I had the salad at a picnic on Sept 1, 2013. She thinks she got the recipe decades ago from a Sunset magazine.

I liked how my previous curried cabbage came out, but I wanted to try a more savory version, prefereable with chicken broth. The problem is that chicken broth isn't sold here, so you have to make your own. Well, if I'm going to do that, I may as well use the meat as well. So I decided to just use ground chicken since the local farmer's market sells it. To my surprise, there were also some hot peppers at the market, so I grabbed those, too.

Ingredients

• 1/2 kilo of ground chicken
• 5 spicy green peppers, diced very coarsely
• 1/4 head of cabbage, chopped
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, sliced
• 5 tsp curry powder (Russian sized teaspoons)
• 1 tsp salt (American sized, guesstimated)
• Water

---

2014-01-01: I made this again today, minus the chiles. Pretty good. This should become one of my standard recipes.

Method

Chicken and onions into the frying pan till the chicken is cooked and the onions are soft. Add the curry powder and garlic. Cook till fragrant, one or two minutes. Add everything else, including enough water to keep everything steaming and make some gravy. Cover. Stir occasionally.

Notes

This turned out good. I'll add it to the list of foods I make at home back in the States.

The ground chicken meat had essentially zero fat in it. Next time I'll add some oil and soften the onions first separately. The market said it was фарш из куриного филе, which may mean breast meat. Not real heavy on the chicken flavor. Maybe I should buy thighs instead.

Here's how the dish looked.

I'm in Russia, and I need to use up 3/4 of a head of cabbage before it goes bad. Several days ago I had bought some curry powder for this purpose, so here's what I threw together.

Ingredients

• 3/4 head of cabbage, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 heaping tablespoon of curry powder
• 1 tbsp of sugar
• water
• salt
• sunflower oil

I sauteed the onions in sunflower oil until soft. Added the curry powder, cooked it a minute. Added the garlic, cooked it a minute. Added the cabbage, mixed it all up, then added enough water to not quite cover the cabbage and let it simmer until the cabbage was soft. Added some salt. Tasted it. Kind of bland because I had only used water, not chicken broth. Hm. How can I make this better? So I added a tablespoon of sugar. Wow. Now I have a slightly sweet curried cabbage. Pretty tasty.

Adding some tomato paste wouldn't be a bad idea. Could probably leave the sugar out in that case.

I have yet to see chicken stock sold in Russia stores, but I was thinking this would turn out well if I took half a kilo of ground chicken, sauteed the onions with it, then did everything else minus the sugar. I bet that would turn out pretty good.

---

2016-01-30: Today I wanted to make curried cabbage again. This time it is a completely different approach.

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp of Mae Ploy green curry paste (available at Asian markets)
• Water
• 1/2 head of cabbage, chopped

Method

1. Pour in almost enough vegetable oil to cover the bottom of the frying pan. Add onions. Saute till almost soft
2. Add garlic. Saute a minute or two.
3. Add curry paste. Saute a minute or two so the flavor infuses the oil.
4. Add enough water to slightly cover the bottom of the frying pan.
5. Add the cabbage. Cover. Stir every once in a while until soft.

This stuff rocked.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 small cabbage, chopped
• 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes
• 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar or wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• dash nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

Method

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the ground beef and onion and cook, stirring, until ground beef is no longer pink and onion is tender. Add the garlic and continue cooking for 1 minute.

Add the chopped cabbage, tomatoes, tomato sauce, vinegar, cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper, and salt. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until cabbage is tender.

Yield: Serves 6 to 8. (Source)

Notes

• If your beef isn't lean, leave out the olive oil.
• Most of the heads of cabbage in my store are pretty big. I used only 1/2 a head both times, and it worked great.

---

2013-05-22: This turned out pretty good. Definitely a repeater.

---

2013-05-27: Made it again today. Really pleased. This will now be a regular dish because it is so easy. Next time around I might use half ground pork.

Somehow, though, I'd like to make it a bit more hearty and savory. Not quite sure what is missing. Could probably thinking the sauce with some corn starch. Some carrots and celery would probably make it more savory, but I'm not sure how that would work with the cinnamon, but it would probably be okay.

---

2013-07-13: still in Russia. Made another variation on this. This time I didn't use cabbage, but rather a pound of sweet yellow peppers. (Would have preferred spicy ones.) Half ground pork, half ground beef. Skipped the cinammon and nutmeg. Instead used a tablespoon of ground chipotles.

---

2014-05-14: spices this time

• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp ground red pepper
• 1 tsp ground black pepper

Good. For guests I would take it down to 1/4 or 1/2 tsp of red pepper.

---

2014-11-29: spices this time

• 1/4 cup sweet hungarian paprika
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp ground red pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 6 cloves of garlic, minced

This was a good spice combo. I had added 1/2 cup of hot water to the recipe. Next time to make it thicker, avoid that. If it doesn't get thick enough, use tomato paste instead of tomato sauce. And if that doesn't work, maybe some corn starch to thicken it.

---

2015-12-04: this time I used:

• 1 tbsp of ground chipotle
• 1 tsp of ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp of black pepper
• 1 tsp of salt

Good stuff.

---

2016-10-02: This time I thought I would replace the tomatoes and tomato sauce with a can of green enchilada sauce, add four sliced raw jalapeños (seeded), added some cumin and I deleted the vinegar, salt, cinammon and nutmeg. In other words, I Mexicanized the dish. I like it. May repeat.

Ingredients

• one quarter head of cabbage, shredded fine
• juice of two small lemons
• salsa brava

Method

Mix cabbage with lemon juice till all the cabbage is covered. Mix with enough salsa brava to cover all the cabbage. Makes two servings.

I liked this.

I was wanting to make a variation on picadillo without the potato to have a lower carb count. Here's what I used:

• 2 lbs. hamburger
• 1 small head of cauliflower, chopped
• 1 tbsp; ground chipotle
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 huge cloves of garlic, sliced
• 2 cups of chicken broth
• 4.25 oz. can of chopped black olives

Fry the burger and onions together with the ground chipotle. Add the garlic. Throw in the cauliflower and barely enough broth to cover the mess. Once it was all done, I added the olives.

Next time I think I'll try a tablespooon of ground chipotle and a teaspon of ground cumin.

Pretty tasty. Next time I'll try green olives.