French Cauliflower Salad Recipe (Salade de Chou Fleur)

Today's recipe is an easy and healthy salad called "chou-fleur vinaigrette". During my childhood in France, it was a dish that was served fairly frequently at the cafeteria of my elementary school (carottes Vichy too!). Cauliflower is boiled, then coated with vinegar and oil and sprinkled with flat-leaf parsley. That’s it! Who says French cooking has to be complicated?

I've mentioned quite a few times lately that I've been trying to eat healthier. Cauliflower is a big part of that because it's packed with fiber and vitamin C. But cauliflower salad is not a full meal by itself, so I added hard-cooked quail eggs and a piece of bread on the side. It’s a simple, quick and healthy summer meal. Rachael Ray would be proud!

Grilled Tomatoes (Simple Barbecue Recipe)

This tomato recipe is simple but so flavorful. I always make it when we barbecue. Unfortunately, this year was horrible for the tomatoes from our garden. Lulu planted two dozen tomato plants. I was so ecstatic about getting sweet, juicy tomatoes, but the gophers killed all our plants. If you have a cure for a gopher infestation, please send me a message. Anyway, since we didn’t have enough from our garden, I bought plum tomatoes from the farmers' market for our 4^th of July barbecue.

Grilling tomatoes only requires skewers, garlic, oil, salt and pepper. To make it more flavorful, I thread the tomatoes onto oregano sprigs. Once the tomatoes are cooked, I drizzle them with shallot vinaigrette. They're best when they're still warm. Yum!

Healthy Grapefruit and Bok Choy Salad Recipe

I felt like making a low-fat salad today because my husband Lulu and I have been diligently working out every day. I bought beautiful pink grapefruits at our local market, so I used the sweet and slightly acidic fruit in the salad. Bok choy and roasted bell peppers rounded out the flavors and textures of the dish. I finished it with a tahini and miso salad dressing that really bound the flavors together.

Even though the meal was low in calories, it was so flavorful. The salad  nicely complemented the grilled cod and soy gluten I prepared for Lulu and me. The best part is that even though he is a vegetarian and I eat meat, we were able to share a meal together.

Vegetarian Quinoa Appetizers

Quinoa is a grain that is perfect for a gluten free diet; however it's very bland by itself. We had a very dear friend over for lunch this weekend and she is allergic to gluten, so I was determined to figure out a satisfying way to prepare quinoa. I ended up flavoring it with parsley and a medley of vegetables and seasonings such as corn, artichokes, eggplant, button mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, French green beans, capers, bell peppers and gorgonzola. This allows the quinoa to act as a palette for the other flavors.

I served it in a large bowl for brunch, but I also set some aside for something a little more special. I placed mounds of the quinoa on gluten free crackers. The result is a fancy, tasty and unique vegetarian, gluten free appetizer that everyone can enjoy.

Thousand Island Salad Dressing

For quite some time I’ve been wanting to make an egg-free version of thousand island dressing for my sister-in-law who is allergic to eggs. The dressing is usually a blend of mayonnaise, ketchup and relish, so the challenge was to find a suitable replacement for the eggs in the mayonnaise. I’ve accomplished this task in the past when making cheesecake or ranch dressing by using a combination of lecithin and xanthan gum. Lecithin is the same emulsifier that's found in eggs. I used a liquid, soy-based lecithin because it incorporates into the mixture quite easily. Xanthan gum is a great stabilizer; just mix in a little oil and you can thicken just about any dish.

So there you have it: a flavorful, egg-free, thousand island dressing. If you have anyone with egg allergies in your home, give it a try. They’ll thank you!