VEGAN BUFFALO CAULIFLOWER BITES + VEGAN BLUE CHEESE DRESSING

Ever since my friend Christine and I took our hubbies to eat dinner at Mohawk Bend, I have been craving the Buffalo  Style Cauliflower with vegan blue cheese dressing we had there.  It was out of this world!  Who says vegan food is boring?  Definitely not.  This dish will satisfy your craving for something super flavorful and savory.  I got my inspiration from 86 Lemons.  The recipe is super easy. I'll definitely be making this again.

VEGAN BUFFALO CAULIFLOWER BITES

 

1 cup almond milk

1 cup flour - you can use any kind of flour, even gluten free 

2 tsp garlic powder

1-1/2 head of cauliflower cut up into bite size pieces

1 cup buffalo sauce*

1 tablespoon olive oil

* I used Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce.  You should check the ingredients on the brand you want to use to be sure its vegan.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Combine the flour, garlic powder and almond milk in a bowl and mix well. Dip a few pieces of the cauliflower at a time into the bowl.  Cover the cauliflower with the batter, shake off the excess batter and place on a prepared baking dish or cookie sheet.  Bake for 15-20 minutes depending on how soft you want the cauliflower to be.

Combine the buffalo sauce and oil in a measuring cup and pour it over the baked cauliflower and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

Now its ready to serve with the Vegan Blue Cheese Dressing...

VEGAN BLUE CHEESE DRESSING

 

1/4 block of firm or extra firm organic sprouted tofu

dash of garlic powder or 1 clove minced garlic

3/4 cup Veganaise - I used reduced fat Veganaise

1 teaspoon tahini

1 lemon, juice of - use to your taste.  If you want it less tart, use less, more tart, use more

1 table spoon apple cider vinegar

Mix all the ingredients together in a medium bowl until well combined then crumble in the tofu to give it that blue cheese texture. Voila!!

I am really loving this dish.  Yum!

Join the discussion!

Do you have a spicy buffalo sauce recipe? We would love to hear what it is! Share it in the comments below. Links are welcome.

PICKLED JALEPENOS

 

 

 

Over here in Southern California, you will find Latin food a big part of our culture and the food scene.  It truly is a melting pot here and its one of the things I love about living in Los Angeles.  If you are looking for a certain ethnic food restaurant, you will find it.  Mexican food is a big part of our culture here too and my husband and I love the spiciness of it.  At my local Trader  Joes, they sell an 8oz pack of Jalepenos for $0.99 each.  Wow!  So, I thought I would try pickling my own.

I like this recipe because you don't cook the Jalepenos.  They came out nice, crisp and fresh tasting.  Here's the recipe...

PICKLED JALEPENOS

16 oz fresh jalepenos sliced
2 tablespoons maple syrup
8 bay leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons thyme
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups apple cider vinegar
6 cloves garlic chopped
2 tablespoons whole peppercorns
1/2 cup water

Mix all the ingredients in an airtight jar and let it marinate for 24 hours or longer.  The taste is firey but zesty!  We really love these!  Enjoy!





Check out the benefits of jalepenos from Nutritiona and You:

Chillies contain health benefiting alkaloid compound, capsaicin, which gives them strong spicy pungent character. Tolerance level of peppers including jalapeno peppers may have wide individual variations. Wherever feasible, they should be consumed in moderation to avoid any untoward experiences. Nonetheless, they packed with impressive list of phto-chemical compounds that are known to have disease preventing and health promoting properties.

Capsaicin has been found to have anti-bacterial, anti-carcinogenic, analgesic, and anti-diabetic properties, at least in some early laboratory studies on experimental mammals. It also found to reduce LDL cholesterol levels in obese individuals.

Fresh jalapeno peppers are rich source of vitamin-C. Ripe fruits have more of this vitamin than raw greens. 100 g provide about 118.6 mcg or about 198% of RDA. Vitamin C is a potent water-soluble antioxidant. It is required for the collagen synthesis in the body. Collagen is the main structural protein in the body required for maintaining the integrity of blood vessels, skin, organs, and bones. Regular consumption of foods rich in vitamin C helps body protect from scurvy; develop resistance against infectious agents (boosts immunity) and scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals fro the body. helps remove harmful free radicals from the body.

Besides, they contain other valuable antioxidants such as vitamin A, and flvonoids like beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and cryptoxanthins. These antioxidant substances in capsicum helps to protect body from injurious effects of free radicals generated during stress, diseases conditions.

Jalapeno chillies contain more pyridoxine, vitamin E, vitamin K than other variety of peppers. Vitamin K increases bone mass by promoting osteotrophic activity in the bones. It also has beneficial effect in Alzheimer's disease patients by limiting neuronal damage in their brain.