Cauliflower buffalo wings with cashew ranch dressing
SocialJoy
The first day of the month, was very excited to eat some dairy, fish and meat after being vegan for the whole month of October. So the day started with a bacon omelette and followed by a delicious buffet lunch at Church House in Westminster. I was also taken to Hai Di Lao Hotpot Chinese restaurant in Piccadilly by my daughter for a celebration of KitchenJoy 2nd year anniversary. We started with amazing cocktails at the Alchemist cocktail bar with “Bath Bomb” and “Colour changing one” delicious cocktails, all seemed very mind blowing and scientific! https://thealchemist.uk.com/
At the Chinese restaurant, we cooked our own sea bass and prawns in the hot pot soups, so very healthy and noodle boy made our noodles at the table by stretching them out, and we cooked these in the soups too, all very entertaining. https://www.haidilao.com/en/index/index.html
The most exciting news is I am off to Nepal in November and will still be there for early part of December. This will involve lots of trekking, temple touring, meditation, yoga, plenty of reading and of course trying out the local cuisine. The trip will end at Chitwan National Park, elephant safari and 4x4 jeep, deep into the jungle. Along with some well earned r&r around the pool soaking up the rays! Will report back in December’s blog!
WorkJoy
The 1st of November I did a talk on Good Food Moods at Church House events at Westminster. https://www.churchhouseconf.co.uk/events
I took along some avocado brownie bites and their chef did some amazing poke bowls and other delights. We could also make our own magnum ice-creams, by dipping in a variety of melted chocolate flavours, and lots of sprinkles, followed by passion fruit vodka cocktails and fizz. A great networking event as well.
I did a great live demo at We Work in Hammersmith, which involved making a brain power smoothie and pea, za’atar and feta fritters, to their clients. This opportunity gave me the platform to work with all the WeWork locations but was delighted to start locally and expand to their other venues.
I am working with food.social https://food.social/ which is a platform to experience many food and drink delights. I made x100 chocolate brownies in the shape of a chef’s hat which is their logo for their launch into the market as giveaways.
KitchenJoy
The Chocolate course was launched and lovely to make new recipes which consisted of slow cooked short beef ribs with raw cacao, chocolate beetroot brownies with 85% dark chocolate, vegan chocolate and orange mousse with tofu and dairy free chocolate and a smoothie of almond milk, raw cacao, mint, nuts and tahini. All very delicious!
Food.social came along for a vegan class which was fun making seitan for the mongolian “beef” stir fry and more chocolate mousse, what a delightful group! I made cauliflower buffalo wings for when people arrived and they went down a treat!
Below is a recipe for the Cauliflower buffalo wings
Ingredients
1 large head of cauliflower
150g plain flour
300ml plant-based milk
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
100g panko breadcrumbs
120g dairy-free butter
200g buffalo hot sauce
For the ranch sauce
150 cashew nuts
150ml plant-based milk
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp garlic powder
¾ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
Handful fresh parsley
Chopped chives
Preheat oven to 180C. Line 2 baking trays. Add the cashew nuts to a pan of boiling water and boil for 15 minutes, then strain and run under cold water to cool slightly.
Meanwhile, break the cauliflower into florets and cut the stem into bite-sized pieces.
Put the flour, plant-based milk, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper into a bowl and whisk to a batter. Pour the panko breadcrumbs into another bowl and rub them between your thumb and fingers to break into slightly smaller breadcrumbs.
Tip the cauliflower into the batter and toss to coat. Transfer to the bowl of breadcrumbs, a few pieces at a time, and toss gently until well coated. Spread the cauliflower pieces over the lined baking trays and bake for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt the dairy-free butter in the microwave and stir in the hot sauce.
After 20 minutes, remove the tray from the oven, pour over the hot sauce and carefully roll the cauliflower around until the pieces are fully coated. Put the tray back in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until a sharp knife glides into the thickest parts of the cauliflower and the outsides are really golden brown and crispy. Remove from the oven.
While the cauliflower is cooking, put all the ingredients for the ranch sauce except for the herbs into the food processor or liquidizer and whizz for 1-2 minutes until smooth and creamy. Transfer to a serving bowl. Finely chop the parsley and chives and add most of them to the sauce, reserving a little for garnish.
Serve the cauliflower wings while they’re still hot on a serving plate, sprinkled with the remaining herbs and with the ranch dip on the side.
