Roasted Artichokes and Chipotle Aioli Sauce

 The Artichoke

I was always a little intimidated by the fresh artichokes in the grocery store. I had no idea what to do with it! After a couple cooking shows and numerous pep talks to myself, I decided to try doing it at home :)

I chose a recipe online and as it turns out everyone told me that this is by far one of the tastiest ways to prepare artichokes. This recipe calls for both steaming and roasting it, which produces a tender and flavorful artichoke. The dip is quite nice too and not too spicy.

1 large artichoke
Olive oil to drizzle
Garlic powder and salt

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Take a large artichoke (or a couple), you can trim the pointy leaves if you want to. I didn't feel like it at the moment, so I didn't. Cut the stem of the artichoke so that it can 'sit' flat in a pot of water.

Pour about 2 inches of water in a pot, place the trimmed (or not) artichoke in the pot and bring everything to a boil. Cover the artichoke and 'steam' for about 20-25 minutes.

Take the artichoke out of the water and place it in a baking pan. I poured a bit of water in the bottom of the pan, which helped make the artichoke softer. Now, separate the leaves of the artichoke a bit and season with garlic powder and salt. Drizzle the olive oil over the artichoke as well.

Bake the artichoke for about 30 to 40 minutes until it becomes soft.

Chipotle Aioli

• 3/4 cup vegan mayonnaise
• 1/2 tsp hot sauce (optional)
• 1/4 cup enchilada sauce
• juice of one lime (about 2 tbsp)
• dash cayenne (optional)
• 1/2 tsp chipotle powder

Mix the veganaise, hot sauce, enchilada sauce, lime juice, cayenne and chipotle together. Serve alongside your artichoke!

Cauliflower Soup and Kale Chips

Cauliflower Soup and Kale Chips

My fridge was looking mostly empty tonight, except for some fresh cauliflower and a bag of pre-washed kale leaves. So, my dinner idea was cauliflower soup and some roasted kale chips. The soup turned out to be delicious, super creamy, and sinfully tasting (but on minimal amount of calories). Kale chips make a nice, crunchy addition to this soup. You can either have them on the side or sprinkle some on your soup. Enjoy!

Cauliflower Soup

1 head of cauliflower, separated into florets
Reserve water from steaming cauliflower
Garlic powder (to taste)
Salt and pepper
High speed blender, such as Vitamix

I steamed the cauliflower florets in a steamer for about 6-7 minutes until tender. You can also lightly boil the cauliflower and reserve the water, which will have the same effect. Then I put all of the cauliflower in the Vitamix blender, together with about 3-4 ladels of the 'steam' water. I sprinkled some garlic powder, salt and pepper and gave it a whirl! I blended the soup for about a 30-45 seconds until it was super smooth. If you do not have a high speed blender, you can blend this soup in a normal blender, just add more water!

Kale Chips

2-3 bunches of washed Kale, stems removed and leaves cut into thick strips
Garlic powder
Salt to taste (do not use too much)
Olive oil (I used black truffle infused olive oil for the amazing smell).

Preheat oven to 300 F. Toss the kale leaves with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and garlic powder. Be careful with using too much salt, its easier to add more later. Spread out the kale in one layer on parchment paper. Bake for 20 minutes and voila!

You can sprinkle the Kale Chips on the soup or just enjoy them as a side snack. Enjoy!