Teczcape-An Escape to Food

Camp broccoli or team cauliflower? It's hard to choose which one because each vegetable shines in its own special way, especially with how it's being prepared. For example, if it's a dish that needs slightly longer cooking time Whole Spiced-Roasted Cauliflower, cauliflower might be a preferred choice as it may withstand extended cooking duration without turning over-sulfurous.

Well, for this side-accompaniment today, both broccoli and cauliflower should be interchangeable. Adapted from Roast Broccoli Steak with Cheese, is this Roast Cauliflower with Cheese.

Our family enjoy duck dishes but we do not have it often since duck is almost like a "luxury" menu item on the dinner table as it is not easily available in the regular grocery stores or supermarkets. Thankfully, there is ready-cooked vacuum-packed roast duck and we will stash a few packs in the freezer whenever it is on sale; then prepare them as special menu item during festive occasions such as Christmas, New Year or Lunar New Year.


Not only they are better quality than those Cantonese-style roast found in most of the Chinese deli here, these ready-cooked vacuum-packed roast duck also makes meal prep a breeze when it comes to preparing duck dishes such as this Lunar New Year special menu item Roast Duck with Kumquat, Steamed Broccoli and Cauliflower.

Kumquat 金吉 literally meaning "golden luck" symbolizes prosperity and good fortune, aligning with auspiciousness for Lunar New Year.

Store-bought rotisserie chicken is our saviour when it comes to meal prepping for weekdays lunch and dinner (that's 10 meals!)

Make healthy protein bowls in a jiffy such as Chicken Broccoli Sweet Potato Bowl, Chicken Cauliflower Quinoa Bowl; also save and shred chicken breast the next day for Chicken Cabbage Salad, Chicken Broccoli with High-Protein-Noodle Salad, Chicken Salad Sandwich.


No time to shred the chicken breast? Simply enjoy chunky breast meat like an entree, with freshly steamed/roasted vegetables.

This meal today takes no more than 10 minutes cook time, with another 10 minutes preparation time to slice/prep the veggies. If you already have the veggies sliced/cut in advance: Congratulations! Because dinner will be ready in no more than 20 minutes, just like this 20-minute Sous Vide Beef Salad Bowl.

Finally, I made "egg-fried rice - 蛋炒饭, 黄金炒饭"，the infamous fried rice in which each "grain" of rice is evenly coated with egg. However, this "fried rice" is interestingly low-carb, low-calorie, even low or no cholesterol. How can that be?


It's cauliflower "rice" - the "rice" that is ubiquitous in health grocery stores. If there is another way to enjoy cauliflower - why not?

I have made cauliflower steaks before, and always love some good roasted whole cauliflower. One of my favorite Indian dishes is Aloo Gobi

With more antioxidants and protein than other beans, black soybean (the black variety of soybeans) is powerhouse plant-based protein, great for making nutritionally balanced vegetarian veggie bowl-meals or grain bowl-meals.

In the past few months of preparing veggie-salad meals and grain bowls, I have realized that nothing is impossible. In the standard culinary world of wonton soups, have you ever thought that wonton salads might also work?


With the arrival of autumn, this veggie bowl meal can be customized using what's in season. Pumpkin! And here today, we have butternut squash.

Ever thought of a soupy grain bowl?

This wacky idea came to me during winter - anything I could do for a bowl of piping hot food, I will; yet staying true to the routine (of salad grain bowls). I make warm salad grain bowls quite regularly but there are still times especially when the temperature hit the low 40Fs; when warm food does not suffice and hot food is desperately desired.

Under normal circumstances, the leftover rice and rotisserie chicken would be re-heated and served with steamed vegetables to prepare grain bowls such as Asparagus Chicken Quinoa Bowl or Broccoli, Cauliflower Chicken Quinoa Bowls.


But, what if Chicken Rice Soup can be prepared instantly, in less than 10 mins? What next?

If there is any fancy pumpkin squash to try this pumpkin season, let it be the Delicata. It is also a budget-friendly produce item to add to your autumn/fall grocery list.

Thinned-skin, Delicata Squash is also much easier to handle and slice, and cooks relatively quickly (compared to the other bigger thicker-skin pumpkins), in about 20 minutes roasting time.

Steamed Kale, Yellow and Purple Cauliflower, Cooked Beets, Roasted Squash, Shredded Chicken

During autumn/fall season, this pumpkin squash has become the fiber-boosting, nutrient-dense "carb" in place of sweet potatoes or potatoes or corn on the cob in these healthy and nutritious salad grain bowls.

Celery for fiber boost, dates for additional potassium (especially after a sweaty workout) and nuts for protein (plus good fats) - this Celery, Dates, and Nuts salad turned out a perfect component to a post-workout lunch salad bowl composed of steamed broccoli and cauliflower, leftover shredded chicken, hard-boiled egg, and quinoa.


For vegetarians, omit the chicken as the celery, dates and nuts component is delightfully tasty to glorify this steamed vegetables and quinoa grain bowl.

This "golden" salad dressingis now the "liquid gold" in my kitchen, especially in my homemade salads and workout meals (e.g. Asparagus, Chicken and Potato Salad Meal, Mushrooms, Green Beans, Broccoli Salad Bowl) It is an easy and healthy upgrade from the basic extra-virgin olive oil-apple cider vinegar-garlic-salt-pepper vinaigrette-based dressing.

The gold? Turmeric.


Did you know that black pepper and turmeric is a perfect match which defies the good'ol equation of one plus one equals two? According to some research sources, piperine - the active compound in black pepper will increase and enhance the bio-availability of curcumin (active component in turmeric) hence boost curcumin absorption in the body.

Sometimes, I simply forget but whenever possible, I try to add turmeric in my cooking e.g. when cooking rice, and when preparing salad dressing.


If you enjoy these salad meals, or veggie grain bowls, do check them out here. Or if you prefer a shrimp-similar salad bowl, try this Mixed Veggies, Shrimps, Avocado and Radish Bowl.

Store-bought or roasted at home; freshly cooked or leftovers; thigh meat, or breast meat. You can work in any meat (or meatless) protein options into this platter or bowl of food which is often gloriously called - salads; or simply a one-dish meal.

From start to finish, this delicious and nutritiously balanced meal took only about 30 minutes to complete, with the help of good-quality store-bought rotisserie chicken from Whole Foods Market.

Not only it saves time, store-bought rotisserie chicken is also budget-friendly if you regularly prepare meals for a small family of two to four. Typically, a whole roasted chicken can be used in two-three meals for a family of two. The drumsticks and wings consumed on the day itself, and leftover chicken (thigh meat and breast meat) used throughout the week in sandwiches/wraps and in dishes such as Asparagus, Cauliflower, Chicken Quinoa Bowl, and Asparagus, Chicken, Potato Bowl.

When the goal is to simply get healthy lunch and dinner on the table, it’s not a bad idea to stick with routine and habit. Routine makes it much easier to develop the habit of meal preparation.

Meal preparation has become quintessential ever since salad-bowl meals (e.g. Asparagus, Chicken and Potato Bowl, Mushrooms Broccoli and Green Bean Bowl) became house meals in my family. It is not extremely difficult; but a dedicated preparation will get us there, sooner and better.

The prep. work on Sunday, before the new week begins includes boiling and peeling a batch of eggs so that hard-boiled eggs are ready-to-use for the week; slicing broccoli and cauliflower into florets; dicing carrots, for example, so that these vegetables can be conveniently used for cooking during the work week.

Take this bowl, for example. It may seem an easily assembled meals but meal prep includes:

Just before we jump onto the "summer-means-salad" bandwagon (yes, I will be sharing more wholesome salad-as-a-meal in summer, stay tuned!), I thought I should take a step back and do a little introduction on salad dressing. A salad dressing can make or break a salad; and a homemade dressing is definitely way healthier than store-bought.

You know what? I used to think that salad dressing is out of my world, something that appears, kinda sophisticated. Well, it is not; especially when I K-I-S and found that Keeping-It-Simple actually works in my favor, and flavor. Something so simple that it does not bog you down when you want to prepare it. Something that will not make you go "nah, so difficult, I don't want to do it anymore".

It is definitely easier to form a habit when the task (of making it routine), is undaunted.


My go-to is always vinaigrette-based dressing, just because the base elements of extra-virgin olive oil and organic apple cider vinegar are the only ones stocked in my kitchen. Yes, my pantry stocks no other artisan oils and vinegar but it does not feel deprived.

It is not difficult to whisk up a salad dressing, at least the dressing that makes it to my salad bowl. It has gotta be quick, so the dressing makes it to my salad bowl. It has gotta be healthy, so the dressing makes it to my salad bowl.

Quick and healthy is this "Golden" Dressing that I am going to share with you today. Still, it is a vinaigrette-based dressing that gets it golden hue from ground turmeric, coupled with ground black pepper.

I saw some really beautiful organic romanesco broccoli in Whole Foods Market and got into impulsive mode. Well...impulsive good.


It was a Sunday and there was no plan to cook. But with this fresh-looking vegetable, should I? Maybe, a semi-homemade meal will do. A meal that will not take a toll especially on a slow and lazy Sunday. On the way back home, we got hold of a store-bought roasted duck, went home and within 30 minutes, lunch was served.

A simple one-bowl salad of everything, combines two cooking techniques in vegetables preparation -via roasting and steaming. The cauliflower and broccoli could have jolly well been roasted to charred-smoky deliciousness; but personally, I prefer my fresh cruciferous vegetables - steamed e.g. Steamed Purple Cauliflower, or stir-fried e.g. Stir-Fried Broccoli with Beech Mushrooms. Steaming, in this case, retains maximum nutrients using shorter time (10 mins or less), and lower cooking temperature 100degC steam-temperature.

With pesto, I do not even have to cook a sauce for pasta anymore! Okay, quite frankly, some of my pasta dishes e.g. Roasted Vegetables with Pasta, Kale and Tomatoes with Pasta, do not need sauces. Sometimes, a glorious vegetables-saute or vegetables-roast is good enough to be the "sauce" for pasta.

But if there is homemade pesto, ready in the fridge waiting for you, why not use it to make a good dish better?


Think of pesto like a salad dressing, a spread, a dip, a sauce - it is very versatile in appetizers such as Pesto Cucumber Bites, Pesto Pita Bites; side-dishes e.g. Hasselback Potato with Yogurt-Pesto Dressing, and entrees such as Pesto Chicken, Pesto Pizza.

Is this a vegetable stir-fry or a vegetable braise? This dish leans towards quick and simple braising (in this context which means frying it quickly then simmering in a covered pot with a small amount of liquid) of  Napa cabbage with mushrooms and tofu.

Unlike Napa Cabbage, Mushrooms and Tofu Stew which can afford a little more cooking/simmering time, this vegetable dish should not be overcooked due to the presence of other vegetables particularly leafy greens.


If there are leftover vegetables such as Bok Choy, cauliflower in the fridge, they can be added to this dish and it will make quite a substantial dish; a dish that can be good enough to go solo or to pair with rice. With the addition of four varieties of mushrooms - oyster mushrooms, beech mushrooms, crimini mushrooms and enoki mushrooms, a vegetarian dish can be made very wholesome, nutritious, healthy and delicious.

The fancy name, often used in some Chinese restaurants, is Buddha's Delight 罗汉斋; otherwise it is also known as Combination Vegetarian Stir-Fry 什锦炒菜.

Organic cauliflower of all varieties and colors selling at $3 each in the farmer's market. How can I not grab a few including this beautiful purple one?


It is not the best comparison but just like how I cook fresh seafood, I prefer to keep it minimal for fresh farmer's market produce. This is so the natural fresh flavors of the produce/ingredient shines through, not masked by any heavy sauce or seasoning.

The best is to go with salad; however we are not at peak hot dry summer yet, a cold crisp salad is not as enticing as a bowl of warm soup e.g. Hot Spicy Sour Soup. Roasting is another way to go (try this Whole-Roasted Cauliflower) but the roasting temperature might be relatively harsh for this delicate purple cauliflower. Thus, the next best is to get the purple cauliflower steamed, not longer than how you would steam the standard cauliflower as the purple hue might be lost if steaming goes on...and on.

This steamed purple cauliflower dish is accomplished in a matter of 5 minutes, so if you like your cauliflower on the tender-crunchy side, this is it.

How many ways can you prepare, cook and present a cauliflower dish? Often, cauliflower can be prepared into florets then used in recipes such as Roasted Cauliflower Pizza, Sweet and Sour Cauliflower in the style of Gobi Manchurian, Almost Aloo Gobi - Spicy Cauliflower with Potatoes, Cauliflower Potato Cheddar Soup. Other times, cauliflower can also be sliced as "steaks", grilled or roasted as "steaks" and enjoyed as....a steak!

Now comes the biggie!

The first time I tried whole roasted cauliflower was in Turmeric Indian Restaurant in Sunnyvale, CA and that spicy whole roasted cauliflower served as part of buffet lunch left me very impressed, wanting more. But I can't be heading to buffet that regularly. So, without doubt, it became part of my to-do list, however knowing it was something that would not happen too soon. It was processing in my mind, deciphering and decoding - how such a dish can be easily achieved in a home kitchen by the home-cook.


Till I saw a dish at Angie Recipes that featured a whole-head of cauliflower - kept whole and cooked whole. Though not exactly the same, it reminded me of that restaurant's spicy whole roasted cauliflower,


Then I saw a photo shared in Facebook, and viola - this is it! It looks exactly almost like the restaurant's, read Spicy Roasted Cauliflower, and came with a recipe. Yay!

My goal in the kitchen has always been consistent - to simplify cooking as much as possible, yet the kind of quick and easy cooking that yields the best possible flavors.


This year, our small-space garden has transformed from a previously "vegetable-centric" garden to one predominant with herbs and chili. Basil, thyme and rosemary are three herbs that has grown quite well in our garden space. In addition, basil is very easy to propagate by "cuttings", so naturally we had more than enough basil to spare for what my cooking (or rather, my pesto) can accommodate.

As the essential oils e.g. eugenol in basil are highly volatile, it is best to add the herbs near the end of the cooking process, so it will retain its maximum essence and flavor.

Okay, to step out of the pesto-zone, I am going to try something else today, with basil.