My Sunday Confession: Sweet & Tangy Poppy Seed Dressing

MySundayConfessionEvery week I collect recipes out of the local newspaper — we have an award winning food section, and quite often it gives me inspiration to cook. Now whether I act upon the inspiration is another story.  However  a month or two ago, I clipped a recipe for Apple Annie’s Tea Room & Bakery Poppy Seed Dressing. Folks, this recipe is just sinful. I had to try it. When I make it again, I think I’ll adjust a few of the ingredients to help bring the calorie count down, down, down — way down. I feel so guilty that there is still a whole tub of it in my refrigerator that still needs to be used. I dare not tell my husband what’s in the ingredients. Though if you want to try this dressing and live in San Antonio, I can tell you that a trip to Apple Annie’s would be worth the effort, just let this dressing pass your lips.

Sweet & Tangy Poppyseed Dressing | @HipVegetarianSweet & Tangy Poppy Seed Dressing

1/2 cup Sugar 1 teaspoon Dry Mustard 1/8 teaspoon Salt 1/4 cup Vinegar 1 cup Vegetable Oil 1/2 tablespoon Poppy Seeds 1/2 tablespoon Orange Rind, grated 1/4 cup Sour Cream Place sugar, dry mustard, salt, vinegar in a mixing bowl and mix. Slowly add oil and whisk until it becomes a thick emulsion. Add poppy seeds, orange rind and sour cream. Mix well.

Raw Cranberry Sauce

Raw Cranberry Sauce | @HipVegetarian

Raw Cranberry Sauce | @HipVegetarian

Here’s a quick Thanksgiving Recipe gift for you all: Raw Cranberry Sauce.

I made this recipe a few years ago and never could find it again. Then just this morning I realized it was the same cooked Recipe from Williams Sonoma, just slightly modified.  This sauce is a heavenly twist on the traditional cranberry sauce out of a can.

Raw Apple-Orange Cranberry Sauce

1/2 Orange
2 Tbls Orange Juice
1 Tart Apple (Granny Smith / McInstoch / Pippin)
3 cups, Fresh Cranberries (12 oz)
1 1/4 cup, Sugar
1/2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Ground Cloves

Remove skin from the apple, and core in to 8ths. Remove stem from orange on the outside. Rinse and check cranberries for firmness.

Throw everything into a food processer and blend untill you have the consistancy you like. And yes, that even include the orange peel!

Roasted Cauliflower

Roasted Cauliflower

Here’s an easy recipe to use up any cauliflower that you may have sitting in the refrigerator.

This garlic, lemon juice and salt/pepper combination turns this sometime unpopular vegetable into a tasty side dish for the family.

Easy and quick to make. Even the children can help assemble the dish together.

Roasted Cauliflower

  • 5 to 6 cups cauliflower florets
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon sliced garlic
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

Place the cauliflower on a cookie sheet or large casserole dish.  Drizzle cauliflower with olive oil and sprinkle the garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper over top. Place in the oven and cook for 15 minutes. Occasionally stir. Bake for 15 minutes.

Macadamia Nut Butter

Such an easy recipe that can be added to potatoes, cauliflower and more.  I can’t wait to try this as a Macadamia Nut and Honey Sandwich.

I tried blending the nuts in my Vitamix, but I wasn’t using enough nuts for the blades to grab on to — they kept getting stuck. So I transferred over to my Cuisinart Hand Blender and they blended up perfectly.

Macadamia Nut Butter

1 cup of Macadamia Nuts

With a hand blender, blend nuts until smooth. Takes about 3 to 5 minutes.