Fabulous Carb-Craving Recipe and Book Giveaway

Friends, Family and Fans….. or is it Fan ;-)?  Wait, our mother doesn’t count as a Fan….

It is my honor to share with you a review and a recipe from “Crave, Eat, Heal: Plant-Based, Whole-Food Recipes to Satisfy Every Appetite” written by Annie Oliverio, AKA anunrefinedvegan.

Both Little Sis and I are big fans of Annie’s delicious and healthy plant-based recipes and we have shared recipes from her blog in the past, so you may be familiar with some of her incredible recipes.  What has been left out of our sharing, and what is abundant and one of the extremely appealing elements of her book is the photography.  In looking through the book I was reminded of looking at a well-crafted seed catalog.  You can spend a good amount of time just planning and dreaming and seeing the abundance of the natural world!  Each photograph inspires you to eat better, feel better and enjoy truly delicious food.  She is really an artist in the kitchen and behind the lens and you will enjoy this book visually as much as you will enjoy the content.

As far as the content goes, the book is divided by cravings…., so instead of “Do you feel like Chinese or Mexican food tonight?” You can ask yourself or your eating partner(s), “Do you feel like salty, creamy, comfort food, carbs or crunchy tonight?”  It is an interesting and helpful approach to changing your diet to healthier food to find foods which scratch those gustatory itches which you may previously have scratched using unhealthy or processed foods.

Annie also provides a lot of help for those not familiar with plant-based or vegan cooking, so you can begin the book with an education that will help you and your family incorporate more vegetables and less animal fat into your diet.  And although I didn’t mention sweets above (because it was a dinner question), there are many fabulous sweets recipes to satisfy the post-dinner sweet tooth.

This is truly a gorgeous and informative book.  Annie is a thoughtful and interesting writer as well, so you feel like she is talking to you and helping you along with a bit of humor and lots of lovely intentions.

I prepared a recipe that satisfies carb cravings but can be GF – perfect for us because I can tell you that being GF can cause some serious carb cravings.  I am going to use her photo, because if you can use Annie’s photo – you should!  I am also going to use her introduction to the recipe because it will give you a taste of her engaging style.  We are giving away a copy of the book to a lucky reader!

So here’s the dealio on the giveaway – I won’t make you read more, because I know you want the free stuff. I get it, I like free stuff too! All you need to do to enter the giveaway is to leave a comment on this page. That’s one entry. If you’d like to double your chances, take a trip over to our FB page and give us a like. Two whole chances to win this lovely book with just a little typing and clicking. Yay!

Okay – you’re all entered up, so now let’s talk about Annie’s fab food!

We really enjoyed this meal.  My son who is an inveterate cauliflower hater enjoyed this meal (!).  Hooray!  I wouldn’t even tell any anti-cauliflowites in your house it is present…. they probably won’t know!  I will also tell you that the leftovers of this served without the wrap and with some chopped celery or romaine makes a great dish as well – sort of potato salad with some punch!  Check out the recipe, the book and Annie’s blog.  You and all of your arteries will be glad you did 😉

I give you Annie’s….CAULIFLOWER, POTATO, & PICKLE WRAPS WITH TAHINI DRESSING

If you’re familiar with the television show, Seinfeld, than you probably remember the episode about The Bad Breaker-Upper.  Well, I’m The Bad Wrapper-Upper.  I can’t roll a wrap or burrito to save my life!  But it doesn’t stop me from trying.  This recipe was inspired by one I saw many years ago on a blog called Herbivoress, and I was surprised at how delicious this seemingly strange combination of flavors was.  My recipe is admittedly a lot more complicated than the original – but the basics are in there: potato, cauliflower, tahini – – and pickles.  

Gluten-free Option, Oil-free, Easy

CAULIFLOWER, POTATO, & PICKLE WRAPS WITH TAHINI DRESSING
Serves 4-6
INGREDIENTS

Filling
1 large baking potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 cups chopped cauliflower
1 small onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 cup Vegetable Broth (see page XX for recipe), or store-bought low-sodium
vegetable broth
2 Tbsp. liquid aminos or tamari
1 tsp. cumin powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
Pinch sea salt
Pinch cayenne
Pinch sweet paprika
2 cups finely chopped romaine lettuce
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
4 kosher dill pickle spears
4 whole wheat or gluten-free tortillas, lavash, or pita

Dressing

1/2 cup tahini
1 clove garlic
2 Tbsp. – 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 – 1 Tbsp. white miso paste
1 tsp. dried onion flakes
1/2 tsp. cumin powder
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
Pinch cayenne

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 425-degrees.  In a large bowl, combine the potato, cauliflower, onion, garlic, vegetable broth, liquid aminos, and spices and toss to combine.  Pour this mixture into a shallow baking dish and spread into one layer to speed cooking.  
Bake the potato-cauliflower mixture for about 45 minutes, turning the vegetables two or three times.  The vegetables should be soft and slightly browned at the edges.  If the mixture dries out during the cooking time, add a splash or two of water or vegetable broth.  
While the vegetables cook, prepare the dressing.  Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a high-speed or regular blender and process until very smooth.  Set aside.
To serve, gently warm the tortillas, lavash, or pita breads.  You can either mix the vegetables with the dressing, or you can spread some of the tahini dressing on/into the breads and then add the other ingredients on top.  Divide the romaine lettuce between the breads, then spoon on the potato-cauliflower mixture, sprinkle with chopped parsley and top with one pickle spear per wrap.  

Total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes including roasting time

Suggestions:

I prefer to eat this when the potato-cauliflower mixture is warm, rather than hot.
Recipe reprinted with permission from Annie Oliverio and Front Table Books.

There you have it my friends.  More vegetables and less animal fat is easier, tastier and oh so beautiful with Crave, Eat, Heal.  Check it out!