Curried Cauliflower & Cashew Salad

I call this…addiction in a bowl.

April was a whirlwind. I was pretty slow business-wise in March. But once the calendar turned, I couldn’t even keep up with my emails and calls for all the people who are looking for delivered plant-based meals or cooking lessons. Which is SO awesome. It’s a huge testament to how people’s views on eating animals are shifting. I used to get maybe 10 inquiries a month for vegan meals or events. Now I’m getting more than that every week. You can’t tell me veganism isn’t trending right now!

With all this cooking and teaching though, it’s easy to forget to feed myself. Days go by where all I get in my system is a green juice, some cashews and maybe a granola bar. Which doesn’t exactly fall under my definition of vegan. I need healthier, more well-balanced meals in my life. More salads, more roasted veggies even. But when you cook for 6 hours a day, spend countless hours at Whole Foods and doing dishes, it’s tough to want to put any more effort into making a great meal for myself. This whole ordeal reminds me of a “Friends” episode. Rachel dates a gynocologist, who, at the end of the day, does NOT want to see another…you know what. That’s how I feel about whipping up a dish for myself after making 10 meals for other people, you know?

But feeling hungry or drained all the time ain’t helping me either. So I’ve been leaning towards quick, gluten-free, sugar-free meals that pack as much nutrition as possible. And for some odd reason, I’ve really been craving cauliflower. Which is an awesome craving to have.

Although I usually eat nuts raw, I LOVE these maple, curry roasted cashews. The contrast of the cool, crisp red bell pepper, scallions and onion go perfectly with warm, roasted cauliflower. I intended on adding some peas too, but was out. I will add them next time though, and so should you! 🙂

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

1 cup whole raw, cashews

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 Roma tomatoes, chopped

3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 cup chopped scallions

3 tbsp maple syrup, divided

4 tbsp olive oil, divided

2 tbsp curry powder, divided

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp dry mustard

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp sea salt

Dash of cayenne pepper and black pepper

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Mix cashews with 2 tbsp maple syrup, 1 tbsp oil, 1 tbsp curry powder and a dash of sea salt
• Toss well to coat, then bake on a parchment paper lined baking sheet at 350 degrees for 15 minutes
• Toss cauliflower florets with remaining maple syrup, olive oil and curry powder, along with paprika, cumin, mustard, turmeric, chili powder, cayenne pepper, black pepper and salt
• Lay on another parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes
• Toss with cashews when both are done cooking and serve, topped with bell peppers, tomatoes, cilantro and scallions (add more of the toppings if you want!)