Cauliflower Shawarma with Veggies & Everything Yogurt Sauce
Ever since we’ve moved, I’ve really battled the ups of downs of feeling settled and more comfortable in our new home, and then just really homesick for our the life we kind of left behind. Specifically the friends we left behind. So with some delays in our business opening, & trying to keep things upbeat during these challenges, I couldn’t be happier that Jordan wanted to go back to AZ for a long weekend. Talk about a way to make the most out of some free time!
It felt good to be somewhere familiar. Somewhere where we could load our schedules to just go from favorite place to favorite place. I really fell in love with my husband and our life when we moved to Arizona. Like I loved him dearly before we moved out to the desert, but our life really became something special in Arizona. We became adults together in Arizona. We stood on our own two feet and built a really sweet life with two chiweens & each other & hobbies, & it felt really nice to be back. It felt especially nice sit on the patio at our favorite restaurant for dinner & going back to the dive bar that we loved to hit for a “final final.” We kind of went on vacation, and our only solid must was to go back to the first spot we went on a date in Arizona (which became one of our all-time favorite date spots ever). & having one more night where we could sit on the patio by ourselves since it’s literally too hot for everyone else, and for some reason we love it, & enter vacation mode with a couple extra drinks and get slightly boozed up and just literally have the best time. It was heaven.
What was heaven & hell - hiking Camelback in the 105 degree heat. Heaven because we can say it’s something we re-did being back in our old stomping grounds, hell because it was literally hell. Hot as hell, made me feel like hell, and literally the sweat couldn’t be stopped. & I got mad at the hike (Jordan’s very kind way of describing my tantrum), & at one point I told him to “just go on without me.” Pa-the-tic, & truly not my finest moment, but it’s one of those funny moments that was a mark of the trip, and he’ll probably re-enact the scene for me until my dying day.
The true refreshing moment - seeing our friends who I truly feel are nothing but those life-long, real deal friends that I’m so lucky to know. Like if there is another couple in this world that is our soulmate - it’s these two humans that made Arizona feel like home and gave us a family feeling in the desert. & it was that friendship that made it so hard to move away from the desert. So long story short we’re so lucky to know them. We always had the best double dates & pool parties with these two, so to get one of each this summer felt pretty special. I belly laughed until tears were flowing down my face, and sitting across from them at a dinner table was ordinary and comfortable, and I fucking needed it. I got that familiar feeling that these are two humans that are easy have the best time with, and they care about us, and I just miss that close friendship. One of my biggest downfalls this past year is not staying in better touch with them. & that is totally my bad. So I was nervous that things wouldn’t be the same because so much time has passed. Like maybe they’d be upset that I’ve been distant, and not know that the reason is feeling a little sad that I don’t have them physically near us like we did, & feeling a little displaced not living that life these friends were so much a part of. I was even kind of worried I’d have this breakdown experiencing that life that we did love so much. & all I can say is I feel refreshed, and being with them was like it always was. I was easily overcome with a feeling that was like the equivalent of a reminder of what having a real friend feels like. Just perfect and filled my heart with so many good feels. 36 hours of fun that were honest to god the highlight of Summer 2019.
So it’s this ironic juxtaposition of coming back refreshed & so happy to have quality time with Jordan in one of our favorite places, but also feeling like I need to hit the re-start button after going in hard on the vacation mode. I mean there was lots of cocktails & fried food & ice cream consumed. So first dinner at home was loaded with the lots of green goodness - veggies on veggies on veggies. These Cauliflower Shawarmas with Veggies and Everything Yogurt Sauce were savory, had some warm and cold components, which is just one of my favorite things, and my husband described it as a veggie dish that was so delish you’d think it wasn’t good for you.
So is it shawarma - fuck no. It’s roasted cauliflower with loads of seasoning, and because it’s in a warm flatbread with hummus and yogurt sauce, I get gyro vibes. The warm flatbread and cauliflower just tastes so good with the cold and crisp veggies, and especially the creamy avocado slices + 2 sauces. Two sauces - this is what the sauce boss like me lives for. I mean - hummus was my cheater ingredient of the whole thing, but that everything yogurt sauce was my masterpiece. I thought about making tzatziki, and then browsing for my hummus I saw the new hot item in the dip section in Trader Joe’s - Everything But the Bagel Yogurt Sauce. I was sold! & I already has Everything Bagel Seasoning and Yogurt sitting in my fridge, so I opted to make my own little variation. It was truly so good that it fulfilled by tzatziki fix and me and Jordan literally sat there dipping cucumber slices into it.
The other think I came back to - an overgrown tomato plant, but in a good way. So I harvested my ripe tomatoes, and made my favorite little side - a simple tomato salad. Sliced tomatoes with garlic + vinegar + herbs + salt & pepper - ugh so good. It’s bright and vinegary, and when it’s seasoned just right it turns into a regular ol’ tomato into something real good. & this simple something is truly real good.
All in all, a very successful meatless meal that gave me Mediterranean takeout vibes. & this yogurt Everything sauce is literally my new favorite thing to make with that addicting seasoning.
For the Cauliflower Shawarma
1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
2 tbsp EVOO
pinch of garlic powder + paprika
about 2 c. arugula
1 cucumber (English cucumber preferred), thinly sliced
1 avocado, halved & sliced
2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
2 flatbreads or pitas
your favorite pre-made hummus
Salt & pepper
Everything Yogurt Sauce
1/2 c. nonfat Greek yogurt
1 tbsp Every Bagel Seasoning (from TJs)
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Simple Tomato Salad
2 c. cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp minced parsley
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
Salt & pepper
Preheat the oven to 375 & line a baking tray with foil. In a large bowl, toss the cauliflower florets with the EVOO, garlic powder, paprika, & a pinch of both salt and pepper. My recommendation - be slightly heavy handed with it to maximize the flavor. Spread the cauliflower on the baking sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes. The cauliflower will be browned along the edges and tender when it’s done.
Next move to making the yogurt sauce. Place all ingredient in a small bowl or ramekin and mix until the seasoning is evenly distributed in the sauce. Set the mixture in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (it’s like French onion dip - gotta let those flavors get to know each other).
Next move to making the tomato salad. Place the tomatoes, garlic, parsley, vinegar, and a pinch of salt & pepper to taste. Toss the tomatoes with the vinegar and seasoning, and set in the fridge until you’re ready to eat.
When the cauliflower has finished cooking, toss the flatbreads in the oven for a couple minutes - just until warmed. Assemble the shawarma by smearing about a tablespoon of the hummus on the warmed flatbread. Top with a pinch of arugula, a few slices of cucumber, and about 1/4 of the sliced avocado per flatbread. Top the veggies with a few of the cauliflower florets. Finish by sprinkling the shawarma with a pinch of the fresh parsley & a couple dollops of the yogurt sauce. Serve right alongside the remaining yogurt sauce & the tomatoes, & drizzle a little sriracha over each shawarma for a little heat.