Our Web Marketing Therapy team is a 100% work-from-home team that is spread out across three time zones and, in fact, some of us have never met in person! While we love the work-from-anywhere lifestyle, we understand the importance of team-building activities amongst colleagues, especially since we don’t have the luxury of day-to-day interactions over coffee or work lunches where natural bonding occurs.
To foster team building, Team WMT meets as a group monthly – usually on a Friday – for an hour on Zoom. You might be thinking, “Snooze”, right? But that’s not the case. We think of creative activities that we all can enjoy while getting to know one another.
Our recent virtual team building activity was a cooking class led by Hannah McKitrick, owner and founder of My Intuitive Health, who is a Board Certified Holistic Nutritionist and a trained culinary chef. Hannah led us through a recipe to make a delicious cauliflower “rice” bowl with spinach, chickpeas, sweet potato and topped with a garlicky green sauce. We were sent a list of ingredients to purchase beforehand and what kitchen equipment would be needed for the class. We donned our best aprons and got to work.
I loved the casualness of the class, the ability to chit chat, and do something instead of just staring at each other through our screens. Plus it was fun to see everyone working in their kitchen workspace. An added bonus was the background view from Hannah’s kitchen window of a fresh snowy landscape which was a treat to see for those of us who reside in warmer climates. And the dish…was amazing! We all loved it. Here’s the recipe. Bon appetite!
Cauliflower “Rice” and Spinach Bowls with Sweet Potato & Chickpeas
INGREDIENTS (enough to feed 2)
3 garlic cloves
1 large sweet potato
1 cup of fresh basil or parsley (can also use a mix of the two)
1 lemon
1 cup spinach or kale
1 (15 oz) can of chickpeas (drained)
1⁄4 cup parmesan
1⁄4 cup goat cheese *if vegan substitute with vegan ricotta*
1 bag (12oz) of “riced” frozen cauliflower (or 2 bags if you’d like leftovers)
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
PANTRY STAPLES NEEDED:
Olive oil
Curry powder
Optional spices: chili powder & smoked paprika
Honey
Nut of choice – walnuts, pine nuts, or cashews (about 1/3 cup)
Salt & pepper
EQUIPMENT NEEDED
Two sheet trays lined with parchment paper (or silicone baking mats)
Food processor or blender
Medium-sized pot
Knife/cutting board
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Wash, peel (optional) and slice up sweet potato into about 1.5-inch cubes. Spread out on first sheet tray, drizzle with olive oil and season with curry powder, any other spices of choice (chili powder and/or smoked paprika), salt and pepper. Give it a good mix (using hands or spatula). Put in oven to bake on lowest rack (for crispiness). Bake for 25 minutes.
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Spread out on second sheet tray. Drizzle with olive oil, season with spices of choice, salt and pepper. Give it a good mix (using hands or spatula). Put in oven to bake on middle rack.
- Making the garlicky green sauce: In food processor or blender, add 1 cup basil or parsley, juice of 1 lemon, 1/3 cup of nut of your choice (I used cashew), a squeeze or more of honey, and 2 cloves of garlic. Blend. Throw in an ice cube or two to bring out the green color in the sauce; blend a second time. Add salt/pepper and maybe additional garlic and/or honey to taste. Blend again.
- Making the cauliflower rice: Add 1/3 cup chicken or vegetable stock and the frozen cauliflower rice to medium sized pot and cook on the stovetop on medium high. Cover with lid, occasionally uncovering and stirring to break up the frozen chunks. In the meantime, mince the third clove of garlic. Once cauliflower is heated up, reduce heat to medium low, add 1 cup of spinach or kale and cook until the spinach/kale is wilted.
- When the 25-minute timer buzzes for the sweet potatoes and chickpeas, remove both from the oven and stir with spatula. Put the sweet potatoes back in the oven for another 10-20 minutes, depending on how crispy you like them. If you want the chickpeas more crispy, put them back in for another 10 minutes but keep your eye on them so they don’t burn.
- Back to the cauliflower rice: add the minced garlic, 1/4 cup of goat cheese, 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese, and salt/pepper to taste. Stir together.
- When sweet potatoes and chickpeas are done baking to your liking, add both of them to the cauliflower rice mixture and add in about 2 tablespoons of the green sauce. Stir to mix together and serve with additional green sauce on top.
- Second option for plating to preserve the crunchiness of the chickpeas and sweet potatoes: dish out the cauliflower rice mixture into your bowl and top with the sweet potatoes, chickpeas and green sauce.