Indian Whole Roasted Cauliflower

The new kitchen has been humming this week I’ve been working on preserving the harvest (to have summer in the dead of MN winter), searching for new recipes to try and making some favorites - I’m totally enjoying my new kitchen. 

I was at the farmers market last weekend and found a beautiful head of cauliflower. My initial reaction was to make buffalo cauliflower - because I have developed an intense like of buffalo cauliflower - but I decided I wanted to try baking/roasting in my new oven. 

Most of my adult life I’ve had an electric stove but with the remodel, Dan wanted to switch over to gas. I had my reservations, after all I had the steaming of veggies on my electric stove down to the minute to create the perfect result. It’s not tragic, I just need to devise a new “perfect system.” 

But back to the cauliflower. A few years ago I was riding back to the airport in Dallas with my then boss Anne Lapkin and she was telling me about this delicious recipe for a yogurt and spiced cauliflower. It sounded really good and I tucked the idea in the recesses of my mind to pull out for a rainy day. That day was last week. 

I was searching for a whole roasted cauliflower recipe on Pinterest and came across a number of them that looked delicious and then that memory returned so I refined my search a bit and found an amazing recipe on Pure Wow’s blog. I made some adjustments based on dietary and ingredients we had in the kitchen. The end result was delicious and we had the leftovers for dinner tonight. I even got a “You should make this again it was delicious” from Dan. 

If you want the Pure Wow recipe go here 

Here is my recipe with some changes.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 head cauliflower

1½ cups plain coconut milk yogurt

1 lime juiced (I had tiny key limes and used  1 1/2)

2 tablespoons chile powder

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon curry powder

2 teaspoons sea salt 

1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 400° and lightly grease a small baking sheet with vegetable oil. 

2.  Trim the base of the cauliflower to remove any green leaves and the woody stem.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the yogurt with the lime juice, chile powder, cumin, garlic powder, curry powder, salt and pepper.

4. Place the cauliflower in at the prepared baking dish. Slowly pour the marinade evenly over its surface making sure to cover the entire head. 

5. Roast the cauliflower for 40 - 50 minutes until the surface is dry and lightly browned.  The marinade will make a crust on the surface of the cauliflower.

6. Let the cauliflower cool for 10 minutes before cutting it into wedges and serving.

We served ours with a salad of corn, cukes, tomatoes, and a field roast sausage. On leftover night we served it with a green salad and fresh fruit. 

I’m so happy to be back to blogging and cooking - thanks for stopping by!

A Vegetarian for One Year is Back

I’m back and it feels so good. Never in my dreams did I expect a kitchen remodel to take 15 weeks. It’s been hell but I must say I love the end result. On the flip side, I’ve missed blogging and connecting with all of you. It doesn’t mean I’ve not been cooking, I have but it hasn’t been glamorous  - mostly microwave, toaster oven and some grilling. It’s so nice to have a stove and a dishwasher whose name is Whirlpool (Dan’s been excited to give up that role) who does all the work.

This years garden is doing well. We’ve been eating tomatoes for a while now - in salads, with feta, basil and balsamic, in bruschetta and on sandwiches. My last trip to the garden landed 6 beets, 3 cucumbers and a shirt full of tomatoes - thank goodness to friends and neighbors who like veggies. 

We tried a new cherry tomato this year; Rapunzel. It is a small cherry with a deliciously sweet flavor and a light skin. Our neighbors planted them last year and I had a few tastes while taking care of their dog. I was hooked and made a note of the type so that I was sure to get a plant or two for this year. They take a little longer to mature but they are worth it. 

We’ve made it through bean and sugar snap pea season - there are a few beans lingering out there which I’ll bring in with today’s run and we had our first cabbage, which we turned into curried cabbage and onions. My experiment this year was beets and they are delicious, I can’t wait to turn a few of them into Beet Rubens with my home made marinated vegetables (in place of sauerkraut). 

Our first entertaining in the new kitchen will be on Tuesday and we’re having the newlyweds (Alona and Nate) over. So stay tuned for my first food blog. In the interim I’ll post a couple pictures of what we’ve been eating since I’ve been away.