Tuesday, May 1, 2018

How do I love thee?: #Cauliflower


I found over the years many recipes that I love with cauliflower and I create new ones all the time. Cauliflower has proven to be one of the most versatile vegetables in my kitchen and I am always pleased with its performance and reliability.

Cauliflower is a biennial herb developed from the wild cabbage but distinguished from cultivated cabbage by its swollen flower-stems which form white (or other colors) heads and suggest its name "stem-flower". Of all the members of the cabbage group cauliflower can be most finical. I have had luck with cauliflower in the garden, as long as I can keep the aphids at bay. When the heads start to poke through into the sun I tie the leaves to shade the flower (head) so that it won't get brown from sun exposure. In addition, I use the entire plant and will juice or sautĂ© the leaves in a dish.


In the kitchen I use cauliflower in a number of traditional dishes, like an Asian stir fry or simply seasoned and steamed or raw cauliflower dipped in a tofu ranch dressing. But where is the fun in that! 

Cauliflower is a great replacement for the white potato it can be steamed and then blended and seasoned into a creamy potato-like dish. It will have fewer calories and be just as tasty. I have also used it as the base for a vegan Alfredo sauce, also steamed; I blend it with roasted garlic, nutritional yeast, almond milk and spices. One of my favorite dishes is cauliflower wings with a nice lite batter and baked with Frank's Red Hot. I am now experimenting with the other beautiful colors of cauliflower.

I will likely have cauliflower in the garden this year and will be sure to post the progress. I think my biggest challenge will be having enough of it as I don't have the room for 20 plants!

Happy Cooking!
The Dirty Girl

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