Sautéed Cauliflower: Our Unexpected Crave

Y'all, an unexpected thing happened to our family this winter.  We fell in love with cauliflower. I have always liked it, but never would I have thought that the words *cauliflower* and *crave* would be used in the same sentence.  But now, I crave it, and it shows up on the grocery list every week.

Here's how it happened: I was making the Cauliflower Soup that my friend Lindsey had been raving about.  It is a creamy (from the veggies, not milk) blended soup with bits of roasted cauliflower nestled on top as a garnish.  As I was sautéing the garnish, we tested one to check for doneness and flavor and then we started nibbling.  I swiftly went back to the refrigerator to cut up some more to add to the pan because it was clear none was going to make it to the soup. We ended up loving the garnish even more than the soup. (Though the soup is a winner.)

As we were chomping, we recalled a time we went with friends to the Tavern in midtown and got a buffalo cauliflower appetizer that was incredible.  It made me think about dipping them in some buffalo sauce.  The next time we sautéed cauliflower we tried it and it was yummy- especially to my guys.

Now sautéed cauliflower has become a main dish, a side dish, and a snack at our house. This week we made brown rice bowls layered with sautéed cauliflower and roasted kale, and rotisserie chicken with a drizzle of buffalo sauce and crumbles of blue cheese.

Herb Salted Cauliflower (Roasted or Sautéed)
You can oven roast or sauté depending on the time you have and amount of cauliflower you are making.
If you are making a bunch (a large head or more) you might rather roast on a baking sheet.
If you need it faster, you might choose sautéing in a frying pan.

Wash and chop cauliflower into small pieces.  Toss in a drizzle of olive oil.  Sprinkle with herb salt, or coarse salt and some dried rosemary and/or basil.

For sautéing- place in a pan on medium high heat and stir occasionally until tender, transparent and the edges are golden. Sprinkle with salt or herb salt.

If roasting- place on rimmed baking sheet and cook at 375˚ for 20-30 minutes, stirring a few times here and there.  Remove from oven when cauliflower is tender, transparent and the edges are golden. Sprinkle with salt or herb salt.

Let this simple, nutrient-packed, savory treat inspire your next meal! 

Eating our Greens (and lots of Ice Cream)

In enjoyment of the produce of summertime, and to offset the junk food that is inherent in summer eating, I have been cooking lots of veggie-driven meals.  Corn on the cob, tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, zucchini and melons have played a leading role our table.

Kale is one of the “super foods” I have been playing around with in the kitchen as well.  

My friend Melissa mentioned this Kale Salad that she makes and I tried the recipe. It is super simple and just what I want for a summer lunch.  I have been craving it so much that I have made it 4 times in the last few weeks!  I also think it’s great as a side with a piece of grilled chicken or fish for dinner.  One day I stirred in chunks of grilled chicken and feta and had a meal in a bowl.

Here's how simple it is:

Chop about 6 cups of Kale in the food processor until it is fairly finely chopped

add 1 cup cooked quinoa

and 1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds

and 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Toss all of these together.

In a measuring cup make the dressing: 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup lemon juice, and a pinch of coarse salt and ground pepper.  

MIx well and pour over the salad, stirring and adding as much as needed.

ENJOY!

It keeps well in the fridge for a few days.

Feel free to tweak the recipe as you like, putting more or less (or different ingredients) to make it the taste that you like.

The other thing we like to make with kale is Kale Chips.

They are one of my 9 year old's favorite treats. They are simple to make and are a tasty way to “eat your greens”.  I follow Smitten Kitchen’s recipe. So simple and yummy.

Smoothies are another almost daily request in our home and to get some good spinach nutrients into my kids, our featured smoothie has been the SNOT smoothie.  (Aptly named for the beautiful green color. I usually give a big, dramatic "Ahhhhhhhh Choo!" as I am about to plunge the straws in to serve the smoothies to my gang!)

The smoothies contain: fresh spinach, frozen bananas, frozen mango and vanilla yogurt.  If it’s too thick to blend, I add some cold water to thin it.  They are so delicious and beautiful too. (Much more beautiful than snot).

Another healthy thing we are trying
to make sure we add to our "diet" is SMILING!

I saw this message at the Frothy Monkey a couple of weeks ago and had to take a photo to hold onto this reminder!

And in case you think we are super-food, super-healthy all the time, DO NOT BE DECEIVED! We have been eating lots of tacos and guacamole, burgers, egg and cheese wraps, and we have been eating our fair share of ice cream.

Blue Bell Ice Cream has been on sale at the grocery, so of course we have had to get it!

And we have been making floats- rootbeer/vanilla ice cream; and Sprite/rainbow sherbet - a family tradition in my growing-up-home.

And we finally took our kids to Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream for the first time.

(We had been holding out because it is the cost of a meal for our family to each get a small ice cream there.)  But as a prize for their summer rewards plan, we did it.  

YUM! Buttermilk Strawberry, Salty Caramel, Chamomile, Toasted Coconut, Milkiest Chocolate in the World, Brambleberry Crisp... this is some splendid ice cream!

Hoping your summer is filled with some farm-fresh produce as well some sweet treats!