Menu Monday: Spicy Roasted Cauliflower

You win some, you lose some. I've said this before. I'm not quite sure if I would count this recipe for SPICY ROASTED CAULIFLOWER a loss. The spices on the cauliflower were so enjoyable with our chicken and rice, and the spices improved the chou-fleur (French for "cauliflower"--a pet name in French is "petit chou," which I call our cat Hobie who is a big ball of white fur ;).

But the cauliflower itself was not improved upon in itself, if that makes sense. I mean, I don't know anyone who enjoys cauliflower by itself. (If you do, let me know.) It's always aided by something, whether ranch dip if its raw or a host of other ingredients if its not. I will not quite give up on cauliflower yet. I want to try mashed cauliflower eventually (because I have heard raves over this) and maybe some other recipes. The thing is so many people raved about ROASTED CAULIFLOWER, and I was slightly let down. I liked the flavor, but I don't know if I would want to make this recipe again using cauliflower. Maybe another veggie like potatoes. Potatoes fix anything, right? I mean, a lot of the mashed cauliflower recipes call for potatoes, too. And while I LOVE broccoli, the broccoli-smell the cauliflower gave off when I was cutting it (and then when I went to reheat it the next day) turned me off a bit. I still ate quite a bit, and it was still tasty the next day, but the cauliflower was not like the Brussels sprouts--taken from blah to beautiful. Still, the SPICY ROASTED CAULIFLOWER does look mighty pretty--the spices look like I battered and fried them! (I didn't--though that might improve the taste of the cauliflower, too. We do like to fry our veggies in the South! *haha*)

SPICY ROASTED CAULIFLOWER

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

-Here is what a cauliflower looks like whole. They were priced at one rate rather than being priced by pound, so I bought the biggest one I could find! (I had no idea what to look for in a cauliflower, so I thought that bigger might be better--or provide more eating!)

-Begin prepping the chou-fleur by trimming the stem core down (I had to slice it off in pieces as some of the leaves got in the way) and cutting the leaves off. They curve upward and over the vegetable in an attempt to protect it, and some of the leaves get in between the florets, so you have to dig for them. Here is a picture of my knife and hand attempting to cut off some leaves.

- Go in a clockwise fashion around the core to remove all leaves until only the florets and their stems remain. Then start cutting them off and pulling them apart into bite-size pieces. (You can also cut them into pieces, but I found it just as easy to use my hands.) Be sure to cut off and discard any pieces that are turning brown.

-Gently rinse; dry in a salad spinner.

-Place the cauliflower in the bowl and add four Tablespoons of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon each of chili powder and cumin, and salt and pepper to taste. Be sure to sprinkle the spices around as you are adding them to the bowl as the spices will cling to the florets they land upon; this means if you dump your spices into one spot in the bowl, those floret there will be HEAVILY spiced. (I know--I had a few killer peppered pieces!)

-Toss lightly to coat and pour onto a cookie sheet. Spread them out and bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping the pieces two or three times while roasting.

Well, there you have it! I hope you find this recipe even more enjoyable than I did. :)

Next week, I hope to have tried kale chips. It was on my list, but the Walmart we hit today was sold out, so I will have to try the one down the street. We bought our salad spinner rather recently from T. J. Maxx because I told Zach it would get our veggies much drier...and would mean I could finally try kale chips. It was $8, which is a steal! After all, the one I had found before was $30-ish. (I am too lazy to try to try to wash and dry kale by hand. I've heard it's essential they are rather dry for chips.)

I am really enjoying this whole new-vegetable/fruit-a-week thing. I have been itching to write more, but I don't know what to say. It would be fun to post a recipe everyday featuring either a fruit or vegetable though I wouldn't be able to do new ones seven days a week. I would like to write about more serious topics and other enjoyable ones like movies and books and clothes, but food is inherent to the majority of my moments, so...we shall see what I come up with. ;)