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CAULIFLOWER
Cauliflower has been kind of challenging for me. It's kind of hit or miss whether the plants actually form
a decent head--but at least some of them do. Unlike broccoli, cauliflower doesn't usually make harvestable side shoots
after you harvest the main head. Because of this and because the heads do not always mature at the same time, I don't always
give everybody cauliflower in the same week because there isn't enough to go around. So I'll give it to 1/4 of the people one week, another 1/4
of the people a couple weeks later, and so on until everybody has gotten some.
I enjoy eating cauliflower raw with a creamy vegetable dip (or ranch dressing) or chopped into bits and sprinkled on a salad. It is also good steamed and served with butter, salt and pepper or roasted with other vegetables (see page for beets for a roasted vegetable recipe). It's also great in soups or with a cheese sauce, see below for recipes! FAVORITE RECIPES: Winter squash and cauliflower soup 3-4 cups winter squash, cubed (acorn, hubbard, butternut, pumpkin, etc) 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/4 tsp dried chili flakes (or use minced fresh hot pepper or tabasco sauce) 1 onion, diced 5 cloves garlic, minced or crushed 2-3 tbsp fresh or 2 tsp dried ground rosemary 1/2 tsp salt 2 boullion cubes (vegetable, chicken, or beef) 4-6 cups water depending on how much broth you like 1 28 oz can of diced or crushed tomatoes, undrained (or one quart home canned tomatoes) 2 cups diced cauliflower 3/4 cup small pasta (maccaroni, small shells or alphabet shapes) 1/3 cup marsala wine (I've never used this, I use wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar) Peel squash, remove guts and seeds and cut into cubes. Heat olive oil on med-high in soup pot for a moment, then add onions and chili flakes. Sautee lightly for a couple minutes and then add squash, garlic, rosemary and salt. Sautee another 5 minutes or so until the squash and onions begin to brown a little. Add water, boullion, and tomatoes (including all liquid). Cover and bring to a boil. Add cauliflower, pasta and marsala wine (or vinegar). Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until cauliflower is tender. Cauliflower and cheese sauce 1 head cauliflower 3 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoons flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon ground black or white pepper 1 1/2 cups milk 1 cup grated Cheddar or smoky flavor Cheddar cheese PREPARATION: Steam the whole head of cauliflower until it's tender 15-20 min (check it by poking a fork or knife into it). Place the cauliflower in a casserole dish. To make cheese sauce: melt butter, reduce heat to med-low and stir in flour and seasonings. Flour will brown a bit as you stir it in with the butter. Gradually add milk, stirring vigorously with a wisk, until well mixed. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and smooth and bubbly. Add cheese and cook for 5 min more. Finally pour cheese sauce over the head of broccoli in the casserole dish, sprinkle a bit more grated cheese on it and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly on top. |