Cauliflower

ALERT:  COLOSSUS CAULIFLOWER ON THE LOOSE.

FIVE-POUND, THIRTEEN-OUNCE MONSTROSITY MAY BE SEEN AT A FARM STAND NEAR YOU.

ARMED WITH VITAMINS B6, C, K; FOLATE AND FIBER.

WARNING:  MAY INDUCE FLATULENCE.

This BEAST was found at our favorite local dairy:  Baily's of Pocopson Meadow Farm.  Isn't it just shockingly immense??  Amazing!!

Cauliflower was one of our favorite, most tolerable of vegetables as kids; probably because it is not green and can slide incognito onto the plate, posing as a starch.  It looks like it belongs to the same family as potatoes or rice.  AND a lot of moms prepare it wonderfully laden with cheddar cheese sauce.  Holy moly, what could taste better on a chilly fall day than a steaming pile of cauliflower, oozing with cheese?

Yes, it is the season (late summer/autumn) for this delicious, cruciferous vegetable delight.

Pictured behind the Beast in this photo is one of our most favoritest cookbooks.  Simply in Season is a Mennonite philosophy-based collection of recipes by season, not by category (ie. "Beef, Poultry, Fish, Pork and... oh yea, some Vegetables").  Authors (and recipe editors) Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert encourage cooks to peruse farmers' markets or grow produce at home and eat seasonally.  There's a spiritual connection between an eater and the earth; which is broken apart by grocery stores, whose shelves are filled with produce from far away, separating us mentally and spiritually from the climate where we live.  One cannot consider with gratefulness, or with words thank a farmer on the opposite side of the globe.  If one visits an orchard or a farm, the farm workers are seen and can be thanked when buying food and thought of at meal times.

We can also connect ourselves with seasons' changes as we enjoy different foods at different times of year.  If it's spring, we should eat asparagus.  Apples should fill our lunch-sacks in September.  Isn't that why we always enjoy apple and pumpkin pies at Thanksgiving?  We just love the tradition this book inspires (cellaring your root vegetables over the winter - who does that anymore?) and how its many recipes are wholesome and mostly plant-based, using meat sparingly as a flavoring instead of the main source of calories.

Here's a great recipe that includes cauliflower!  It's absolutely flavorful and healthful and we think you'll love it.  It's totally delicious, even without cheese.  Hey, it's even vegan!

Autumn Tagine

(submitted by Bethany J. Osborne, Toronto, Ontario)

Tagine (tah-ZHEEN) is a Moroccan stew named after the traditional heavy clay pot in which it is cooked... Serves 6-8

2 cups onion (diced) - In a large soup pot, saute in 1-2 tbsp oil until soft, 4-5 minutes.

6 cloves garlic (minced)

1 teaspoon ginger root (peeled and minced)

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon crushed hot chilies (optional)

Add and stir for 1 minute.

3 cups sweet potatoes (peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes)

2 cups cooked chickpeas

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

Add and bring to a boil.  Cover; reduce heat.  Simmer 5 minutes.

1/2 medium head cauliflower (cut into 1-inch florets)

2 cups peas

Stir in cauliflower, cover and simmer until vegetables are nearly tender, about 12 minutes.  Add peas, cover and simmer until hot, 2 minutes.  Serve over steamed couscous or rice, garnished with chopped fresh cilantro.