Growing at the Speed of Life - A Year in the Life of My First Kitchen Garden

CAULIFLOWER

Basic Preparation

When cooking cauliflower, you need to watch
the cooking time carefully: too long and it be­
comes a watery mush; too short and it develops
a strong sulfur aroma and an odd chewy tex­
ture. It does well when used as a raw vegetable
with dips.

CAULIFLOWER AND



CARROTS WITH FENNEL



SEEDS

I like to offset the pure white of the fl orets with
the bright orange carrots. The fennel is just
enough to spark interest with its anise fl avor.
SERVES 6

2 small heads cauliflower, broken or cut into
florets (yield 6 cups)
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
¼ teaspoon salt
6 medium carrots, peeled and cut on the
diagonal into ¼-inch slices (yield 2 cups)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Place the caulifl ower florets on the bottom
platform of a two-tiered steamer. Sprinkle the
fennel seeds and salt over the top. Place the car-
rots in the second platform and stack it on

top.* Place both over boiling water, cover, and

steam 12 minutes until vegetables are crisp ten­

der or 18 minutes for soft er vegetables.

Combine the cauliflower and carrots and

serve with a good dusting of parsley.

*If you do not have a two-tiered steamer, steam the

vegetables in two batches, keeping the cauliflower

warm while the carrots cook.

Per serving : 50 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 11 g

carbohydrate, 3 g protein, 4 g dietary fi ber, 169 mg

sodium. Exchanges: 3 Vegetable

CAULIFLOWER EAST



INDIAN STYLE

If you enjoy a mild curry taste, I think you’ll

love this golden caulifl ower.

SERVES 4

1 small head caulifl ower

1 teaspoon nonaromatic olive oil

½ cup chopped sweet onion

1 tablespoon grated gingerroot

1 tablespoon mild curry powder

½ cup low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock

(see page 288)

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with

1 tablespoon stock (slurry)

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

110 • GROWING AT THE SPEED OF LIFE