Cauliflower Dreaming (On A Winter’s Day!)
Winter always manages to drag, and while sitting here thinking about what foods could help comfort us, cauliflower came to mind.
What’s funny is, just as it did, I also began humming that old song from The Mamas & the Papas, except I added my own lyrics, “Cauliflower dreaming, on such a winter’s day.” Then, lucky me, the tune got stuck in my head and I couldn’t stop thinking of it – oh my!
Pondering the connection, I realized that it must be that I was relating the soothing sound of The Mamas & the Papas vocal harmonies to the comfort we can feel from a well-prepared cauliflower dish. I say well-prepared because it’s easy to ruin cauliflower by over-cooking it, if you are not careful and sadly, it has happened to me.
On one occasion it occurred because company arrived an hour late. Waiting on them, I shoved the entire meal into an oven to keep it warm. However, by the time dinner was finally served, my lightly steamed cauliflower florets had been reduced to nothing more than a brownish, mushy mess – lesson learned! Thank God, most of us learn from mistakes and I learned to never cook mine all the way until company has arrived!
Offering us health benefits that include a reduced risk of cancer, relief from indigestion and an aid in weight loss, cauliflower is a detoxifying “super” food that is packed with nutrients and antioxidant power that helps strengthen our immune system, maintain bone and cellular health, electrolyte balance and boost eye health!
Being a very versatile vegetable, I think I have cooked cauliflower just about every which way you can and, honestly, feel that how you prepare it comes down to your own taste. However, you won’t know which way you like it best unless you try all the different ways that there are to prepare this most morph-able head!
Offering such wonderful flavor, whether served cooked or raw, cauliflower does need only gentle cooking or, none at all!
Here now are some new ways to help you do some cauliflower dreaming, too – ENJOY!
Ingredients
- 1 large head cauliflower, chopped
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 2 yellow onions, chopped
- 6 ribs of celery, chopped
- 1 quart reduced-sodium vegetable broth
- 1-1/2 cups milk (your choice)
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 8 ounces white cheddar cheese
Preparation
- 1 In a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or large heavy-bottomed skillet, combine onion and oil and let cook until onion begins to brown.
- 2 Add celery and cook for 5 minutes. Add chopped cauliflower and cook for 5 more minutes, stirring.
- 3 Add broth then bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for one hour.
- 4 Remove from heat, add milk, thyme, pepper and nutmeg then puree with blender. Return mixture to pot and place over low heat.
- 5 Add cheese and cook, stirring, until cheese is completely melted.
- 6 Garnish with steamed cauliflower florets, if desired, and a sprig of fresh thyme.
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