My husband is a vegetarian and I cook a lot of vegetarian meals for dinner. We decided about a month ago to try cooking new vegetables. We keep a pretty stocked pantry of vegetarian items that I have blogged about in the past. However, we started tracking how many vegetables we ate and it was a lot lower than expected. So between friends suggestions, searching the internet and looking for deals in the produce section at Harris Teeter and Kroger- we are trying out a new vegetable each week.
Cauliflower
Cauliflower is actually a pretty amazing vegetable. I had no idea that it was packed with Vitamins C, K, and B1, B2, B3, and B6. It a good source of dietary fiber and is chock full of potassium and magnesium. This is a great vegetable to replace refined white flour like rice or a pizza crust if you want to try something different. We will definitely be adding it to our grocery list!
Previous Experience: Prior to this week, I really only liked cauliflower raw and as part of a vegetable tray, usually covered in hummus or a vegetable dip. I will also order it out at an Indian restaurant but I don’t cook it at home. I have always hated mushy, cooked cauliflower. But this week has shown me that it can taste quite yummy!
How to Pick a Good Cauliflower: Apparently, cauliflower can come in many colors. The purple one is really pretty but I was a little scared to start cooking with that. So I stuck with white. Similar to other vegetables, the leaves should be green and the cauliflower should be all white with no brown spots or mushy parts.
Prepping the Vegetable: It is a lot easier than I thought but it is messy! To be honest, I don’t think I have cut up many cauliflowers in my cooking experience. My first attempt scared my dog and my husband came in the kitchen to ask if I was ok. I kept part of the stalk and added that to some of the meals – so don’t think you have to throw that part away!
Ways I Cooked it: Chopped, Food Processor, Microwave, Saute, and Roast
My Top 3 Recipes:
Cauliflower Rice– Epicurious has a great article on all 
the different ways you can make cauliflower rice. This was a great help! A food processor is essential for this. I have a small one and it took a little while and was messy, but it worked really well. I steamed some cauliflower in the microwave and also sauted it on the stove with other vegetables and it came out great! You can also now buy pre-made cauliflower rice (at Trader Joe’s), which will save time and reduce the amount of clean-up.
Cauliflower Pizza Crust– Our Med Instead of Meds website has great ideas for cauliflower. The pizza crust recipe was the best recipe I found. It is not necessarily fast, but it is tasty!
Roasted Cauliflower– WOW! This Delish Roasted Cauliflower with Cumin and Cheese ended up being one of our favorites. This is now a go to recipe instead of french fries for us.