This is my first attempt at making artichoke dip.

We LOVE artichokes but I mostly cook them like this—well, those are fresh artichokes ($3-$4 each, anyone?). However, this time the ones I had were the packaged frozen ones so I thought about a dip as the way to go. I always wanted to make artichoke dip. I just love ordering them at restaurants. The dips are so rich and luscious.

And so, I did.

The other night, I made it for dinner. I was floored by its awesomeness and so I had snatched it from the dinner table, from right under my husband’s nose, to take a quick photo, and it looked like this:

… yeah, not so pretty, but I had to be quick!

But the next day I had more time, and there were leftovers—lucky you!—lucky me!—and it looked a lot better in the sun light:

Lunch.

Yum yum, give me some, as my father used to say.

Artichoke dip

So what’s in it?

1 package of frozen artichoke hearts, thawed 3 minutes in the microwave, then coarsely chopped
1/3 cup sour cream
about 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves, minced
some goat cheese, crumbled
some grated cheddar cheese
2 handfuls of arugula, optional
salt and pepper
a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter, small diced

Gently mix everything, besides the butter, in a big bowl. Place it all in a greased baking dish, scatter some butter on top

Bake at 375 degrees F for 20-30 minutes until hot and bubbly.

I try so hard to make food that everyone will like, especially the kids.

Then one day, out of the blue, I recalled a noodles with cottage cheese dish that my grandma used to make for me when I was little. Out of sheer laziness I cooked that for my kids—I had no better plan for dinner.

My son’s response? “This is The Best pasta in the whole world!!! The best pasta you’ve ever made!”

I was floored.

So I can’t stop thinking, why, why do I try so hard and make things more complex? (It’s just my nature…)

Just cook some pasta in salted water until it’s al dente. Drain, put in a bowl, add some salt, 1-2 tablespoon of butter (The secret ingredient!), and mix.

Add cottage cheese, mix, serve. Bon appetite.

Hi,

I thought I’d drop you a quick note. An idea for a quick dinner tonight.

OK, you can make it tomorrow… Go shopping today.

Beef bulgogi and Teriyaki fried rice.

The beef bulgogi is cut into small pieces and is quickly cooked in a skillet—no need to go outside to the freezing cold and grill a steak.

The fried rice uses staples like frozen peas, carrots, and corn. I warmly recommend buying those bags of cooked and frozen brown rice that can be microwaved for 3 minutes and voila—you have cooked brown rice! (Brown rice takes about 40 minutes to cook!)

The beef bulgogi recipe originates in Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food: Great Food Fast cookbook (I love that book. Lots of quick dishes.) but I found the recipe for you online here, using rib-eye steak and here, using flank steak.

And the fried rice recipe was posted on my family friendly food Facebook page. Go there for the recipe, and also “Like” it?

Another version for fried rice using all kinds of leftovers was posted here.

Have a fab dinner tonight!

Or tomorrow!

N.

My relationship with cabbage is a turbulent one: love, desire, neglect, forgetfulness, and then… It usually ends with a reunion.

Many times I walk by cabbages at the grocery store and I mostly ignore them. Only rarely do I reach my hand out to one lucky, lovely, leafy ball to take home with me.

And when I do, I usually forget it in the fridge for weeks, left alone at the bottom drawer, waiting for some affection and attention on my part.

But cabbage is a loyal vegetable. No matter how long I forget about its existence—ignored, it is waiting for me patiently next to the cilantro and parsley, and maybe a few lemons that go in and out of the drawer—it stays crunchy and fresh. It has hopes for better days.

I’ve had one waiting for at least 4 weeks. Yeah… I bought it at the beginning of September before my sister came to visit. I planned to make a cabbage salad for her. Didn’t happen. Oh, well…

I love a sturdy, crunchy cabbage, as well as a soft one sautéed in butter. Sometimes I toss it with pasta, or even better, pasta and Bolognese sauce! (Ooh, time to make Bolognese! It’s been a while.) But I was feeling lazy yesterday—yes, I know, again (See under: gnocchi)—and wanted something quick and easy. And sweet. Roasting is my favorite quick and easy method to cook which results in what I love, love, love, naturally sweetened, caramelized food! So there you have, roasted cabbage. Simple, easy, glistening, yummy.

***

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A year ago: Lamb with chickpeas, yogurt and pan-roasted veg, Beef Goulash, Leftovers: Roasted Chicken

Two years ago: How to make Shakshuka?, Figs with yogurt and honey, Foraged wild mushrooms soup, and more…

Roasted red cabbage

1 red cabbage, cut into 8 wedges and then medium diced
1/2 red onion, medium diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
a sprinkle of salt, pepper
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1-2 tablespoons of sugar

Preheat your oven to 375 F degrees.

Place all the ingredients, besides sugar, on a baking sheet and mix with your hands. Roast for for 20 minutes.

(This is when I tasted it and realized that my grandma always sprinkled a little bit of sugar on her cabbage.) Sprinkle sugar, mix well with a wooden spoon, and continue to roast for another 15-20 minutes (I switched to convection oven at this point because for an extra browning effect).

NOTE: I liked this best served warm or at room temperature.

OK, so we had a few distractions between the No-roll quiche crust post – because we visited Mount Rainier National Park, Blueberry Hills farm, and Lake Chelan – to the actual finished product, that is the mushroom quiche post.

I’ll be honest with you… For me, making – and eating! – a mushroom quiche is merely an excellent excuse for devouring mushrooms soaked in heavy cream. I mean, it’s mushrooms… sautéed in butter and simmered in heavy cream… Besides heavy cream made desserts, what could possibly be richer and more decadent and sinful than this??? Mushrooms with cream…

OK, OK, you twist my arm. A steak seared in butter and simmered in heavy cream with pasta and mushrooms to finish it off – soaked in heavy cream themselves – is indeed better than a mushroom quiche. But, if you seek a vegetarian alternative – for lunch or dinner, and even brunch – that’s the way to go.

Mushroom quiche

I used crimini mushrooms this time but feel free to use any kind you like, or a mix of them! (But I do not recommend using dried mushrooms. I made this quiche once before with rehydrated dried porcini (in addition to fresh ‘shrooms) and I didn’t like how it tasted; it tasted like fake mushrooms soup or one from a powdery mix or something… Not good.)

1 small onion, thinly sliced (about 2/3 cup)
12 oz. fresh mushrooms, washed, dried, thinly sliced (stems removed)
a few sprigs of fresh thyme or lemon thyme
1 fat garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
3-4 oz. gruyere cheese, grated
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 quiche crust, arranged in the pan and chilled

Preheat oven to 360 F degrees.

In a medium size skillet, melt the butter with olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until it softens. Add the mushrooms, garlic, a touch of salt, black pepper, and thyme (Add a drizzle of oil or another knob of butter if needed) and sauté until mushrooms and onion are browned and soft. Remove to a bowl and let cool a bit.

To the bowl with the mushrooms, add the milk and cream and stir. Then, add the cheese and eggs and mix well. Pour the batter over the chilled crust and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the custard is set. Let cool for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Cook till brown

This is what you end up with. Chill before adding the rest of the custard ingredients (so the eggs won’t curdle).

Take the chilled dough our of the fridge

Pour the batter

… it’s so easy

Ta-da!

Now, how do you take the quiche out of the pan, ha???

Run a toothpick, or one of those thin “thingies” like that red one in the photo, around the edges to loosen them from the side of the pan (If you greased the pan well, the dough will pull away from the pan as it cools).

Then, place the pan over a plate or bowl that is taller than the pan

… and there you have it

And we’re done

No, no beer-braised squirrel in that pasta dish. Don’t worry.

I told you about my snail, beer, and a beer stealing squirrel problem. And I have received some advice. Thanks!

Crystal commented that what I have are slugs and not snails and suggested “A tried and true method I have used to make a beer trap is to get a used margarine or butter tub. Cut slug-sized holes on the side of the container near the top around the perimeter of the container. Fill it with beer and snap the lid back on. Then take it to your vegetable bed and bury it so that the soil comes up to where the holes are. The slugs will smell the beer and slither right on in to meet their drunken deaths! The lid will keep the neighborhood animals out. Good luck – the beer really works! We would grow pristine strawberries year after year using this method.”

Lo wrote “Oh, gosh! We’ve totally used the beer trick with our slugs (usually shallow lids filled with beer work nicely — though I love the butter tub concept), and it really does work! But, we’ve never had squirrels pilfering our beer supply “

Tamar had another problem and solution “We don’t have slugs but we have caterpillars eating our tomato leaves. Supposedly mint water irritates them out of the pot. We shall see…” In an e-mail she sent me later she reported back “… we boiled the water and added mint.  I don’t think it works.  We ended up buying caterpillar killer spray and 5 of them dropped off dead.  5!!! That’s so many!”

Lara added “… a length of copper around the whole thing will keep new ones out.”

Snails or slugs, they are snacking on my leafy greens!

So…with a new and improved trap, I went out again; I dug a little dent and placed the beer trap in the veggie bed right under the slugs’ nose!

Man, it was so hot that day; the second I took the beer container out, I could smell its sweet aroma. That made me very optimistic about achieving some serious results!

37.5 hours (or so…) have passed.

This is what I found this morning.

Someone is messing with the beer and it ain’t no slugs…

I took a pick inside. Found only a few dead gnats(?) Someone has been trying to steal the beer.

To save what’s left until I get rid of the pesky, slimy slugs, I harvested me some greens. That’ll show ‘em!

I picked green kale, red kale, and chard

Soaked them in water and rinsed them well a few times. Pulled the leaves off the stems, torn them to pieces and put it all in a big bowl.

How lovely is that?!

The leaves are so much tender compared to the bunches I buy at the grocery store. And much sweeter.

I blanched them in boiling salted water for 4-5 minutes, cooled them in icy cold water and then squeezed them dry.

The big bowl was reduced to only two handfuls of cooked green stuff. (Twice the amount you see below.)

I used one handful to make an omelet and the other handful to cook a simpler variation to my wild mushroom ravioli with kale and cream recipe.

Creamy orecchiette with leafy greens

1/2 box orecchiette
1 handful blanched leafy greens, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt
pepper
extra virgin olive oil
grated parmesan
a handful toasted pine nuts (Toast in 350 F oven for a few minutes)

Cook the pasta according to the instruction on the package. Drain.

Return it to the pot with the blanched greens, heavy cream, salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil. Mix and heat over medium heat until it is warm.

Serve with grated parmesan and pine nuts.

***

Next we’re going to have peas… I see some good looking ones on the vines. Those are Suburban Cowboy’s babies. He is cultivating them very gently and lovingly.

In the meantime, can someone tell me what do you do with so much lettuce?

Dinner time approached. I had no plan in mind. And so, I made dishes on the go, not being fully aware about what I was doing.

I took a peek inside the fridge. There were some leftovers… Chicken meatballs… Grilled chicken breast… Broccoli – we didn’t eat that for a long time (we’re just not big broccoli fans) – and there was the store-bought gnocchi, just lying there next to the eggs. Side dishes are always challenging, especially with two kiddies who are not huge veggie fans.

I thought “Hmm, gnocchi, why not?”

What I usually like to do with gnocchi is to cook it in salted water, as the instructions on the package instruct, and then crisp it up in a skillet with butter. People, I can hear you say “Yum!”

But that night… I was being lazy. And the medium size pot was in the dish washer and the other pots are either too big or too small for the job. So I had a problem/reason/excuse to take a short cut. I just had to. I was necessary. Or should I say “motivating”? “Inspiring?”

Either way, “So” I thought to myself (Do you ever talk to yourself?), “since my goal is crispy, browned gnocchi anyway, why not try to bake it and see what happens? Just skip the cooking in water step and launch straight right into the crispy-ing step?”

… and you know how that has ended, right?!

There wasn’t much to lose anyway. Only a box of store-bought gnocchi. I wasn’t too attached to it or something… It’s not like I hand-made them myself… Like, from scratch, you know…

I probably would have approached it with more caution and hesitation had I rolled each tiny, fluffy “gnocch” (Who knows what’s the singular for gnocchi?) one by one, lovingly and individually with my own bare hands… Which, you know… I didn’t.

Well, what da’ya know? It turned out good. Not bad at all…

The texture was more chewy, and gummy, and doughy compared to when you cook it in water first. They were like little, savory cakes. We ate it like nuts – the gnocchi, not us – with our fingers, as if it was a snack.

I will definitely do this again. Even on nights when I’m not particularly lazy.

Baked gnocchi

1 store-bought gnocchi
salt
black pepper, freshly ground
extra virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees.
Toss the gnocchi with salt, pepper, a generous drizzle of olive oil, and mix gently with your hands.
Place on a baking sheet and bake for (I believe it took) 10-15 minutes, or until it’s cooked through and beautifully tanned.

***

Bacon.

Mashed potatoes.

Need I say more?

OK.

Bacon!

Mashed potatoes!

Yum.

End of story? Not really.

I took you down memory lane with me a while ago when we discussed Poffertjes. Remember those? (If you have no idea what I’m talking about you must click on Poffertjes and Ebelskivers immediately.)

Back in 1989 I took a trip to Holland with my father. We visited my aunt and her adorable kids. We also visited another relative living in a charming town named Bergen Op Zoom. She made mashed potatoes with bacon for dinner.

We took a bike ride, we saw Dutch cows, lots of water in the form of lakes, rivers, spray, showers, and rain… We watched the famous wind mills… Oh, there’s lots of photos in the Poffertjes post… You can see it all there.

Anyway, I could not forget the little Dutch pancakes bathed in butter and showered with powdered sugar (Sometimes served with strawberries and whipped cream. It must be heaven. Doesn’t it sound like heaven?). But I could not forget the first time I ate rich and creamy mashed potatoes confetti-ed with crispy bits of bacon either.

Ah, I can tell you about the many times I had BAD, bad mashed potatoes.

Watery, diluted, thin mashed potatoes.

Bland mashed potatoes.

Plain blah mashed potatoes.

Dry mashed potatoes that choke you.

Who-cares-mashed-potatoes.

Mashed potatoes made from powder! (What hell is THAT?)

Mashed potatoes with margarine. Greasy.

Yes, the beauty of simple food can be an elusive thing. And we take mashed potatoes for granted, don’t we?!

Suburban cowboy has suffered – not quietly! – for many years when I was skimpy with butter in our mashed potatoes. Poor guy.

But no worries, my friends. I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve. And some secrets to share. And I will share ‘cos I feel generous today and I love ya. (Don’t you find those people who will not share annoying?)

OK, so we all know the first part. You peel the potatoes, cut them in big chunks, cover with salty water and bring to a boil. Now what?

#1 When the water comes to a boil, low the heat to a very gentle simmer. If the water bubbles it’s just gonna break your potatoes and make a mess.

#2 While you’re at it, throw a garlic clove in there (unpeeled, whole, and smashed) and a herb you like; rosemary, thyme, parsley…

#3 After the potatoes are cooked and you drain them, return them back to the pot! Uncovered. This takes the moisture/water out. Very important! We don’t want no watery mashed potaters.

#4 How much butter? Well… I once read that one of the fanciest French chefs uses 2 pounds of potatoes (that’s 3-4 potatoes, depending on their size) and 2 sticks of butter ratio! (I found a recipe on this cute blog.) Now don’t get a heart attack. You can use less. But… be generous. Complete the rest with #5.

#5 Add other goodies like sour cream, heavy cream, milk… and bacon, of course. Oh, chopped fresh herbs are nice too. Fold gently.

#6 I sometimes add a sweet potato. It’s gooood.

#7 Use a ricer? Na, I haven’t got that far. We’re not that fancy. Fluffy mashed potatoes are good enough for us.

But I’d say that #3 is The most important!

So… what’s in your mashed potatoes? Care to share?

***

I have a thought-provoking question for you. Na, not really, but… Have you ever had a truly memorable meal/s? Any outstanding breakfast, lunch, or dinner you had in the past that you will never forget about?

Think hard.

As for me, if you caught me unguarded and asked me, I would have immediately told you about two. Yes, there were plenty of wonderful meals in the past decades (no, I’m not that old), but if I needed to choose quickly without thinking about it twice, it narrows down to two. My only regret? Not taking notes of every little detail so I can remember them better for the rest of my life.

One took place about 4 years ago. We were visiting in Los Angeles and wanted to have lunch at Spago in Beverly Hills – the only restaurant in the world where I was willing to wait for a table. Oh, and we waited. Yes, we did. For 45 minutes. With a three years old who was having a “terrible three” tantrum. We foolishly did not make reservations ahead of time and the only reason I was willing to wait that long was because I totally admire the chef/owner Wolfgang Puck and I knew the meal was going to be an outstanding one. Minus the screaming 3 years old, of course.

I hate to wait for a table because 1) it’s a waste of my time, 2) with young kids it can be a real pain in the butt, and 3) it makes me feel like a groupie. I hate feeling like a groupie. But no worries, the ever heroic Suburban Cowboy took the screaming child for a little stroll to calm him down and hopefully put him to sleep in the stroller while I waited. Victory! The little guy fell asleep and stayed that way for most part of the meal and we enjoyed it quietly and tremendously. (He woke up just in time to have some of the the entrees and a dessert.)

Lunch at Spago was one of the handful of perfect meals I’ve ever had. And quite expensive too (although lunch cost less then dinner). I wish I had taken notes of everything little detail but back then I wasn’t so obsessed with these sort of things. I remember that I ordered a calf’s liver because I had to, for nostalgia’s sake! My mother used to make this (or was it cow’s liver?) when I was little and I did too when I grew up, but it always turned out grey and as tough and rubbery as a bottom of a shoe. At Spago I put my trust in the chef’s hands to cook it as he thought was best and let him, or her, have his way with my liver. It came out cooked to perfection, nice and tender, and sweet. It was a compensating and rewarding experience. The other thing I remember is the 12 layers of chocolate mouse cake. 12 layers! And they were perfectly and evenly layered. A masterpiece.

Reminiscing about this right now made me go and looked it up on Spago’s current menu and, what do you know, I found this:

SAUTÉED THICK CUT CALVES LIVER
Young Onions, Confit Bacon, Braised Leeks, Horseradish Potato Puree,
Crispy Tempura Onion Rings, and Mustard-Port Reduction

It sounds really good, doesn’t it?

And I bet that Suburban Cowboy had this:

CRISPY VEAL “WIENER SCHNITZEL”
Fingerling Potato Salad and Young Mache Salad

After a while I learned my lesson and started carrying a little notepad in my purse whenever I went out to eat. Just in case… you know… there will be something note worthy. Some of the notes that I took in different restaurants (If you have a recipe for any of them, do share):

Cauliflower and ginger
Orange-thyme
Swiss chard gratin
Mint and cherries
Whipped cream with fresh grated ginger
Duck prosciutto, pickled apricot
Walla Walla onion, rapini, truffled cheese (was it on a pizza?)
Kabocha squash, sweet potato, beancurd seeds, tapioca shreds, bean thread noodles, dates, cream, Vietnamese
Grilled papaya salad, grilled shrimp, caramelized pineapple, lime, Thai basil, mint, carrot
Crispy parsnip chips
and so on…

The second memorable meal occurred no more than a year ago, I’d say, during a trip to Portland, Oregon. We had dinner with friends and all our kids (a total of 3 little ones) at iOba. What started out with a potential to be a disastrous evening – I was in a bad mood, the kids impatient, we were hungry… – turned out to be a perfect evening due to the charming waiter and fab food. The waiter inflicted a good mood on us which helped us unwind. The two tasty alderwood flower cocktails I sipped helped too. And the food was outstanding; a Nuevo-Latino cuisine, one of my favorites, with a rainbow of exciting flavors. But what I loved the most, and remembered for a long time after, was their fried rice, a dish I never ate before, that had so many ingredients, flavors, textures, and hidden secrets in it. On the surface it sounds like a simple dish, unlike a tamale, for example, but it’s deceivingly not. It’s one of those simple looking dishes you think you can make at home to find out later that you can’t. iOba’s fried rice was absolutely amazing. The good news are – good for me, I don’t know about you – that we are going to eat there again soon and the rice is still on the menu! Yay!

arroz frito
puerto rican style fried coconut, jasmine rice with ginger, corn, plantains, avocado and cilantro

I think I’ll ask them for the recipe next time I’m there. Maybe they’ll share their secrets. It’s worth trying…

In the meantime, I tried to make something inspired by it at home. It was weeks ago when I saw the rice pilaf post on Ju’s blog, The Little Teochew, and it reminded me it was time to make one myself. So I made lots of rice so I have leftovers the next day to make fried rice.

So, what the best meal/s you have ever had?

iOba-inspired fried rice

This fried rice was very easy to make and an excellent way to combine all kinds of leftovers into one fantastic dish.

leftover yellow rice cooked in coconut milk (see recipe here, use 2 cups coconut milk + 1/4 cup hot water)
leftover roasted cauliflower and carrots, chopped
frozen peas and carrots, cooked in microwave
frozen corn, cooked in microwave
toasted pine nuts and walnuts, chopped
fried in olive oil, leftover bacon/chicken fat
a splash of soy
If you have it, add:
a scrambled egg/s is always nice
crispy bacon bits
grated ginger
minced garlic clove
salt and pepper to taste

Remember the Naked Chef?

You know, the guy with the cool hair, very energetic, talks fast, cooks even faster, Jamie Oliver? About 10 years ago when he became famous, he was referred to as the Naked Chef. These days he is simply Jamie. I did not understand what the nakedness was all about back then. I tried out as I looked and cooked some of his recipes. They were all good but after a while I thought they were too simple, too minimalistic. Not worth spending my money on his cookbooks because in those days I believed that only cookbooks and recipes with a long list of ingredient that took a long time to make were worthy. After a while I stopped using Jamie’s recipes. Only years after, under the influence of Ina Garten and cooking as a personal chef for nearly 4 years in other peoples’ kitchens (The food had to be fresh, quick and easy to prepare), I finally learned that cooking good food doesn’t necessarily mean using long and elaborated recipes. It’s not about killing myself in the kitchen in order to make good food, to make other people happy.

As I changed my approach to cooking, I realized that I prefer to use good ingredients and only do little to them in the process of cooking. I understood that when I shopped for ingredients of lesser quality (sometimes, but not necessarily, cheaper) I needed to work harder to make them taste good. But still, it was not nearly as good as when I used higher quality products (sometimes, but not necessarily, cheaper/the same price/cost more) which did not require any messing around with. This is how I’ve been cooking in the past 7 years. Naked.

Well, not literally.

I invest more of my attention and time to read the labels on products at the grocery stores so I can make better choices when I buy food. I’m not saying I do a 100 % perfect job but I do my best to buy ingredients that are fresh, local, organic, sustainable, and seasonal. It’s good for me and it’s better for the environment. Another approach to the nakedness “thing” is when I read the labels, I look for those products with the shortest list of ingredients where I know what all/most of the words mean! Then, back in the kitchen, I don’t have to work so hard to make those products taste good because they are already beautiful and their flavor is as it should be.

About two weeks ago, friends invited us for dinner. The guy cooked some recipes from this cookbook,

I love cookbooks, so I had to take a peak.
The book was beautiful and had many recipes I immediately wanted to try out. The photos of the natural, unfussy food were amazing too.
The food our friend cooked was simply delicious.
So, of course, I had to buy the book.
And cook from it.

As for reading recipes… Jamie’s recipes are of the few that I actually enjoy reading. (Most recipes are written in such a boring and technical way…) It feels like he is really talking to me. I can feel myself getting energized just by the way he writes them, as if he is standing in my kitchen only a few feet away (I wish), and the photos only add that extra kick in the butt to make me jump off my seat and get cooking.

See?

Photo by © David Loftus as seen on Jamie’s web site

But these days, there are other ways in which I find Jamie Oliver inspiring. He is not only a very talented chef, business man, and fun to watch and read, but his passion about food exceeds way beyond his home and restaurants’ kitchens. He is passionate about teaching people about good food, how to raise it, and how to cook it.

You know that bad food is making people terribly sick.

Oliver is doing a very important job in schools and cafeterias in England, and wanting to do so in the US as well, teaching parents, children, schools, and the lunch ladies about real, healthy, good food. I don’t want to go into much detail because in this video below Oliver does a great job.

Also, make sure to read “Lunch Lessons: Changing the Way We Feed Our Children” by Ann Cooper. The book has eye opening information about the food kids eat in the schools’ cafeterias and offers healthy recipes. Ann Cooper works with the legendary Alice Waters.

Now watch this:

For the original whole baked cauliflower with tomato and olive sauce, click here. I made a few changes, here’s my version:

Whole cauliflower in marinara sauce and olives

Adapted from “Cook with Jamie” cookbook

1/2 red onion, peeled and sliced
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
1 large head of cauliflower, outer green leaves discarded
olive oil
a handful of black olives, pitted
1 anchovy fillet, sliced
a handful of fresh parsley
20 oz. tomato/marinara sauce, or canned chopped plum tomatoes
a splash of red wine vinegar
salt
ground black pepper

First, find a pot in which the whole cauliflower will fit, leaving an inch around.

To the pot, add the onion, garlic, and a drizzle of oil and slowly sauté for about 10 minutes over medium heat until softened. Add the olives, anchovy and parsley and cook for another couple of minutes. Add the tomato sauce and about 1/2 cup of water, and a splash of red wine vinegar, season with salt and pepper. Stir everything together and bring to the boil.
Gently add the cauliflower to the sauce. Half of the cauliflower should be in the sauce, half above it. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, put the lid on and let it cook on low heat for about 30-40 minutes.

NOTE: I think an even easier and faster way to do this is to cut the cauliflower into florets and cooked it totally immersed in the tomato sauce.