As many of you know, I'm more of an intuitive eater than anything else. I eat what I intuitively feel my body needs most of the time. Well, for the past two weeks what my body has been asking for is cauliflower. I went through a cauliflower stage sometime last year, and it seems I'm back to eating that lovely white flower veggie again!
At first I was making mashed cauliflower (like? mashed potatoes) and keeping the recipe very simple. I've made complex versions of the mashed cauliflower before, but I was really drawn to a more simple taste so all I was adding was some olive oil, salt, and a tiny bit of macadamia nuts. Yesterday, however, as I was cleaning the cauliflower (since my body was telling me it wanted more of it), I had a sense that I wanted something more vibrant, more fun than simple mashed cauliflower. So, I followed my intuition (picking up whatever I felt my body wanted to eat with the cauliflower) and here's what I created...
CauliFest
(serves 2)
1/2 large head cauliflower, cut into large florets
1 T olive oil
1/2 large orange pepper
2 scallions
1 T thyme
1/4 t (or more!) ground cayenne pepper
salt
juice from 1/2 of a lemon
DIrections:
Pulse cauliflower florets in a food processor, place into a large mixing bowl.
In the empty food processor bowl, add the oil, large pieces of orange pepper, large pieces of scallions, thyme, and cayenne.
Pulse until finely chopped.Stir mixture in with the cauliflower, adjusting salt, lemon, and cayenne to your liking.
?
Serve immediately. Cauliflower doesn't stay fresh very long once it has been processed.
Please note that this dish is supposed to be on the spicy side! It was delicious and exactly what my body was asking for. I added a lot of the cayenne and my mouth was on fire (but I enjoyed it!).This dish is festive and tasty. Let me know if you try it!
Original Comments
Below, we have included the original comments from this blog post. Additional comments may be made via Facebook, below.
On March 2, 2009, wrote:
wow... next time try a fractalflower ... I like the fact that you made it spicy!
On March 2, 2009, wrote:
Hey, everytime I've had mashed cauliflower, it's been something someone else made days ago and it turns my stomach to think about it.
Now that you mention that it doesn't stay fresh long, I think I should try it again, eating it quickly.
Thanks for the tip and the recipe. To start me onto mashed cauliflower gently, do you or your readers have a favorite that tastes much like the mashed potato?
On March 3, 2009, wrote:
Hi Wendy,
Your recipe looks yummy, I'm going to make it today!
I have weeks of cauliflower cravings a few times a year too! Wonder what's in it that we crave!? Here's a video I did recently with cauliflower, (it's video #18 on the list) at http://www.reneoswald.com/videos.html Hope you enjoy it!
On March 3, 2009, wrote:
Parsnip half and half with cauliflower makes a more "like mashed potato" dish to me. We love cauliflower soup and make it almost weekly during cauliflower season. We even put it in thermoses for trips. 1 head = 1 1/2 quart thermos fulls, so we make 2 batches and fill up 3 thermoses. It is so nice on road trips. We haven't tried getting it through security at the airport.
This will explode if you leave it in there and wait too long. Ask me how I know!
On March 3, 2009, wrote:
*giggles*
I love you, Enzymeluv! You are one of my spicier friends. ;-)
XOXOXO
On March 3, 2009, wrote:
Yes! Cauliflower starts to turn bad once it's been processed (that's been
my experience, anyway). KDcat won't touch cauliflower anymore because of
one time when she ate it the second day and it gave her a tummy ache.
For me, I don't put garlic with the cauliflower anymore. The spice of the
garlic tends to overpower it in a negative way, making it taste less like
mashed potatoes I think. I've heard jicama is wonderful for mimicing
potatoes, but I've never been able to find organic jicama to experiment
with it. For mashed potatoes I just do it simple with the cauliflower:
oil, small amount of macadamia nuts, salt (start off with just a little),
and blend until it's very creamy in texture. You can top with ground
pepper if you like, too.
If I remember, I'll make a fresh cauliflower dish the next time you visit
so you can experience it before it starts to turn bad. ;-)
Lots of love to you!
Wendi
XOXOXO
On March 3, 2009, wrote:
Hi there, Rene.
I sometimes wonder why I crave the things I do, when I'm craving them, but
mostly I just trust that my body knows what's best and just go with it.
;-)
I watched your cauliflower video--I liked all the greens you ate it with.
Lots of love to you,
Wendi
XOXOXO
On March 3, 2009, wrote:
Desacad,
I giggled about your explosion warning. ;-)
I've never tried parsnip for a potato substitute. I'll have to pick some
up next time I go to the co-op to see what I think. Thanks for the
suggestion.
Lots of love to you!
Wendi
XOXOXO
On March 10, 2009, wrote:
Hi Wendi,
I can usually tell by ingredients if I will like something, and boy, I printed this baby out as soon as I read everything...only I didn't have the cauliflower on hand. So I substituted broccoli floweretts only. Although it was quite tastey I needed something more, so I had one of those small italian pizza shells on hand and warmed that up and put this recipe on top and ate it that way. I always have a hard time with these chopped up things because I want to eat it atop something. That was my solution tonight, but I am sure it would be great on italian flax crackers too.
thanks again, this recipe is definitely a keeper!
p.s. read your 3/10 blog. Wow! you are one committed family. Many Blessings to you.
Grace
On March 11, 2009, wrote:
Grace,
I was thinking about using broccoli the other day when I ran out of
cauliflower, but decided it might not taste/feel as great. I think it's
not only the taste with the cauliflower, it's the texture I also like. :-)
I know what you mean about needing something to eat the blended foods
with, since I felt the same way for a long time. It's only recently that I
don't mind (and actually enjoy) eating the blended foods by themselves.
It's not easy to get used to doing that, since we are so conditioned to
eat spreads/dips *on* something. A great transition away from the breads
and crackers is to eat the dips/spreads on sliced cucumber or tomatoes!
Thanks for sharing! I like that you are adventuresome with your food
creations!!
Lots of love to you,
Wendi
XOXOXO
On March 16, 2009, wrote:
I made your CauliFest a few days ago and enjoyed it SO MUCH!! Thank you for sharing your recipe ~ YUM!!
Debbie *�*
On March 16, 2009, wrote:
Debbie,
You are VERY welcome! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I LOVED it when I made
it! Yay!! I love hearing from others when they try my recipes!
Lots of love to you,
Wendi
XOXOXO
On April 13, 2009, wrote:
Unbelievable!!!
Raw Couliflower is The Best! I tried it last week and I'n a fan of it!
This recipe is amazing! I took it for lanch today!
Thanks for sharing!
xox
nita!
On April 13, 2009, wrote:
Nita!
I'm so glad you tried it!! I am still into cauliflower a lot. I mostly just blend it up, but this recipe was very tasty!
You are very welcome!
Lots of love to you,
Wendi
XOXOXO
On August 3, 2012, wrote:
I have a bone to pick with you(pardon the expression!). You said to serve immediately, because cauliflower doesn't last too long, but, can I tell you something? I made this and ate some wrapped in nori sheets and dipped in shoyu-delicious. There was plenty left over so I put it in the fridge and the next day I thought it tasted even better. Following that, I still had more thereafter, and, long story short, I have kept this refrigerated for over a week and to me, it seemed to just taste brilliant the longer it sits-up to a point, that is-the point being roughly two weeks. I've even frozen it, and when it thaws it gives off quite a bit of juice, which I mixed with shoyu sesame oil, garlic, ginger, etc, and the remaining mixture is even dryer and better for sushi rolls. This is one of my stand-by's , a truly magnificent recipe that I will always use. Thank you for your very clever concoction! Very versatile, and a raw classic in my book!