Cauliflower Sunday

This handsome vegetable made the basis of Sunday lunch today.  It is not a choice that I have ever made before but he was just so lovely, and organically raised and our friend Roge who is staying with us for a bit encouraged me to bring him home.  

I just steamed up this beautiful flower...and then put him in a pan to saute him in olive oil and a few smashed garlic cloves.   

As an accompaniment,  I rootled around in the cupboard and found three kinds of rice ( basmati and black wild rice and another red brown variety I found at the Asian market) which I prepared with some barley, cooked in two separate pans and combined after cooking.  

  Whole barley, like brown rice takes almost 45 minutes to prepare but the other rices were finished in 20 minutes or so. ( It's true that wild rice usually takes longer than Basmati but I only have four burners so I compromised a bit.)  

This might have been a vegan meal except I put some soft goat cheese (chevre) on the plate and let folks help themselves at the table.  

It was a sweet, sweet cauliflower.  We ate all the leaves with sea salt and a bit of red pepper flakes.  THe flavors were incredible!

For dessert, I had my two squares of chocolate "noir".

I am not a vegetarian but my husband and I do not eat industrially farmed food if we can possibly avoid it.

 Here as elsewhere in the world, you might pay more for sustainably farmed or raised products, but your body will thank you and so will your taste buds.  It's better to scrimp elsewhere if you feel the need.   

 As far as I know, you only get one body a lifetime and it's yours to care for...and that goes for an earth too.