The Family Table: Getting it done

One of the questions I get asked frequently about eating a primarily vegetarian diet is whether it gets boring.
It doesn’t.
I love my veggies and so does everyone else in our house. That affords me a lot of options when I’m putting together a weekday dinner on the fly, which, despite my best efforts, occasionally happens.
As I’m writing this at 5 a.m. Tuesday, I find myself in the unusual position of not having a meal premade that we’ll heat and eat. Tuesday is the day of the week I dread the most, so it’s the one I always endeavor to have something in advance made. It’s a breakneck pace for Mike and the two younger kids – they get home from school and do homework; he gets home from work and changes, everyone eats and then they go out the door to karate and don’t come back until almost 9 p.m.
Gabe and I, for a little while longer at least, remain at home to tend to the dogs, laundry and garbage duties. (I say “for a little while longer” because come August, he heads off to college. It will be, I imagine, another column for another day as I adjust to not having him at home.)
It’s a breakneck pace that doesn’t slow down until bedtime.
Our past weekend was busy and in my little downtime, I slacked. Frankly, I needed the break.
But a hungry family can’t be ignored, so I hatched a plan to make afternoon prep a bit easier. In my oven currently are two whole roasted cauliflowers. I love it for its versatility. It can be eaten plain (just salt and pepper) or seasoned to match any flavor profile. It’s good on its own, it’s good as a side, and the best part about roasting it whole is that you don’t have the mess of crumbs that comes with breaking it apart. I seasoned mine with cumin, garlic powder and lime, and it will serve as the base for black bean tostadas.
The roasted head will be sliced down into cauliflower steaks, topped with seasoned black beans, sprinkled with cheese and popped under the broiler. I’ll season and roast some sweet potatoes (I peeled and cubed them and put them in water before I came to work) to round out dinner.
Served with a quick salad and some guacamole, there’s nothing boring about that at all!
Whole Roasted Cauliflower
Ingredients
1 medium head cauliflower
¼ cup of olive oil or ¼ cup softened unsalted butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Remove all the leaves and outer stems. Cut the stem off so the cauliflower will sit flat on a baking sheet. Rub softened butter, salt and pepper (or brush oil, salt and pepper) on the entire head. Roast for about 40 minutes. At that mark, take it out and use a long wooden skewer or knife to see if the cauliflower is done. You should be able to pierce it with ease. It usually takes about 1 hour to cook through. The top of the cauliflower will brown.
The fun part of something like this is that it can taste however you want it. If you want Asian flavors, add five spice powder or some chili paste to the butter or oil. Cumin, smoked paprika and a squirt of lime juice in the butter or oil will bring in Mexican flavors. My husband makes a compound butter with Old Bay and garlic powder that is delicious atop the cauliflower, and I like mixing the butter or oil with some curry paste. While you’re only limited by your imagination, take care not to add fresh minced garlic or onion to the oil or butter; same with fresh herbs. All will burn! If you want those flavors, I’d recommend reserving a little bit of the oil or butter and basting the cauliflower again with about 15 minutes left on the cook time.