Cauliflower, Veal, and Noodles

So apparently, I like cauliflower a lot these days. I've discovered a fabulously easy, nutritious way to cook it, which I'll describe in a moment. This particular meal was, as usual, an experiment in flavor combinations; luckily, the experiment paid off! Unluckily, I liked it so much, I found I'd gained weight when I stepped on the scales this morning. If I can keep myself away from the left-overs, I'll pay cucumber and tomato penance. If not, maybe I'll just throw my scales away.


Ingredients you'll need to make this surprise success:

Small shell noodles (I prefer mixing varieties for visual and textural interest)
Fresh ground veal
One quarter of a large sweet onion (Vidalia is always best), diced and divided
One jalapeno, washed, seeded, and diced
Olive Oil (always)
Garlic Salt (pretty much always)
One head of cauliflower, washed and broken into florets
Medium heat Hatch Chili queso


The very first thing I did in this cooking endeavor was stare at a recipe for Veal Stroganoff. To my chagrin, I discovered that a key ingredient was missing from my fridge: sour cream. It's pretty hard to make a stroganoff without sour cream. So I started water boiling for noodles (as a pre-schooler grew increasingly adamant about wanting noodles for dinner) and began forming a plan for possible combinations of the ingredients I had and wanted to use. See the above list, if you're wondering what they were.

I pre-heated my oven to 350 degrees and prepared the cauliflower first. The leaves at the base are edible and actually pretty tasty. The only part I throw away is the hard stem. All of this went into a glass baking dish with about a third of the diced onion, after which the mixture received liberal dashes of oil from my nifty new cruet. Sprinkled garlic salt finished off the job, and into the oven it went.

Meanwhile, I heated about a quarter cup of olive oil in the pan, meaning to saute the onions, then add the meat. Instead, I got distracted by a toddler rummaging through the trash, and tossed the meat in first. The heat was set on medium, and I let it cook for a bit while I cleaned off Naughty Baby's hands. Once she was securely fastened in her high chair and nibbling on those cardboard-like teething wafers (because she seems to be PERPETUALLY teething), I broke up the meat so it could get brown and crumbly the way I like it. After it was mostly cooked, I added the rest of that diced onion and all of the diced jalapeno. Just prior to turning off the heat, I jacked it up to high and let the veal get nice and crispy.

The water for the noodles was at an almost roiling boil at the point (little girls are not patient enough to ever achieve the bubbling of waters chefs insist on for perfect noodles). In went some salt, then the noodles. I know a proper chef insists that you baby-sit pasta as it's cooking--constantly stirring--but I've got other fish to fry, and my family never complains about gummy pasta... I'm not sure they'd notice.

The cauliflower didn't seem to be cooking quickly enough at 350, so I upped the temperature to 400 degrees and set the timer for another 15 minutes. Also, I doused the little white gems with more olive oil. That extra heat and time (they'd been in for about 20 minutes by then) really achieved the perfect texture.

The cauliflower, noodles, and meat went into my bowl; I added about a tablespoon of the queso, and declared my concoction a success.

Indian Night...(sort of)

I heard this wonderful interview with an Indian woman about cooking on NPR last week. She talked about food in a way that made me thing of senses-color, texture, flavor, smell. I could listen to her talk forever. If I could eat what she described, it would be even better. She talked about the history of tandoori and described flavors as "gorgeous." That's someone I want to know.

Here's what I concocted as a result:


Ingredients:

Ground Lamb
Onions and Jalapenos, sliced thinly and sauteed in olive oil
Spice Mixture: heavy on the curry, cinnamon, garam masala, chili powder, and a dash or two of garlic salt
2 TBSP Teriyaki Sauce
Cooked Smoky Basmati rice, made with garlic salt and chili powder


I sauteed the onion and jalapeno in olive oil--apprx 1/4 cup--on medium heat until the onion was soft and translucent. Toss in apprx. a TBSP of the Spice Mixture for flavor. Remove from saute pan, add ground lamb. Cook thoroughly, mixing and stirring constantly. Add rest of Spice Mixture (apprx. 1/8 of a cup). Once mostly brown and cooked, turn heat to high to crisp meat crumbles. Continue stirring, and add onion/jalapeno and cooked rice to mix in meat and oil. Stir until all ingredients are hot and slightly crispy.

I found that the final result needed teriyaki sauce to add a bit of flavor. The amount of Spice Mixture is based to taste, based on your preference. I found I wanted more chili powder and cinnamon over curry powder. I'd like to try this with cardamom in the future, as that was a featured spice in the Indian cook's descriptions.

Sweet and Spicy Shrimp With Rice

Ingredients:

Half of a Sweet Onion, apprx. half a cup, thinly sliced
One Jalapeno, seeds removed, thinly sliced
One Pound of Jumbo Shrimp, peeled and deveined
A quarter cup of Pineapple Juice
Garlic Salt
Coarse Sea Salt
Montreal Steak Seasoning
Quarter Cup of Olive Oil


Combine all ingredients in bowl to marinate overnight.

To cook, heat another quarter cup of olive oil in a sautee pan on medium. Remove onion and jalapeno slices from marinade mixture, and sautee in oil until onions are soft and translucent. Reduce heat to medium-low, then add shrimp. Stir frequently, flipping shrimp at least once to ensure equal doneness. When shrimp are pink, immediately remove from heat to avoid over-cooking.

Serve with Smoked Basmati rice cooked with garlic salt and chili powder. 

After I recovered from my coughing fit--that jalapeno was pretty strong--I found culinary joy. The sweet heat of the pineapple, onion, and jalapeno combined very nicely with the smoky flavor of the rice.

Little Lili gave the rice an enthusiastic yum-yum vote; she ate two bowls. I saved the introduction of jalapeno and shrimp for another day!

Baked Curry Cauliflower

This recipe qualifies as a hit, given Little Lili's enthusiastic support.

Ingredients:

One Head of Cauliflower, washed and chopped
One stalk of Sweet Bulb Onion
Olive Oil, enough to coat all ingredients prior to baking
Curry Powder, enough to cover the vegetables
Garlic Powder, to taste


Combine all ingredients in an oven-safe glass dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

Enjoy with all little ladies (and any other amenable folks) making yum-yum noises as they eat your serving.