A Bird? A Plane? No, a Cauliflower.

So it's been a while. Suffice it to say that the last month has been full, and not a lot of inspired cooking has been done. There have been two deaths, a holiday in between, and an unexpected trip to Puerto Rico. But I'm back, scouring the farmer's market, and eager to cook.

Look what I discovered:

This is a Romanesco cauliflower from Yuno's Farm, though it looks like special effects in a 50's alien/sci-fi movie. Or perhaps it's what you see when you look through a kaleidoscope. Anyway, I couldn't resist such a remarkable object. It's hard to believe it's even food.

Pierre and I were so excited about it that we needed to eat it immediately. I cut it in pieces and roasted in the oven at 425 with garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper, following a recipe from The Gourmet Cookbook (as I was eating it, I glanced at the new Cook's Illustrated that was sitting on the table and saw that there was a recipe for roasted cauliflower right there. Ah well). Anyway, this creature was deliciously caramelized. The flavor is somewhere in between cauliflower and broccoli, more like a delicate broccoli. The sign at the farmer's market mentioned that it has a faint taste of pine nuts, but I did not particularly think so. I also discovered that it is healthier than standard cauliflower, high in potassium, vitamin C, folic acid, and fiber. And fruits and vegetables are what we all need to eat more of these days.