Blogs for October, 2014

I was shocked – as shocked as one can get about vegetables, which, frankly, runs pretty low on my shock-scale.  But still, when my brother-in-law ordered a small plate of roasted cauliflower for the table, I didn’t think I’d be (softly) stabbing his hand with my fork in order to eat the last piece.

That night, the Olympic Provisions kitchen handed over the incredibly easy recipe (see below) to replicate the yummy dish at home, so we might make as much as we wanted and ensure familial bliss.

If you read this blog and recently planted easy peas, you’ll have more time to tend to your slightly more needy cauliflower crop.  The benefits are awesome: adding more cruciferous veggies to your plate will not only give you more vitamin C and K, but also add glucosinolates to your diet, “compounds containing sulfer that are found only in cruciferous vegetables. Eating glucosinolates might help lower your risk of cancer, according to the Linus Pauling Institute.”

Cauliflower thrives in a cool climate of consistent 60 degree weather,  and grow best planted in the fall. If you live in a warm area, you can plant any time from now ‘til early winter, but want to wait ‘til the weather is consistently around 75 degrees or colder.

• Plant 6-8 weeks before the first fall frost.
• Choose a spot with at least 6 hours of full sun, with soil rich in potassium and nitrogen.
• Start your seedlings indoors, according to OrganicGardening.com, and plant the seeds ¼ to ½ inch deep in peat or paper pots. Harden off your seedlings for a week by exposing them to a few hours of outdoor sunlight and air each day before you transplant into your garden.
• Plant the seedlings 15 to 24 inches apart (check with your nursery regarding the variety that will work best for your region).
• Cauliflower needs consistent water to grow well – 1 to 1 ½ inches per week.
• Be patient – some varieties take 75 to 85 days after transplant to fully mature.
• To keep your cauliflower looking fresh and white (unless you’re growing the gorgeous purple variety), The Old Farmer’s Almanac suggests you blanch your plants to protect them from the sun. “When the curd (the white head) is about 2 to 3 inches in diameter, tie the outer leaves together over the head with a rubber band, tape, or twine.”
• The cauliflower is ready to harvest around 7 to 12 days after blanching.

As promised, the recipe for roasted cauliflower a la Robert the brother-in-law:

Chef’s note: Measurements don’t really apply for this recipe. You go where the spirit leads you. Baking on a pizza stone is ideal, but a baking tray works well, too.

• Depending on your hunger, take 1 head of cauliflower (or more). Cut out most of the core and detach/cut the florets. Separate florets to make smaller ones – but not too small.
• Throw into a mixing bowl and add enough olive oil to get them nicely coated but not drenched. Mix around by hand and add more if needed.
• Grind coarse sea salt and pepper (to taste) into the bowl, then mix again.
• Heat oven to at least 450 with pizza stone/baking tray in there. I often do these on the barbecue, getting the temp well above 500. Requires being more watchful, but the higher temp seems to result in best combination of charring and firmness.
• Once you get oven to desired temp, dump cauliflower onto the pre-heated tray and spread out as much as possible.
• Check in about 8 minutes (sooner at higher temps). On a pre-heated tray, the side of the floret facing down will start to brown first. Watch for this, and if that’s the case, push the florets around a bit for even browning.
• Check again at about 12 minutes and press on the stems of the bigger pieces to see how soft they are. You want them to be somewhat soft to the touch, but still firm to the tooth. Try one and see if you like the texture. If not, give them a couple minutes and sample again.

Serve to happy eaters who never knew cauliflower could be so good.  Are you growing your own cauliflower?

(Photo Credit: Pirate Kitchen)

It’s time for me to ‘fess up: I think vampires are real.  Well, maybe not *real* real.  But back in ’92, after watching the Luke Perry / Kristy Swanson cult classic “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer,” I began to seriously consider what it meant to invite some vampire err… someone into your house.   And while it’s *mostly* a running joke about my weird phobias (clowns ARE real and they’re terrifying, people), I’m not opposed to keeping a clove of garlic handy come Halloween time.

Are you planning a ghoulish gathering or hosting a Halloween pumpkin patch party this year? A quick Google search reveals all kinds of ideas for adding vampire-repelling garlic to your menu, from cupcakes to pumpkin sage bread to a warm and savory soup.  If you want to pick your garlic from your garden next year, now is the time to plant! Garlic grows year-round in mild climates, and will be ready to harvest in spring or summer for those living in colder regions.  Just be sure to plant your cloves six weeks before the first real frost.

• Pick a spot with full sun.  Though garlic will grow in almost any soil, it will best thrive with well-drained dirt and plenty of organic matter.
• To prep, OrganicGardening.com suggests soaking your garlic bulbs in a jar of water with one tablespoon of baking soda and a tablespoon of liquid seaweed for a few hours before planting.
• Pull apart the bulb of garlic into cloves, and plant each clove 4 to 8 inches apart, with the pointed end facing up, the tip a good 2 inches beneath the soil.
• Cover with mulch or straw, and soon you’ll see the shoots starting to pop up.  If you actually have a real winter, unlike those of us in Southern California who are just hoping for a tiny bit of rain, the garlic will stop growing until the spring.
• If your rain dance doesn’t work, water weekly to meet the garlic’s needs for about an inch of water while the garlic is growing.
• Prune aggressively.  When your garlic starts producing flowering, curly tops that start to get spiky, sacrifice these “scapes” for the plant to grow a bigger bulb.
• According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, your garlic is ready to harvest when the tops turn yellow and start to fall over.  Carefully pull up the bulb, and dry inside for 2 weeks, til the roots are dry and the skin of the garlic is dry and papery.

Even if you’re not worried about keeping vampire visitors at bay, there are many other benefits to garlic.  Rich in antioxidants, it was used to fight gangrene in both world wars, and continues to battle disease as a regular part of your diet, combatting the common cold.  Research is ongoing, but studies show that garlic benefits your heart health and blood pressure, as well as adding tons of flavor to your food.

Do you grow your own garlic? Planning to plant some this month?  Talk to us on Facebook or Twitter!

(Photo Credit: HarvestToTable)