Cauliflower Steak and Capers

"How do you come up with stories for your posts?"

Well, I sometimes don't and that's why I haven't updated in so long.  That and exams got in the way.  I'm just procrastinating now, well, no, I can't even call it procrastinating anymore, this is just called jeopardizing my future.


Anyway, I try to have a story at least remotely related to the food I'm posting about each time.  As interesting as my exciting tales in the library are as a student, I understand that not everyone appreciates them in a food blog.

I can usually link the central ingredient of a dish to a memory, and I'm honestly finding it difficult to think of something cauliflowery.  I don't think I ever really had much as a child in either Chinese or Italian cooking.   I had always confused broccoli and cauliflower as a child.  In Southern Italy I swear we interchange the terms, and in Mandarin one's called "green vegetable flower" and the other "white vegetable flower" (literally).  I didn't know that there was a clear distinction between the two. 

Sorry, that's the best story I've got relating to cauliflowers. 

I was trying to follow Bon Appetit's recipe but it was turning out to be quite bland.  See, in the recipe the cauliflower puree is made with cauliflower, milk, water, salt and pepper and that's it.  It was a bit bland for me.  Maybe with top quality cauliflower it'd be better, but with my little supermarket cauliflower, I felt the need to add things.   I understand that you don't want to overpower the cauliflowers because it's a delicate flavor, but just a tiny bit of extra virgin olive oil, butter, capers, oregano and smoked salt can only make things better. Just a touch of each. 

Grace's Granola of Nuts and Fruits

I love cereal, and I just love muesli and granola.  I like to make my own, I like to browse through my collection of nuts and seeds and dried fruits and make my perfect bowl of breakfast every morning. 

I have yet to find a brand that sells my perfect type of muesli.  I've tried them all, but they usually have too many dried fruits or not enough or not enough nuts or too little seeds --  and they're usually insanely expensive for something so easy and cheap to make at home.  This is granola made purely with nuts and dried fruits, so it's very luxurious and delicious.  I followed a recipe that basically had the following proportions:

1 cup nuts
1/2 cup dried fruits
1 tbsp nut butter
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp oil

Olive Oil Scottish Oatcakes

Dammit, Scotland.  Dammit, dammit, dammit.  You were so wonderful to us this winter up until now.  You were mild and warm and sunny and calm, and everything was well in the world up until now.  What is this, on my birthday you come with your 80mph wind and your rain and your snow.  I knew it.  I knew you wouldn't keep calm for so long.  I knew you were going to hit us with a blizzard when we least expect it.

This is just something lovely I found on Twitter to make things better

Urgh.  This post was supposed to be a tribute to Scotland, because I love oatcakes.  I really really do.  They're delightful things.

Mini Ice-Cream Charlottes

I really like the name "Charlotte", I think it's so pretty.  Nobody really knows why charlottes are called charlottes.  It could be named after a Queen Charlotte, or, according to Wikipedia, it could come from the world "charlyt" which means a bowl of custard.  I hope it's the latter, because that means that the name Charlotte is based on the dessert rather than the other way around.  Can you imagine?

"What does your name mean?"

"It is the latinized version of a Greek name.  It means chaste and purity  "

"Mine means 'cheerful' and 'joy' in Hebrew." 

"Mine means a bowl of custard."

 

Tagliatelle with Peas and Pancetta

Pasta with butter and cheese may sound simple and plain, but it is divine when done right.  Being Southern Italian, I never really had pasta with butter growing up, it was always pasta with olive oil.  That was my sick food actually.  When I was sick, my mother gave me congee (Chinese rice porridge) and my father gave me pasta with olive oil and cheese.  Perfect for any stomach problems. 

But then I came to the UK and discovered good butter, recipes with butter, and consequently a whole new world.