Work has been so busy this week. Colin and I are both working long hours at our respective jobs, so cooking has taken a real back burner. Of course, cooking is also my main form of stress relief so it goes without saying that I’m a little tightly wound at the moment. I’m definitely looking forward to this (Canadian) Thanksgiving long weekend- a weekend designed specifically for cooking and relaxing, how wonderful!
The repercussions of not cooking proper meals during the week are not just that I’m stressed and my diet is boring, it also means we have no leftovers to use for lunches. More money goes towards buying lunches out, lunches out tend to be less healthy… while I do appreciate collecting Park Place for my work family’s McDonalds Monopoly team, I can’t say my body or wallet are thanking me.
Monday I had a bit of this Mexican Garlic Soup left for lunch, which at least cured that cold I had been battling, but after I was all cured up my week was a bit of a terrible food free-for-all, so I half expect my body to be like “oh you think so, do ya?” and now succumb to the Norovirus or something.
Well, mostly terrible food. This roasted cauliflower has been my shining beacon of deliciousness this week, guiding me through the work fog.
One head of cauliflower, toss in butter and spices, bake. Done.
Easy, healthy, phenomenally delicious.
I love these roasted bites as a side to just about any meal but they also work great as a vegetarian wrap filling. Of course, this week I didn’t have the time or energy to pair it with anything so we ate it straight off the baking sheet in front of the TV like the classy people we are.
In a surprising turn of events, these florets are so snackably delicious that we actually made them again later in the week while watching a movie- in place of popcorn. Vegetables as movie snacks. It’s a thing now.
| Oven-Caramelized Spiced Cauliflower Florets | Print |
- 1 large head cauliflower, cored and chopped into florets
- 3 Tbsp butter, melted
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp sumac
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, melt butter then add all the spices. Stir to combine.
- In a large bowl, toss cauliflower florets with butter-spice mixture until well coated. Turn on to the lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.
Nom nom nom… sounds amazing! I’m going to make this for a family get-together but I’ll have to make it the day before. How would you suggest reheating so they don’t get mushy? Thanks!
Oh yum, these will definitely be a hit! If you’re making them the day before I would recommend cutting the roasting time by 5-6 minutes and then reheating them on a baking sheet in the oven on a high broil for 3-4 minutes before serving. If that’s not possible (I understand oven time can be at a premium during big family feasts!), you can take them out of the fridge an hour before eating and enjoy them at room temperature (they are great as picnic food at room temp) OR pop them in the microwave for 30-45 seconds, although the microwave will cause them to become a little softer than they would otherwise.