Holidays are Coming: Festive Cauliflower with Swiss cheese sauce

Festive and cauliflower are not two words usually put together. In this recipe, though, the words work together beautifully. White cauliflower, swiss cheese sauce, and bits of red and green peppers…lovely, yummy, festive and easy.

Good dish for  company, good for a family meal, good all through the year. Fresh or frozen cauliflower works well. Simply adjust the cooking times of the vegetable so your cauliflower doesn’t turn to mush. If it does, then just mash it all together and serve it anyway. Make up a name for it that sounds special and fun. I think you will like this. My aunt served this years ago during a Christmas when we moved the family Christmas to Colorado during her first year of marriage.  It has since become one of our family favorites and is a regular on the holiday menu.

NOTE: Reduced fat milk and cheese can be used. It is not recommended for margarine with a high water content to be substituted for butter. Regular margarine can be used.  Large bag of frozen, defrosted cauliflower can be used.

Festive Cauliflower
1 large cauliflower
1 4 oz. can sliced mushrooms
1/4 c. diced green bell peppers
2 tbs. diced, drained pimiento
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. flour
2 c. milk
1 c. grated swiss cheese
1/2 tsp. salt

Break cauliflower into bite sized pieces. Cook 10 minutes and drain. Saute mushrooms and pepper in butter until tender. Blend in flour (make a roux). Slowly add cold milk and blend and cook until thickened. Add pimiento, 2/4 cup of cheese, and salt and stir until cheese is melted. Place one-half of cauliflower into a 2 quart casserole and cover with half of sauce. Add rest of cauliflower and top with remaining sauce and cheese. Bake in 325 oven for 20 – 30 minutes until cheese is melted. Six to eight servings.

Oven Roasted Autumn Vegetables

I like oven roasted veggies!  The roasting sweetens them and gives them depth of flavor steaming or boiling cannot.  I grew up with roasted vegetables, before they became stylish. Whether savory or sweet (sweet potatoes, apples, acorn squash, honey, spices…oh my!) we ate them on a regular basis.  Hot out of the oven, room temperature, or even cold, roasted veggies are a delicious and easy way to get your veggies.

The recipe is forgiving and you can use whatever you have on hand.  Just keep in mind some veggies, such as onions, peppers asparagus – are more delicate and break down quicker.  Add them the last 20 minutes of cooking.  If you find the temperature is too high, then lower.  I often loosely cover them with foil for about 20 minutes, remove the foil, and add in the delicate veggies.  You can add a good sprinkle of freshly grated parmesan cheese at the end and use whatever herbal flavorings you prefer.  I also like to line my pan with parchment paper to help with clean up.

I do not use olive oil as do some people.  Olive oil has a lower smoking point and when oil smokes, carcinogens and toxins are released.  I use a good neutral vegetable oil instead.

どうぞめしあがれ  Douzo meshiagare y’all!

INGREDIENTS 1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed 2 red bell peppers seeded and diced 1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed 3 Yukon gold potatoes, cubed (or other potato) 1 large red onion, quartered 2 parsnips, cut into 1 inch slices 1/2 lb. Brussels sprouts, cut in half 3 tbs. balsamic vinegar 1/4 cup. vegetable oil 2 cloves garlic, minced 3 tbs. minced fresh herbs: parsey, thyme, rosemary, basil, whatever

DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine the (heavier” veggies. Put delicate veggies in a separate bowl. In a small bowl, stir together seasonings, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Divide between the two bowls and toss until well coated. Spread heavier veggies evenly on a large roasting pan. Loosely cover with foil and cook for 30 – 40 minutes. Add delicate veggies and stir in well. Do not replace foil and continue to cook for about 15 minutes more, or until cooked through and browned. If you do not like your veggies as soft, then of course, don’t cook as long.

Eat Your Heart Out – Local Produce and Mammies’ Veggie Stew

Surrounding Richmond is beautiful farm and horse country.  The city is home to eclectic and experienced foodies.  Restaurants run the gamut from homey diners serving fried donuts topped with ice cream to pure Southern meat and three joints to elegant establishments presenting the most recent and stylish food fad.  Locavores are the power brokers when it comes to supply and demand.

The farmland has given birth to organic farms, old home farms, specialty farms, dairies, and free range poultry and meat producers.  Herbs, flowers, fruits, vegetables, salad stuffs, heirloom vegetables.  And there are as many different types of farmers markets and produce stands. 

My favorite produce stand is in the middle of Hanover farm country.  From April 1 until the day before Thanksgiving, you can buy the freshest, best variety, and cheapest local produce.  There are also things such as handcrafted (what a stylish word!) jams, jellies, pickles, cheese, butter, salt and sugar, smoked hams, baked goods.

Even as late as this past weekend, the stand was overflowing with vegetables and other products.  Mountain apples are starting to make their appearance as well.  And while the produce isn’t as cheap as it was in mid-July (super sweet corn 6 ears $1, green beans 99 cents a pound, tomatoes 2 pounds for $1, etc.), it is still cheap enough to make people in other areas green (smile) with envy.  A 25 pound box of tomatoes is $8 for example.  Because of this bounty, I have been able to can 32 quarts of tomatoes and 32 quarts of green beans, freeze 16 quarts of corn (double cut and scraped of all its milky goodness), 12 quarts of assorted field peas, and 16 quarts of butter beans – not limas – butterbeans.  Butterbeans have a silkier texture and sweeter taste when cooked.

With all this bounty, I just have to cook up a huge batch of Mammies’ Veggie Stew.  You can call it soup, thick soup, or stew.  Just as long as it is full of veggies, it doesn’t matter.  I don’t use meat in mine but you can if you want to.  The recipe comes from my great-grandmother.  I fix enough to freeze 30 quart bags and several one-half gallon bags.  One a cold rainy night or day, the smell wafting from your stove will make you smile.  Add a chunk of hot cornbread or homemade roll slathered with butter, open a jar of homemade pickles or pickled beets, and you have a bit of heaven on earth.  Some of the ingredients may seem a bit odd, but Mammie worked this out years ago.  She never let me down.  Trust me.

I double this recipe and cook it three times.  It comes in handy for unexpected company or comfort for sickness or, in some cases, to take a couple of weeks after a bereavement as a good excuse to say hello and just been thinking about you.

Mammie’s Veggie Stew

2# stew beef (optional – see notes)

3 qts. Water

1 cup chopped  onion

4 c. potatoes chopped

1 tsp. pepper

5 tsp. salt (or to taste)

2 qt. corn (double cut and scraped)

2 qt. butterbeans

3 qt. tomatoes

½ c. ketchup

¼ – 1/2 c. sugar

1 tsp. hot sauce or to taste

Few good shakes of Worcestershire sauce

¾ stick butter

You can use plain water or vegetable broth.  Cook butterbeans until al dente.  Add the other ingredients.  If using whole tomatoes, break apart with hands as you add to the broth and butterbeans.   Simmer until veggies are tender.  Stir occasionally to keep from sticking and burning. You can cook down until thicker or have it thinner.  Your choice.  If you use meat, cook it first until tender and when cool, shred and add to broth.  If you use frozen veggies, use baby limas and try to find frozen sweet white corn.

Sweet Southern Peaches

Assorted Peppers and Fall Squash

Fresh Shelled Butterbeans and Assorted Peas: Dixie Lee, White Acre, Pink Eye Purple Hull, Brown Crowder, Black Eye