Crazy for Cauliflower

I suppose to say that my family is CRAZY for cauliflower might be a bit of a stretch, but we certainly have been eating and enjoying a lot more of it over the last couple of years. For some reason, I tend to overlook this vegetable and I have no idea why. Partly it's because I get stuck in a rut when it comes to serving vegetable side dishes - I tend to grab the same things over and over, not really stopping to think about other possibilities. I think I also tend to dismiss cauliflower because it's such a bland color - I tend to reach for the more vibrant greens - but cauliflower is chock-full of important nutrients, so I need to reach for it more often.

Cauliflower, Pasta and Cheese Gratin

My MIL made this dish during one of our visits and we all loved it. Shortly after that I made it at home and it did not come out well at all - the sauce was too runny. I finally decided to give it a try again recently and had much better success this time around. The key is to be patient and make sure the sauce really thickens up before baking it.

As usual, I did not use the reduced-fat cheese (no flavor!), but I did use skim milk which works quite well in this recipe. (I'm sure it would be better using the 1% the recipe calls for, but as I've said before, I try to cook with what I have on hand as much as possible.) I followed the rest of the recipe pretty much as written but instead of using white bread, I used sourdough. I keep bits and pieces of crusty sourdough leftovers in the freezer for making breadcrumbs - I like the texture and flavor better than using white sandwich bread, something I don't buy much of anyway.

The flavors in this dish are subtle - it's not going to bowl over your taste buds - but it's yummy and satisfying - healthy comfort food. We ate it as the main dish, but it would do nicely as a side dish too. Next time we make this, I plan to use whole wheat pasta.

Well, it's been fun getting back to blogging again, but it will probably be a few days before I get the chance again. My goal is to post at least once or twice a week until I'm off work for the summer and then hopefully I can get back to almost daily posting again. But for now, something is better than nothing..........