either one: roasted is good. take your dressing idea, toss florets with peppers and onions and dressing and then roast them.
cauli: steamed/nuked and then mashed with garlic is good. if you then add a little grated cheese and pop it in the oven to heat through, even better.
cauli: good with Indian spices and curries.
broccoli: stir fry with Chinese or Thai flavors.
broccoli: blanch it briefly and then eat it cold with guacamole.
tonight i tried a recipe for cauliflower that called for it to be cooked--steamed, microed, whatever--then put in a food chopper/processor with a little smart balance and some salt and pepper. It pretty much tasted amazing. I used it as a substitute for rice in a crab jambalya.
My boyfriend is kind of picky about vegetables, so I'm always trying some new ways to get him to eat them. His favorite is tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted at a high temp, maybe 450 for 20 or 30 minutes. He always says, what did you do to this, its so good.
good stuff everyone. I think I may try roasting them, like LW suggested.
Side note - when I got the cauliflower, they had purple and orange heads, as well as regular. There was also Broccoflower, a hybrid broccoli/cauliflower (I know, duh). I thought those were pretty cool. Never seen that before.
You could always make a "pasta" salad using the cauli chopped up to stand in for pasta.
Or, cut up broccoli, throw in some fried bacon bits, shredded cheese, red onion dices (maybe sunflower seeds or raisins too). Then mix mayo, sugar/splenda/vinegar in a ratio of 1 part mayo to 1/2 part sweetener to 1/4 part vinegar for a dressing. Let it chill a few hours and it's awesome!
tonight i tried a recipe for cauliflower that called for it to be cooked--steamed, microed, whatever--then put in a food chopper/processor with a little smart balance and some salt and pepper. It pretty much tasted amazing. I used it as a substitute for rice in a crab jambalya.
mel
I just wanted to say that I do this quite often. It's mashed potatoes except using cauliflower.
Salt and pepper, tablespoon of smart balance, skim milk, bag of frozen cauliflower(steamed); put it in a food processor and blend. I have found out that my magic bullet blender does a better job though.
well I went ahead and roasted them. Liked it so much, I made another medley with a bunch of different peppers and veggies - awesome! I can't believe I never did this before. I'm really digging it.
Try chopping up a leek and adding it into the food processor with the cauliflower, a little butter and cream, garlic, salt, and some nutmeg. Puree to a consistency you enjoy. I think the leek is a nice compliment to the culiflower.
(I'm a big fan of real butter and cream instead of low-cal/low-fat substitutes, but I'm picky about where it comes from; I get pastured dairy products from the companies that are highly rated at The Cornucopia Institute. But that's a different thread. )
I do a really easy/simple method for any veggies. Steam them in the microwave, drain the water, and add a few grams of butter or olive oil. Shake on some Good Season's Italian Dressing (the type that is sold dry in the pouch) and a half tablespoon of parmesan cheese. Delicious!