How to cook when you can't.
As you know, I’ve been out-of-sorts lately. I’m having back problems and, no matter how much I want to, I can’t spend hours in the kitchen cooking the dishes that I most like to cook. In honesty, more than 20 minutes in the kitchen is liable to have me cursing myself the next day. But I’m determined, doggedly determined, not to eat take-out and frozen foods throughout my recovery. No more pizza! No more subs! No more sushi… okay, a little more sushi.
Not about to let my bad back bring me—or this blog—down, I’m planning to showcase a few super-easy, hardly-active dishes. For those of us too sick, or hurting, or just too lazy out there, food doesn’t have to take much to taste good. This cauliflower saute proves that rule. Cauliflower is the miracle vegetable for good reason, no? And this version’s creamy and very barely sweet. Like hash without the trouble of corning your own beef a few days earlier— and don’t worry, I make up for the loss of fatty corned beef with a whole stick of butter. Yes. A stick. Because quick food shouldn’t have to taste healthy, either.
Cauliflower, Carrots, and Cashews
serves 4
Three C’s makes the ingredients in this dish quite easy to remember. Another trick to cooking when you can’t. (heh.)
- 1 stick (8 tbsp) butter, divided
- 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
- 5 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon tumeric
- 1/2 cup dry white wine, optional
- 1 teaspoon salt, more to taste
- 1/2 cup cashews
Add 4 tablespoons butter into a large pan over medium. Once melted, add cauliflower and carrots. Stir to coat evenly. Add tumeric and cover. Go lie down and leave pan to cook 15 minutes.
Uncover pan, add white wine and raise temperature a bit. Let wine cook off, then add rest of butter, salt, and cashews, stirring. Cook until everything is tender to your liking. Go back to the couch and serve coffee-tableside.
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November 7th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
I hope you feel better soon! Oh, this looks so good. I love tumeric. And you just can’t have too much sushi! ;)
November 8th, 2008 at 7:41 am
Hope you are soon on the mend, a bad back is no fun at all.
This looks great, I am a big fan of the cauli!
November 8th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
I love the idea of cashews with my cauliflower! I hope your back feels better soon, actually I hope you don’t “feel” your back soon!!
November 8th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
That looks like something I am definitely going to use when I get cauliflower from my CSA!!! Get better soon!
November 8th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
I agree with the first comment – there’s always room for more sushi!
Sending vibrant, healing warm thoughts your way. You know I am. :)
I also just became friendly with a lovely woman who is struggling in the kitchen for similar reasons. I am going to send her way anything you post in that vein.
November 8th, 2008 at 11:52 pm
Oh hon, I hope you are feeling better soon. Back problems suuuuuuuck. Do take care of yourself. And as a certified sushi whore, I say a little more can never hurt (unless you get the street cart sushi in Middle America, then be afraid…)
November 9th, 2008 at 2:49 am
I don’t know on how I stumbled upon this cooking blog., All I know is that I’d better check out the archives for a good read. Ha-ha! Just droppin’ to say hi!
Oh. You might want to check this out: http://www.technocooks.com for uhm…a different “menu.”
November 9th, 2008 at 11:28 am
I’m a huge fan of cauliflower AND cashews, so when you put the two in tandem? YUM!
November 9th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Man, good luck with the back. I’ve had back problems for over a year (slipped disk at the gym), but it seems to be healing itself finally. It will still tighten if I do something to aggravate it but It does seem to be slowly healing. Hopefully yours does the same, it just takes time.
Not a cashew fan, maybe some sliced and toasted almonds for me, but this dish sounds great!
November 9th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
This does look like something I would enjoy, sick or not :) Hope you feel better soon!
November 10th, 2008 at 3:50 am
A great vegetarian recipe. The ingredients are also very less. Thanks for posting such a nice healthy recipe.
Alice
November 10th, 2008 at 10:30 am
I hope your back feels better soon. Any update from the doctor visit???
November 10th, 2008 at 11:43 am
This is a really unique recipe! I’ve never heard of this combination before, and I’m always looking for new ways to use turmeric. Great idea! And I hope your back starts to feel better!
November 11th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
November 12th, 2008 at 2:03 am
I know how it goes when something lays you up for awhile, you get sick of the flavor of convenience and want real food from your own kitchen.
I hope you get back to 100% soon!
November 12th, 2008 at 5:31 am
I do know what it is like to be down for the count or even a standing eight count. I like the almost hands-off approach to this dish.
Tumeric and cauliflower? Interesting.
November 12th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
What a great way to cook with cauliflower!
November 12th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Food blogging is such a hard thing to do when we don’t feel like cooking or eating, isn’t it? I’m sorry you are still continuing to have back issues. Is there anything else you can do for it or do you just have to suffer? I’m sorry you are dealing with this!
November 13th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
I never would have thought to put these three ingredients together but it sounds great! Are the cashews toasted?
November 14th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
oh honey, i hate that you’re hurting so much for so long. major awful drag. i hope it eases up on you soon.
this sounds great but 1 WHOLE STICK OF BUTTER AND NUTS TOO? yowza.
i was once young and burned fat…