A Cauliflower Recipe for People Who Don't Like Cauliflower.

And if you do like cauliflower, this will be a great addition to your recipe collection!

You can probably smell this through your screen right now...

We eat cauliflower at my house on a pretty regular basis, my family really likes it. I generally roast it with some chopped onions or garlic, that method brings out the sweetness and really changes the texture. If you usually steam or microwave it, this will really change your thoughts on how versatile this vegetable is.

Plan on everyone coming by the kitchen when you are preparing this, the ingredients are very fragrant.

Often when I am about to make dinner (my wife doesn't cook..I've been doing all the cooking for the last 30 years in my household), I usually open the fridge and see what I have on hand. Since we have two refrigerators and a reach-in freezer, I have a pretty good larder set up to chose from. Plus, when stuff is on sale at the market (or heavily marked-down at Costco), I can stock up on fresh or frozen food without worrying about storage issues. The reach-in freezer saves me a ton of money, I can buys tons of food when they have the BOGO offers on chicken, pork, steaks...or ice cream!!!

Thai Cauliflower with Chili and Cilantro

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

4 cloves garlic

1/2 cup chopped (fresh) cilantro

1/4 cup (or to taste) chili paste

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 lime

salt and pepper to taste

Get a large pot of salted water boiling while you cut the cauliflower into pieces; don't make them too small or they will fall apart when you are stir-frying them later. Once the water is boiling, drop the florets in and boil for about 6-7 minutes. You want them soft on the outside but still firm on the inside. Drain well in a colander.

In a large saute pan or wok, get the oil hot over high heat, and add the garlic (make sure the cauliflower florets are nearby, you'll need to add them in about 60 seconds). You only want to cook the garlic for a minute at this temperature, as it will brown and burn. After a minute, add the cauliflower and chili paste and stir to coat. The sauce should be popping and smoking at this point, the idea is to lightly brown the cauliflower. After 2-3 minutes, you can add the cilantro and salt, and stir again.

Taste to make sure the seasoning is correct, squeeze the lime over the whole thing and serve it up! FYI, your house is going to smell like a Thai restaurant for a little while, the garlic and chili paste are extremely pungent when they are sauteed together. The last time I made this I could smell it outside!