We grow several verieties of cauliflower on the farm including the traditional white, a yellow known as cheddar, a purple variety, and the beautiful Romanesca.  All of these may be used interchangeably in recipes of course.  We freeze our summer cauliflower so that our members have greater diversity in winter.  Frozen cauliflower is great in many recipes including soups, stir fries, stews, casseroles, etc.  Our frozen cauliflower is blanched briefly before freezing so is partly pre-cooked, cooking times for recipes calling for fresh cauliflower will be shorter.  You will want to test your cauliflower when cooking for perfect doneness as some recipes will want cauliflower more or less tender.  Store your frozen cauliflower in the freezer until you are ready to use it.  I like to chop for recipes when it it still partly frozen 

Italian Cauliflower

Here's Heather's favorite quick Italian cauliflower dish. This is best when the cauliflower is just tender, not mushy. Put a couple of sausages on the grill and toss a salad. There's dinner. Serves 4.

1 cauliflower, cut into florets
3 TB oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 TB vinegar
1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes
salt & pepper
red pepper flakes
minced Italian flat parsley

Heat oil in a wide deep skillet and saute onion until translucent. Add cauliflower and a couple tablespoons of water. Continue cooking and stirring often. When cauliflower and onion begin to brown a bit, add the vinegar. Cover and cook until vinegar cooks off. Stir in tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, pepper flakes, and parsley. Simmer covered until cauliflower is tender, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Summer Vegetable Ragu

This is how Heather prepares summer's bounty of vegetables. It's something like ratatouille, but you can use any vegetables you have on hand. It's great served with pasta, polenta, or rice, with some fresh grated Parmesan cheese or crumbled feta. It also makes a yummy, if juicy, sandwich in a baguette! Serves 4-6.

4 cups or more of uniformly cut vegetables, such as beans, zukes, cauliflower, peppers, eggplant, and/or summer squash
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 TB oil
3 tomatoes, chopped (2 cups)
1/4 cup minced fresh herbs, basil/mint/oregano
Salt & pepper

Heat oil in a deep wide sauté pan and cook garlic and onion until soft, fragrant and beginning to brown. Add vegetables, except tomatoes. Season with salt & pepper and sauté until nearly tender, with some brown flecks. Add tomatoes and herbs. Simmer gently until the tomatoes are saucy and the vegetables are cooked to your liking.

Mediterranean Orzo

The combination of feta, lamb and tomato is classic. If you are not a lamb-eater, try throwing in some mushrooms, kalamata olives and pine nuts instead. Serves 4.

1 lb. ground lamb, crumbled, or good lamb sausage sliced into half-rounds
2 TB olive oil
1/2 sweet onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 head broccoli or cauliflower separated into small florets
salt and pepper
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 TB chopped fresh oregano or 1 tsp dried
1 large tomato chopped
3/4 lb orzo
6 oz feta cheese crumbled
salt and pepper to taste

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil. Cook lamb in a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat until cooked through. Reserve the cooked lamb and drain the skillet. Heat the oil in the same skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, saute for one minute, then add garlic. Saute onion for another minute or two, then add the broccoli or cauliflower, salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Add the chicken stock and oregano. Bring to simmer, reduce heat and simmer covered for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, add the orzo to the pot of boiling water and cook according to packaged directions. Add the cooked lamb and chopped tomato to the skillet and simmer one more minute. Drain the orzo reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid. Toss the orzo with the lamb and vegetables, adding reserved pasta water if necessary. Toss in the feta. Serve warm.

Summer Vegetable Pickles

Adapted from Epicurious.com. Makes about 3 cups.

1 cup 1/2- to 3/4-inch cauliflower florets
1 cup 1/2- to 3/4-inch broccoli florets
1 cup 1-inch strips celery
1 red Thai chili or red jalapeno chili, cut into thin rounds
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup (lightly packed) fresh mint leaves (from 2 bunches)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Place cauliflower, broccoli, celery and chili in medium bowl. Bring vinegar, mint, sugar, and salt to boil in heavy medium saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cool syrup completely. Strain syrup over vegetables. Let stand at room temperature 2 hours. Cover and chill until ready to use. (Can be made up to 1 day ahead.)