Roasted cauliflower rocks it with harissa and a spiced tahini drizzle.

Moroccan Roasted Cauliflower with Sesame

By Sue Lau | Palatable Pastime

This is the recipe I was telling you about that is inspired by Anthony Bourdain. His recipe uses some miso and also oregano.  I took it in a different direction with the harissa and cumin. I still have yet to find the time to try his- I riffed on this recipe because I’d seen someone blog his and I liked the look of the cauli in the photo. But I am always fond of the look of roasted veggies, aren’t you?

Anyway, I liked this so much that I went ahead and took a peek at his book and then bought it. It’s a little different from his book Les Halles.  I have that one too. More than being references  I follow,  most cookbooks I get I read when I am tired and just want to browse #foodtalk, seeing what people are cooking, seeing if it inspires me to grab  something at the market. I rarely follow any recipe from a book or even another blog. To me it’s like trying to cook with hands tied around your back. I used to cook some recipes  from friends at online sites. It’s hard  to make needed turns in a recipe and still  review it honestly. And sticking to the form usually left me thinking “You know, I wish I had done this to it  while I was cooking, but—” Not that the recipes were bad (well, to be honest, some were) but I just am headstrong about my own cooking ideas. And maybe you guys like it, maybe you have your own ideas. But in my mind, watching others cook  is more inspiring than having them tell you how to cook. Whether they are chefs and cookbook authors, bloggers, or just that nice lady down the street- it’s best to do your own thing. As Jacques Pepin put it, so many things happen to change the recipe anyway. Food quality and freshness, humidity, cooking temperatures, cookware, you name it. When  you learn to judge what to do as you go along (Keep a cup of spoons nearby to taste…taste…taste!) you and your family will be happier for it.

Whew! Now that was a rant!  Haha!

Anyway, I will try to get my recipe up tomorrow for Salisbury Steaks over noodles, unless  I cave and post something else. I  know I missed posting my artichoke dip, but I hadn’t previewed the photos and decided in editing them for the blog that the cheese on top picked up an odd casting from the light, so will probably wait until  I can shoot that again before posting. SInce I eat everything I post and take photos of for my meals, I just need a little break before going back to it. And that’s something you should know about my photos: sometimes the light is bad because it gets dark early this time of year. But I am just a home  cook, not a photographer. I will NOT cook my dinner while I eat my breakfast just to get good light. I will NOT put something wacky on it like WD-40 or Elmers Glue to  get that nice moist look  or color. (And dear  gawd, that is so dishonest of people to let others  think  their food will look just like the photo,  when in fact the food in the photo is no longer food).

The food here is real food, by real people, for real people. And I don’t have a staff either, so no taking hours to take pics of a burger with stylists and photographers- just like any person, when the burger is done, I am hungry and  I don’t want it getting cold. So forgive if sometimes the pics are not like a magazine. It’s just me, and sometimes Bill helps (if he is home) to  help hold a bounce card or something, but that’s about it.

Until tomorrow! ~Sue