SWEET AND SPICY BAKED CAULIFLOWER

I just spent two hours scouring reviews for baby bouncers on Amazon. My eyes ache. Do you guys even know what kind of features these things come with nowadays? I don’t know how I ever made it to adulthood without such luxuries. Built-in sound systems, relaxing vibration patterns, an assortment of dangling toys to entertain the baby, hands-free bouncing – and none of them come in the color I want.

I have to get this right – it’s a gift for my best friend’s first baby. My best friend is pregnant. My best friend is having a baby. I still can’t believe it.

I don’t know the first thing about babies. I’ve never changed a diaper (Hello, Google? it’s me, Jordan.) I
like love wine. I say shit and damn and hell
sometimes too much. I know she’s way more ready for baby H than I am. But it’s still so hard for me to picture her as a mother. I know that’s just because I haven’t ever seen her in this role before. I know she’s going to be amazing.

It’s hard to imagine. Because to me – playing house with our American Girl dolls seems like yesterday. Getting in trouble for swimming in a flooded ditch seems like yesterday. Terrorizing the neighborhood in her go-cart seems like yesterday. Her moving to Oklahoma seems like yesterday. Church camp. Boyfriends. High school. College. Graduations. Yesterday. Giving my first wedding speech as her Matron of Honor – I know that was just yesterday. I swear it was.

But here we are. Coincidentally, today is her birthday. And the next day is my birthday. It’s been so long since we celebrated together, even though we were born one day apart. Now, she’s a couple of weeks away from bringing a piece of her into the world. And soon, I’ll get to meet meet the magical little person she’s been busy creating.

How lucky am I? I get to watch my best friend change and grow and learn. And she’ll teach me things I didn’t realize I needed to know.

She’s going first. She’s paving this road. And she’s so got this. She’s going to be so good at this. When Baby H comes into the world, she will be surrounded with love and gratitude. She will be supported. She will be encouraged. She will be raised by two of the best people I’ve ever known.

I was having a hard time deciding what recipe to share before we leave to go camping over the weekend. But then I started thinking of the soon-to-be new parents and how pressed-for-time they will be. This recipe is a game-changer and a life-saver. (Too many hyphens in one sentence? Nah.)

This is one of those recipes you can keep on hand, in the back of your mind. When you see cauliflower on sale. When you have cauliflower that’s on the verge of going bad. Or when you have a mixture of random vegetables in the fridge and you need a solution right now – this is the kind of recipe that saves your ass at hangry dinnertime.

Sweet and Spicy Baked Cauliflower

Author: Jordan Cord

Nutrition Information

• Serves: 4

• Calories: 115

• Fat: 7.1g
• Saturated fat: 1.1g
• Unsaturated fat: 6g
• Trans fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 12.3g
• Sugar: 6.3g
• Sodium: 349.4mg
• Fiber: 2.2g
• Protein: 2.3g
• Cholesterol: 0g

Recipe type: Side

Prep time:  5 mins

Cook time:  30 mins

Total time:  35 mins

Keep it simple with this oven-roasted side dish. Cauliflower florets are tossed in an irresistible sweet and spicy marinade and baked until tender.

Ingredients

• 4 cups cauliflower florets
• 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 Tablespoon sriracha
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• ½ Tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
• ½ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400º. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl (or a Ziplock bag) combine cauliflower and other ingredients – maple syrup, sriracha, olive oil, tamari, and pepper. Mix until the cauliflower is well coated.
3. Pour the cauliflower onto the baking sheet and place in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes or until cauliflower is tender.

Notes

I recommend serving this over a bed of steaming quinoa or rice.
You can easily incorporate other vegetables with or instead of cauliflower.