Welcome to Baking Blog. Each month will feature an in-season fruit or vegetable dish to make with a little bit of grow-your-own information on the side.
March is perfect for making Curried Cauliflower Crunch.
Cauliflower doesn’t have to be boring, there are many different varieties to sow, grow, and eat. With colours such as green, orange and purple, why not try this often-neglected vegetable served raw, roasted or fried, instead of just boiled or steamed.
Amongst other things cauliflower contains high levels of vitamin C, and being related to Broccoli, Kale and Cabbage it also contains vitamins B and K, as well as dietary fibre.
Prep Time 5 minutes. Cooking Time 10 Minutes. Skills Level Seasoned Kitchen Gardner***
Utensils
- Chopping Board
- Vegetable Knife.
- Measuring Spoon
- Spatula.
- Frying Pan with Lid.
- Serving Dish.
Ingredients
- Cauliflower.
- 6 Tablespoons of Vegetable Oil.
- 1-2 Teaspoons of Garam Masala.
1-2 Teaspoons of Black Pepper.
Method
- Wash the cauliflower thoroughly. Remove the leaves and dry florets with kitchen paper.
- Cut the florets into mouth-sized chunks or cubes.
- Put the oil in the frying pan add the Black Pepper and Garam Masala, swirl with the spatula cover with the lid and warm on a low heat for a few minutes. Swirl again.
- Once the fragrance of the spices come through add the cauliflower chunks. Swirl until the chunks are evenly coated, then cover with a lid and keep on a medium to low heat.
- Occasionally swirl the cauliflower around so that all edges are crispy. They will look dark because of the spicing, but they should not be burnt.
- After ten minutes the cauliflower should be just tender, enabling you to spear with a fork, but not mushy.
- Drain excess oil and either eat warm or allow to cool completely.
Serving Suggestions
Serve hot with a curry dish, or cool with mango chutney as a starter or side dish.
Go Italian and season with salt and pepper instead of the Indian spices. Once cooled, drizzle with white wine vinegar, olive oil, basil and oregano.
Go Chinese and season with 5 or 7 Spice mixes.
Go individual and try it with whatever herbs and spices you have, including chilli powder and dark chocolate.
Grow Your Own.
Cauliflowers can be grown from January to May and again in the autumn under glass. Whether direct sow in a warm bed, or in singular cells seed trays in a 
greenhouse. Sow at 1/4 deep
They are hungry plants so prepare their final growing position with well rotted manure, and use a liquid feed throughout the growing season. It’s best to ensure that the soil is moist before planting out as dry roots can cause club root causing the plants to wilt and die.
For more information on growing cauliflower why not read Sonia Mermagan’s blog here.
*** Easy Peasy – Basic techniques/Suitable for Children with adult supervision/help.
Treat as Tender – Intermediate Skills required/Children may need more help with this.
Seasoned Kitchen Gardener – Confident Baker/Children might not be suited to this.
My name is Amanda and I live in Pembrokeshire with my fiancé and our garden is approximately 116 meters square. I want to share with you my love for gardening and the reasons behind it, from the good to the bad and ugly. I want to do this for my own personal pleasure. If you would like to take the journey with me then please read my blogs and share with me your gardening stories.
He takes a torch and no more than five minutes later he’s back with a disheveled looking Rhett. Apparently the one place none of us had thought to look was behind the wheelie bins between the old youth club and the surgery. I asked him what made him look there. He said because he saw an old patio table there yesterday and thought it was a funny place to put one – , so perhaps someone had fly-tipped it. So maybe Rhett is not Rhett, but then again maybe someone is still missing a patio table…
When the winds blew themselves out, I ventured into The Office as I needed that start off some seeds. The first packet were a Freebie from Just Bee Drinks, a lovely blend of bee friendly flowers, as I won them – and three cartons of Honey infused fruit juices for submitting a good bad-bee-pun at the end of January.
The Office was in a bit of a state as I had only being going in to check things and water small pots, so that afternoon I tried to rearrange the shelves. I was glad I had. After a wait of nearly nine months grass Ponytails had germinated and was in dire need of repotting. I found a surprise turnip, that needs transplanting and I nearly pitched a fit when I looked down to wipe water from my wrist to discover it was a baby slug happily sitting there.
A tray propagator that I had completely forgotten about had sprouted a couple of Heleniums and some Malvas as well as several kinds of disgusting white moulds. Holding my breath (not ideal with heart failure) and zipping my hooded fleece up to my nose I carefully carried the tray outside, rescued the good stuff then had Mark empty the tray. I moved another propagator (clean and empty) and found a remarkably big radish growing behind it in a three inch pot. I threw out the refused to germinate-in-a-year Liatris seeded pots as well as several Snow Princess Marigolds that were ruined by frosts and my new pet Slugsy, who I had put near the bird feeding station.
A few days later, I had Mark sieve fresh compost so I could start my T&M seeds. I set off some sweet peppers, 
After seed sowing Mark watered the aloe border and swept up for me. I was back in Ty Mawr checking the status of the potato grow bags which were in need of water, so were the marigold and cornflower borders. Mark watered these for me, while I mourned the loss of two baby money trees from the cold. Thankfully the newspaper wrapped dahlias are not affected. Ty Mawr is overcrowded now as I had to put the rescued cold frame plants on the path as the shelves are full. If I put them in the borders they will take root, which I don’t want. I need to cut off the dead foliage from last year’s pepper and chilli. I am not sure if the Nicotiana has survived I can’t climb over the pots to see. A sorry state really, but on the next warm day l’ll do a proper inspection.
Hoorah, my seed potatoes have arrived and are safely set out in egg boxes on the window sill. I have just used the last of last years crop which kept beautifully in the frost free shed. The onions from last season are still going well with no sign of any shooting or rot as are the Shallots and garlic. The pots of crocus I planted last autumn are in bloom and looking very colourful on the conservatory window sill on sunny days when they open out fully.
