A monochrome meal with a rainbow-colored taste and a kick to wow your palate.

*Bonus (at the end) about the Great Masticator.

I was shopping at the Saturday local market, browsing at the tables at my favorite farmer’s organic produce, and cauliflower was on my mind. They had purple, red, and dark yellow-orangey ones. My mind was spinning—which one to choose? The heat from the sun, even at nine in the morning, was scorching my ankles. I was relieved I had not rolled my pants up to my knees.

Well, rolling them up to my knees lets more vitamin D into my body; these are capris, they come to graze slightly above my thin ankles. Why do they make pants for long-legged females over 5′ 8″? On my 5′ 4″—okay, 3′ 5″—frame, I look like an elderly Asian woman standing in her paddy field. That might be a nice thing on this hot day. I smile behind my organic cotton mask, the image of the rice paddy in my mind. I like this woman.

Back to the cauliflower—I chose white. Maybe each week, I will pick a different color from the Brassica oleracea family, and share the differences between each of them.

Cauliflower Coconut Curry {Recipe}

Ingredients:

Cauliflower: Chop what is needed based on the number of mouths to feed.

Coconut milk: I chose an organic canned one and used all 5.5 ounces.

Curry powder: I went with a heavy hand.

Black pepper: I tend to go big here too.

Ginger: About a half thumb-size.

Turmeric: Around a heaped teaspoon.

Tamari: Lots of splashes.

Basmati rice: I went with a two-serving size.

Cashews: ¼ cup, something like that.

Avocado oil: I kept it light; choose your favorite oil or none.

Method:

1. Combine the cauliflower, coconut milk, curry, black pepper, ginger, turmeric, and tamari into a glass bowl, and place it in the refrigerator for 2 to 24 hours. I waited 20 hours–no reason, I was hungry at 20 hours.

2. When you are ready to prepare, make your base—for this meal, I went with basmati rice for its sweet smell. When that is finished, pour, scrape, whatever, to remove it from the pot and place it into a glass bowl and cover it.

3. Add the marinated main ingredients into the already hot pot that had cooked the rice.

4. In a small pan, add a smidge of avocado oil to heat, and add the cashews—I used pieces, but some were whole. Well, the bin in the bulk food section said it was organic cashew pieces, but, clearly, it was a combination of pieces and halves and wholes. It only takes a few minutes to brown these sweet-smelling nuts, or maybe they’re legumes?

5. Can you smell it already?  The sweetness of the cooked basmati rice and the equally sweet, savory smell of the toasted cashews blends in harmony to the cooking smells of pungent black pepper and ginger, the bitterness of the turmeric, which also smells and tastes more astringent to some folks. The cauliflower has a hint of astringent in its smell and taste.

6. Select a plate or bowl of choice; lay down a thick layer of rice, or whatever base; tenderly add the main cooked delight, and scatter those amazing cashews on top.

Take a breath, smile, and give gratitude to all.

Now as you take that first bite, remember mastication is the path to better digestion. And, here’s a bit about the “Great Masticator,” Horace Fletcher.

Mr. Fletcher was a Victorian industrialist who was quite unhealthy, so he decided to do something about it. In 1913, he wrote a book, Fletcherism: What it is. His theory was to show that thoroughly chewing one’s food to a pulpy liquid would slow down eating, one would feel satiated sooner, eat less, and buy less. He did lose weight from his quite obese body.

Notable folks who were impressed and followed the Fletcherizing technique include J.D. Rockefeller, Franz Kafka, Thomas Edison, Henry James, and J.C. Penney.

Now that you know about Horace Fletcher, it is time to cook, give gratitude, and eat. Enjoy!

~

Bonus recipe: Chunky Smashed Potatoes with ‘Shrooms. {Recipe}

For a whole bunch of delicious recipes, scroll through my author page.