Cancer fighter, chock full of vitamins, high in fiber, folate, and Vitamin C,  cauliflower is an amazing vegetable.

According to its Wikipedia page and Associated Content, this cruciferous veggie even contains various phytochemicals like sulforaphane and the compound indole-3-carbinol, which appear to act as anti-cancer compounds.

I have to admit, I have never been that excited for cauliflower. But it’s a local food that grows well at this time of year and is very good for you, so I thought I would give it another try.

Since I’ve been reading Salman Rushdie’s “Midnight’s Children,” I’ve had an intense craving for Indian food. And with an attempt to have a variety of protein in my diet as well, lentil-cauliflower curry was on the menu.

A recipe from Eating Well and another from Martha Stewart were at the top of my list of recipes. Feel free to use them directly, or to experiment on your own.

In accordance with how I like to cook, I read several different lentil-cauliflower recipes, and then modified the general idea of the recipes to suit what I had in my pantry.

Instead of tomatoes, I used a banana pepper-onion-tomato relish from my store of home-canned goods, which added a nice spice and vinegary tang to the curry. A tablespoon of fennel seeds dry roasted in a pan added an interesting anise flavor and complimented the cauliflower nicely.

It turned out lovely; a wonderful, warming, healthful and local dish for these late Fall days!

And the best part is that this curry not only makes a delicious hot meal, it’s also good straight from the fridge as a cold bean salad, or piled in spoonfuls on top of bread or over rice for a complete meal that’s easy to cook ahead and store for the week.

Happy Eating! How else do you enjoy your cauliflower?

Aliza Sollins is an urban homesteader in Baltimore City, MD. Her adventures in vermicomposting, canning, container gardening, knitting and other sustainability projects can be found at her blog.