Purple Cauliflower Pickles

I believe I have mentioned Michael Ruhlman's book, Ratio a number of times with regard to pickle making. Generally speaking,  it is quite a useful little cooking manual for some very basic preparations, just one of which is an extremely easy method for naturally fermented pickles. I keep trying various vegetables, of which the celery root was not successful.  Don't bother pickling that one.  However, I thought these purple cauliflower pickles deserving of their very own post.

Sometimes a vegetable will just call to me from the bins at our market.  Broccoli Romanesco was like that.  So beautiful and unusual, a natural approximation of a fractal.  The purple cauliflower stopped me in my tracks as well.

I decided to pickle the boy, combined with some wedges of daikon (large Japanese type of white radish).  In common with beets, this cauliflower will eventually turn the whole batch a brilliant burgundy color.  The good news is, that's not a dye of any sort. Purple cauliflower gets its beautiful hue, which can vary in depth, from the presence of the antioxidant anthocyanin, which is also found in red cabbage and red wine.  It has the same texture, and firmness as the white variety, with a mild, slightly sweet and nutty taste.

Here it is starting out, with the air-lock on the kitchen counter.

Banana Crepes

This is another, and highly recommended way of dealing with bananas. Just one of many things you can do with that wonderful fruit. I make my usual crepe recipe, which I've just noticed does not fit the ratio of Ratio, Michael Ruhlman's new book. But it's a favorite, originally from my mother-in-law, revised by myself, tried and true over many years. So, first whip up the crepes, and set aside (which is good for the batter) then, saute some bananas in butter, the amount depends on how many people will be eating them. For two of us, I sliced up about 5 small ones. We grow what are called Apple Bananas and they are so sweet and flavorful. Add a bit of nutmeg, cardamom, cinnamon, vanilla, (not all of the above) or get fancy and flame some rum.

We put a little trail of jam (this is Starfruit Marmalade) on our crepes, then the bananas, add a bit of sour cream or yogurt, roll it up and top with powdered sugar or syrup. Bob uses syrup and I like the effect of a dusting of sweet white on top. Eat, then do another, and on and on...

My Crepes recipe:

3 eggs
1/2 stick butter, melted
1 cup flour
1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cups milk

Beat the eggs well and add in some of the milk, and the flour, whipping like crazy with a wire whisk til smooth (this is the tricky part - avoiding lumps) and enough remaining milk, so that the batter still coats your spoon. Beat in the melted, slightly cooled butter. Pour about 1/4 cup batter in a hot crepe pan, with a tiny bit of butter first, if necessary, swirling around to coat the pan's bottom. Flip and do the other side.

This amount usually makes enough for us to have crepes for breakfast and a crepes dinner of some sort later, so I don't add any sugar to the batter. Not necessary. It's also another very delicious way of using some left-overs, which I did last night.

I was reading in my journal of ten years ago this morning, and my entry for April 21 was:

We are tenants in the vineyard of God's love - designed to produce fruit for his kingdom.
And this quote from Marcus Aurelius', Meditations:
As the earth is a pinpoint in infinite space, so the life of man is a pinpoint in infinite time - a knife-edge between eternities.

A good reminder to make the most of what I'm given.