Braised Cauliflower with Curry Tomatoes

Alright Curry lovers, this one is a hit.  Take a look at Bittman's recipe on pg 555. At first the amount of spices seemed insanely intimidating, I had Roundy's own curry powder ready to go.  And then I realized I already have all of the spices!  Which was awesome because it was a lazy Saturday and I had no intentions of leaving until my night shift at the restaurant. Typically I'm used to a sauce like curry enhanced with paste and coconut milk, where as this was merely a curry seasoning.  However, it was just as good!

 

As Bittman states in his introduction, fresh ingredients are best, but like I said, I was feeling like a bit of a homebody, so canned tomatoes and frozen peas were a second best.  Instructions were simple and it was an easy preparation.  Just a bit of chopping, sauteing, and bam! Curry.  

 

I'm embarrassed to say that my biggest struggle was the rice pilaf (pg.202).  For some reason rice just makes me nervous.  So much h2o and time put into such a simple ingredient.  However with a combination of trust in the Bittman book and the instructions on the back of the rice bag- a miracle was born.