I'm Lazy When It Comes to Lunch

I try to eat meatless meals or soup with a lot of vegetables for lunch every day. But, some days I’m busy or I just don’t feel like doing the prep work at noon because I usually have prep work for dinner.  On those days, I might eat leftovers or I might eat bread and butter or I might eat a cookie. Or two. Who knows? I never feel great in the afternoon on those days that I only eat bread or cookies. I made this cauliflower dish on the stove top for lunch one day and it was excellent. So spicy and yummy and wonderful! I remember thinking "I could eat this every day for lunch! Like totally!" But, I’m not all that keen on cooking a meal at lunch when I will be cooking a meal at dinner, because I end up cooking all day. Although that sounds just fine to me, I do have other things I need to get done. So I thought, "hmmm, why not make this dish in my slow cooker?!" So, I did and I’m glad. Between this dish and this soup, I have plenty of vegetables for lunch every day!

Cauliflower in Spicy Tomato Curry
by Sandra
Adapted from A Celebration of Herbs

1 Tablespoon ground coriander
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground fennel seed
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
*
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, chopped
1 11.5 can tomato juice
1 head cauliflower, cut in florets
*
Brown rice, cooked (optional)
Peanuts, chopped
Cilantro or parsley, chopped

Place the first 6 ingredients in the slow cooker (I used my Hamilton Beach Set & Forget® 6 Qt. Programmable Slow Cooker) and stir together. Add the onion, the garlic and the ginger and stir well. Add the tomato juice and stir until combined. Add the cauliflower and stir. Cook on low for 4 hours and check to see if the cauliflower is cooked. Check for salt. Serve alone or over brown rice if you prefer. Top with chopped peanuts and chopped cilantro or parsley.

P.S. This makes a delicious meatless entrée for dinner as well.