Me too which is why I am anxious to try the recipe mentioned above with the crunch.
I thought those were fennel bulb pieces but they could be onion slices. hmm. And biting in to whole fennel seeds is a bit rough..I would think they would be ground?? When they are in sausage, they are cooked so get softer.

Toasted, then ground. For a head of cauliflower, I eyeball it, but think it's probably around 1 tsp cumin seeds and 1/2 tsp fennel seeds. (Fennel in sausage, BTW: yum!) I feel like I use about 4-5 tbsp melted butter and toss the cauliflower florets in that, then sprinkle the ground cumin & fennel + salt on, toss more, add more spices, etc., until well-coated. Sometimes I add a bit of curry powder, and sometimes some garam masala. But always the two ground seeds. I mix it up a bit differently every time; I sprinkled grated parm on the most recent batch after taking it out of the oven, and have tossed on sliced scallions before as well. I just love the versatility of roast cauliflower.

And yes, that is onion. I usually include a half of an onion tossed with the cauliflower, and try to caramelize the onion pretty thoroughly during the roast. For the one in the photo, I left it cut in course wedges (I usually separate into thin slices) so they'd have some structure still after roasting.

The fact that fennel worked pretty well in that blend is one reason I tried star anise in the one I posted a photo of above. It worked pretty well. I think I used only 1 anise pod for the entire head of cauliflower, and it was a small-ish one (maybe the size of a dime; I've used ones more the size of quarters when making tea eggs, for example).

We spend a lot of time in Nice, FR and I�ve been wanting some socca. Today finally made and yummy. Also made some chicken wings with Costco Butt Rub + brown sugar and a little tomato salad.

Gorgeous - ever go to Paris? I liked the Breton crepes in St Germain in 2005. By 2010 it felt easier to get buckwheat crepes all over Paris.
ive never been to Nice. Only Lille and some Provence places (stayed in Goult for a week). All lovely.

Yes, I lived in Paris as a grad student. And spend about a month in Nice or Paris most summers. These days I�m so grateful for the buckwheat (gluten free) crepes! I have a crepes hot plate for making them but haven�t done it in a while. Should! But this socca was amazing today. And so easy. I am astonished that I haven�t tried before. I have batter left over so going to swap the onion/rosemary accoutrements for sundried tomatoes and herbed de Provence.

Socca online recipes are lovely. I’ll eventually ask about it as I’ve enough food / meal plans for this week :-)

Awesome, thanks! It's on my list to try. I think the cauliflower she picked up may be earmarked for a different destiny this time, based on the other ingredients she bought, but I'll be making it soon.

I was able to un-earmark the cauliflower last night and tried the fennel and cumin. It went over well, and will find a place in our cauliflower rotation. Thanks for posting that spice combo!

Also roasted a pork loin with a mustard & various spice rub, and panko. And sauteed green beans. Then had a last minute inspiration to make a quick sauce using some leftover beef broth, sour cream, mustard with a light roux. Although everything was tasty, the sauce was the surprise hit of the dinner.

Unfortunately tonight it's back to unpacking and painting a room in the new house, so I'm thinking a box or red pepper soup with the leftover pork loin in it .

The answer to the original question tonight was �no�. And it�s the virus�s fault. When it looked like we would need to stay home and avoid frequent grocery shopping, I laid in some supplies that I wouldn�t ordinarily buy. Canned ham seemed like a smart idea: doesn�t take up much room, doesn�t need refrigeration, keeps for years in the pantry. In honor of phase 1, I � cooked� a Plumrose 1 pound canned ham. I think the 1 pounder is made up of pressed scraps and floor sweepings. Mrs BV wanted to know why I was serving her Spam.

Who on earth ever thought that putting meat in a can, and then pumping it so full of preservatives that it needs no refrigeration no less, was a good idea? I mean who was the guy who first said “hey, I know, let’s put a ham in a can and, even better, make it so it can last 100 years”?

You asked and Wikipedia has the most plausible answer:

Spam is fantastic. Haters gonna hate.

I believe, even before Spam, the French used canned meats in army rations as well. Don't quote me on that, but I remember reading that somewhere and it's stuck with me. Those rascally French and their haute cuisine!

Plumrose, the company that put my ham in its can, was Danish until 2007. That’s what I remembered. It is now a subsidiary of a Brazilian company. Those rascally Brazilians and their haute cuisine!

I have no problem with Spam. Just don’t put it in an oval can and label it ham.

I�m guessing canned meat predates household refrigeration.