Cauliflower Parmesan

You--yes you!--and I are trying to eat less meat and dairy because of the outsized negative environmental impact of livestock agriculture. We've heard alarming things, like cheeseburgers for a family of four "create more than 800 balloons worth of greenhouse gas emissions...equivalent to a 90-mile drive in a typical car" (The Telegraph, 2019). So we aim for mostly vegetarianism, and on Vednesdays, we even go vegan, no matter how much it pains us, which is usually a lot.

For many of us, it's a lot easier to avoid meat and dairy than to avoid driving our "typical cars" all over the place. I walk wherever I can, but I live in a suburb where a lot of things I need and want are not walking distance, or not walkable in the time I have available. I drive, reluctantly, several times a week.

But maybe YOU live in a place where there is something that's scarce around these parts: buses! Ah, the humble city bus.

I have a lot of bus stories, but not so many bus photos. Here I am on a bus in Kenya, however.

I have some good bus stories. Like the time when I was riding the bus in Washington, DC, and a guy got on and asked another rider what time it was, and she said five o'clock, and he said, "Five o'clock! Still time to kill somebody today!" And the time I was riding a crowded bus to JFK airport, seven months pregnant and carrying a huge backpack, and a very old man got on. The bus driver yelled for someone to give up their seat for him, and no one moved! So I stood up and no one even blinked as the seven-months-pregnant woman with the enormous bag gave a guy her seat. And the time that I was walking to catch the bus in my hometown in Minnesota, and some high school kids pulled up and asked if I wanted a ride....to school. I was 24 and on my way to my job and deeply embarrassed to be mistaken for a teenager, although it was really nice and very Minnesotan of them to offer a ride to a stranger.

This was my mom and sister riding the bus in England. I have been a bus rider, to my memory, in England, Kenya, Singapore, Austria, Italy, and the Czech Republic!

Anyway, I believe in strongly buses and all other forms of public transportation, and thought it was marvelous when I learned that Kansas City has made its light rail and buses fare-free. This is a great way for cities to use their budgets to fight climate change by encouraging public transit use, and also to give low-income people some support - and that's doubly relevant since poor communities are often disproportionately affected by environmental problems.

Going back to our meat avoidance, tonight I not only made "Cauliflower Parmesan" (NYT Cooking; subscription required), but I also made "Savory Focaccia" from my Betty Crocker Healthy Choices cookbook. A couple days ago I bought and ate a very delicious burrata sandwich on focaccia, but it cost $10, which seemed sort of extreme for a sandwich, so I wanted to make my own focaccia sandwich instead.

The recipe calls for putting raw onions in the dough, but I like to cook them until soft before adding them.

That's a fine-looking loaf of focaccia, if I do say so myself

I did change the Cauliflower Parmesan recipe quite a bit. After dredging the cauliflower, I baked it until browned. And I used a 13x9 pan which permitted me to lay out the cauliflower in a single layer, so I used a lot less sauce and parmesan than called for. And I used tomato sauce from a jar.

I find something odd about this recipe: why bother with the crunchy Panko topping on the cauliflower, if you're just going to smother them in sauce and cheese that make them soft? 

Upon emerging from the oven

Since I put it in a sandwich, I guess maybe if I were doing it again, I'd not bother baking the cheese/sauce/cauliflower in the 13x9 pan, and would maybe just throw all those elements onto the sandwich. Something to consider, at least. How about this: you try that, and then call me later while you're riding the bus, and let me know how it went!