good 'n planty

Well I was pretty excited to share my recipe for roasted fennel, but I just can't endorse it. I have had luscious, buttery, lemony fennel- roasted and soft- but mine just didn't get there tonight. I sliced the fennel thin, threw it into some boiling water to soften it a bit, tossed with olive oil, fresh lemon juice, a tiny bit of butter, parmesan cheese and salt & pepper and put it into a 450 degree oven. I checked it about 35 minutes later and it was still tough- 20 minutes later and it was too crispy and still tough! I just can't figure out what I did differently the last time I made fennel and it turned out perfectly... I shared my frustrations with my older sister who originally introduced me to the delights of roasted fennel and she aleviated a bit of my disappointment by sharing that for every time her roasted fennel has turned out nicely, there's been a bad time. So I guess that means next time it'll be really good? Happily, I decided to also roast the cauliflower I harvested on wednesday and that always roasts up nicely so I ate that for dinner instead.
If you've never made this, you need to give it a try:

Simple Roasted Cauliflower

Cauliflower, cut into bite-sized pieces
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

Heat oven to 450 degrees, toss cauliflower with a drizzle of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast in the oven till brown (about 30 minutes). You may want to flip halfway through- and just so you know, the more brown and crispy, the better (in my book). Enjoy!