In New York, you’re hard-pressed to meet a person who is completely indifferent to the food that they eat, which is why it’s near the top of my standard list of acceptable questions for getting to know a complete stranger (if you live in the city anyway): “What do you do?” “Where do you live?” … leading to the inevitable… ”Oh yeah? What do you pay per month in that neighborhood?” And soon, I’m out of the boring stuff and jump to, “What are your favorite places to eat?” As this is one of my favorite topics, it basically steers the conversation in a million different directions.

For example, if they say that they never miss weekend dim sum, take long subway rides to the outer boroughs in search of the most authentic representations of world cuisine, and are planning a trip to Thailand to do nothing but eat food from street vendors and be fit for custom-sewn business suits, then we’d start swapping stories and I’d pull out my phone and make little notes, like, “secret underground Chinese food court, Flushing”. 

And even if people are not so hard core, they at least have some important connections with food – how their mother made the best empanadas, or how they are addicted to the Turkish place on their block where they get free dessert when they smile at the cashier, how they met their husband at a hot dog cart, or how a bowl of kasha or meatballs, or sashimi, (or…, or…, or…, or…) and a glass of wine is all they need to forgive and forget a very cruel day. 

And everyone has their places. Their favorite sushi. Their favorite steakhouse. Their favorite tapas. If you disagree, they will passionately try to convince you to change teams with great gusto.

the jackpot for food conversation is, of course, when the person loves to cook him or herself, which prompts the conversation to run until the last bottle has been upended, then leave the party and continue in the Irish bar around the corner, until it reaches its conclusion when the lights come up and we’re booted into the snow at 5AM. That’s how I met Brian.

Why am I telling you this story? Because it was a better way to start the post than a rant about the gospel according to Rachel Ray with her cheerleading for home cooks for feeding their families meals prepared with lots of processed ingredients (and Dunkin Donuts). The point of this post was to talk about how it’s not hard to make meals in 30 minutes at home (completely healthy, non-processed) that are delicious and a bit different, and made from from 100% real food. Take this cauliflower that I cooked up using a few basic Indian spices, olive oil, and whole vegetables. It was delicious, and it only cost me about 4 bucks. There’s no better way to get personally involved with the food you eat than making it for yourself. Now you try! And then we’ll talk about it, endlessly.

By the way – for all you “tweeters” out there, click here to follow East Village Kitchen on Twitter. I’ll be updating with new posts, plus throwing in some random observations from my phone when the mood strikes. All the kids are doing it!

Cauliflower Curry
Inspired by the recipes of Six Spices: A Simple Concept of Indian Cooking by Netta Saluja 

1 cauliflower of average size

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

2 teaspoons fresh ginger, finely chopped

1 teaspoon red chili powder (or more to taste)

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 big pinch salt

1 ripe tomato, chopped

handful of fresh cilantro, chopped

Wash and cut the cauliflower into medium sized florets. Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat until it shimmers. Add the cumin seeds, ginger, chili powder, and turmeric powder. Cook the spices in the oil, stirring, then reduce the heat to medium-low.

Add the cauliflower and stir in the salt. Stir the cauliflower florets well, so each piece is coated with the oil and spice mixture. Cover the pan and cook on medium heat, stirring occationally until the cauliflower looks translucent at the edges and the stems become flexible.

Add the tomatoes and cook for an additional two minutes. If there is liquid left in the pan, raise the heat and cook it off, stirring frequently. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve hot.