Macaroni & cheese, head of cauliflower elicit oohs and aahs

OK. We’ve been doing a lot of dessert lately; it’s time for some vegetables.

Our garden drives the menu this time of year, and I suspect some people around this house wish there was more pasta or rice amongst all that zucchini, broccoli and green beans. So I compromised and made a nice little dish out of a head of cauliflower that we desperately needed to eat.

We were longing for macaroni and cheese so I cut up the cauliflower in bite-size pieces, steamed them, and merely treated them like pasta in the casserole.

There are a couple of schools of thought on macaroni and cheese, including the cheesy sauce and the cheese-chunk-studded versions. There are variations on the kind of cheese you can use. People interested in deep flavor like sharp cheddars and lots of it, and those interested in lowering the fat content opt for ricotta or cottage cheese.

I usually choose what is on hand, and even blend different kinds of cheese. If there are three tablespoons of cottage cheese in the fridge, plus a small chunk of Swiss and a sprinkle of mozzarella – well, it all goes in. On this occasion, I made a cheesy sauce with a bit of butter, flour, milk, cottage cheese and grated cheddar, which I poured over the top of the cooked macaroni and cauliflower mixture, then topped with grated Jack cheese.

There were oohs and aahs and by the time the four of us were done, the 9-by-13-inch pan had only one leftover serving for Jamie’s lunch next day. I had a salad and some green beans, too, but the macaroni and cheese was the entree.

How much macaroni? A cup or so uncooked. I aimed for an equal proportion of macaroni to cauliflower. You could even stir cooked cauliflower into the packaged macaroni and cheese beloved by children and teenagers (and some grown-ups). Otherwise boil up as much pasta as you like. I regard extra cooked macaroni or any leftover cooked pasta as an asset in the meal-planning department.

This time of year, I can always heave any combination of chopped cucumbers, a little onion, cooked peas, green beans, shredded cabbage, grated carrots, chopped pickles or what-have-you into a bowl with the pasta, add dressing and voila suddenly it’s salad. And I didn’t have to open a package.

So here is a flexible recipe for what I did the other evening. Vary it at will.

Looking for butter tarts

My Canadian-born husband, Jamie, has fond memories of butter tarts from his boyhood in Niagara, Ontario, and later in Belfast, Maine.

I don’t see a butter tart recipe among my mother-in-law’s recipes, but I thought perhaps some reader, maybe one who hails from north of the border, might have a good recipe for a traditional butter tart. We are entertaining Jamie’s brothers and some of his Canadian-born relatives soon, and he fervently hopes I’ll have a recipe in time.

Send queries or answers to Sandy Oliver, 1061 Main Road, Islesboro 04848. E-mail: tastebuds@prexar.com. For recipes, tell us where they came from. List ingredients, specify number of servings and do not abbreviate measurements. Include name, address and daytime phone number.

Macaroni, Cauliflower and Cheese

Serves 4 to 6.

1 head of cauliflower

1-2 cups of uncooked macaroni or shaped pasta (bow ties, shells, etc.)

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

Milk

Cheeses of your choice

Salt and pepper

Other seasonings optional (dill, parsley, scallions, nutmeg)

Cut the cauliflower into bite-size pieces and steam or simmer until just barely tender. Cook the pasta. Mix them in a lightly greased baking dish. Put the butter into a heavy pan and melt it, then add flour and cook together until bubbly, then add milk. Whisk and cook until slightly thickened. Add cheeses. If the sauce is very thick, add a bit more milk. Whisk until smooth. Add seasonings. Pour the sauce over the pasta and cauliflower stirring a little to distribute it evenly. Top with a bit more cheese, and bake at 350 degrees until bubbly, about half an hour.