Roasted Purple Cauliflower

Cauliflower is just more fun when it's bright purple, right? This is such an each and delicious way to prepare it, and the color looks awesome on your plate. I couldn't stop eating it.

Ingredients:

1 head purple cauliflower (white works too, just not as pretty)

a few glugs of olive oil

pinch herbs de Provence

plenty of salt and pepper

pecorino

Grilled Mozzarella and Prosciutto Balls

These are inspired by a recipe by South African chef Reuben Riffel (his "Buffalo Bomb" from his cookbook Braai). Yum! They're very easy to make and are a nice, salty, and creamy side. Feel free to use store bought pesto. I just made a teeny portion of pesto by chopping up some basil, garlic, almonds, and pecorino and mixing in some olive oil. You could also get smaller mozzarella balls and make these hors d'oeuvres size, too. 

Grilled Feta

I wanted to make grilled halloumi but couldn't find any, so I bought some feta and found that you can grill it as long as it's in a little tinfoil packet. This is a great appetizer or accompaniment to a light dinner of Greek salad and chicken souvlaki. You can really add in whatever you want for seasoning. I kept it pretty simple with grape tomatoes, herbs de provence, lemon, and garlic, but you could add cooked tomatoes, capers, chilies, olives... The cheese gets hot and melty and it's super tasty, and couldn't be easier.

Fast Mashed Canned Black Beans

This is a delicious side for Mexican food, and would be perfect as a layer for a 7-layer dip. It's incredibly easy, and very cheap, and I just love black beans. I probably don't even have to say it, but it's from Truly Mexican. (There's a theme this week...)

Ingredients:
1 can black beans, including liquid, plus 1/4 cup water
1 tbsp mild olive oil or vegetable oil
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp  chipotle chili powder (or more if you like more spice)
1/4 tsp dried oregano, crumbled