What Everyone Should Eat for Lunch

I've recently stumbled upon a lot of spare time.

To cut a long and boring story short, I decided to abandon my uni studies for this semester because the degree I have been doing for the past year and a half has only caused me lots of angst and stress for all the wrong reasons (I have made great friends though). Instead, I decided to do something I've been wanting to do for ages and apply for design courses at various other uni's and will, fingers crossed, start fresh at the beginning of next year. But until then, I'm cruising...

Which will sound amazing to some, but this is somewhat unfortunate for me because I'm not the biggest fan of spare time. I like to be doing things. I don't know whether this is a good attribute or not and I've definitely tried to fight it over the years but all my attempts have failed.

On the plus side I now have the time to make lunch. And I mean like a proper, sit down in the sun, with a plate of lovingly prepared food, lunch. I guess there always is a silver lining!

Roasted Cauliflower with Tarragon Mustard Dressing
(serves 1 - but I eat a lot)
Roasted cauliflower is amazing. Seriously. Something about adding heat and a bit of burnt crust turns this bland, boring vegetable into a flavour explosion. And carrots are so good at the moment, roasting them only intensifies their sweet flavour. This would also be good as a side dish.

1/2 a head of cauliflower, cut into big florets
1 carrot, cut in half and halved lengthways
Olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon or 1 teaspoon if using dried tarragon
Few leaves of fresh parsley, roughly chopped
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1 teaspoon seeded mustard
little bit of lemon zest
1 teaspoon verjuice, or white wine vinegar (in this case add a smidge of honey into the dressing too)
2 teaspoons olive oil
Salt and plenty of pepper

Par cook carrots in the microwave until just soft (don't do this to the cauliflower as it cooks through in the oven). Place cauliflower and carrots on a baking tray, drizzle lightly with olive oil and bake in a hot oven for about 10-15 minutes until soft, crispy and the carrots are golden.

Meanwhile to make the dressing, whisk all of the ingredients together and season to taste.
When the vege is cooked, put into a bowl while still hot and pour over the dressing. Eat warm!