Roasted Cauliflower (or any vegetable, really)

Ingredients

1 head cauliflower

2 Tbsp. olive oil (eyeball it)

1 tsp salt 

1/2 tsp garlic powder (optional)

Tools

9x13 cake pan

sharp knife

cutting board

Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 425F.

2. Using the knife and the cutting board, break down the cauliflower thusly:

Chop it in half.  

On one half at a time, cut the florets away from the stalk.  Start here, and work the knife around clockwise in a semicircle around the stem

Like this

After you've completed the semicircle, there will still be florets at the back.  Chop those off next. 

And you have cauliflower freedom!

After you have cauliflower freedom, chop the largest florets in half, and maybe in half again, until most of the cauliflower pieces are approximately the same size (except for the tiny bits; they're fine the way they are).  

 3. Place the chopped cauliflower in the pan.
4. Drizzle with the oil and sprinkle with salt and garlic powder (if desired).  Use your hands to mix it all up and get the cauliflower coated with the nummy stuff.
5.  Put the pan in the preheated oven.  Bake at 425 for 8-20 minutes, depending on how small you chopped your caulflower (large pieces will take longer to cook; small pieces will have shorter cooking time)

The cauliflower in the oven

The cauliflower is done when it looks like this, with brown caramelized edges on some pieces but still plenty of white showing on some pieces. 

6. Serve and enjoy!

Variations

1. Pretty much any vegetable is delicious when cooked this way!  Especially broccoli, or Brussels sprouts, or beets, or sweet potatoes!  The key is to have things chopped to be approximately the same size, and to cook them nice and hot at 425F.  Don't put the veggies in the oven before the oven is preheated.