Snoozy Sunday- cauliflower dish to be attempted

Last night, Jack spent the night with his grandpa (Topta; J's name for him) in preparation for leaving early this morning for Old Rag mountain, a peak in the Shenandoahs. Tom's dad is an avid hiker and in the past year has started taking Jack on some great trails. Old Rag was one T and his brother climbed with their parents many times as children, and I love that a new tradition has begun with Topta and Jack. Anyway, we left Ol with a beloved sitter and went out to dinner at Proof, a spot down on G St in Penn Quarter, near the National Portrait Gallery. We've been before but it's been a while, and I recently found a generous Proof gift certificate we'd received -yay- so, date night. The stand-out dish, which I will try to replicate here at home ASAP, was the caramelized cauliflower with tahini, lemon and mint. It's a humble side dish, somewhat hidden away on the menu after all the charcuterie, starters and so forth, but I love  cauliflower and the tahini mess called out to me like a siren song so I made room in my order for it and am thrilled I did.

The florets were golden brown and the sauce was richly tahinied but not overwhelmingly so. I don't know that I'd have noticed the mint as it didn't seem to be more than a chiffonade sprinkle on top but regardless, this dish was phenomenal. I asked our waitress, a peppy, ever-smiling gal who knew the menu inside and out and seemed totally seduced by every morsel it promised, how the cauliflower was prepared and found it'd been blanched and then deep-fried. So, we'll see what I can do. I had a few bites left that I brought home, and today, after Wimbledon wrapped up (go Andy Murray and the UK), I savored each and every one. Perfection!

Ol and I went to the FM this morning where I bought more sour cherries (but not another flat; whew!), some peaches and apricots (peach-apricot-almond jam!), haricots verts (lemony green beans!), some rhubarb and....SUNGOLDS. I am so excited about these little orange bursts of sweet, consummate tomatoiness! In honor of this years maiden purchase, I will tonight be making my Lusty Sungold Love dish which I will spoon atop toasted baguette topped with fresh ricotta. #goingtodie