Back in my college days, I was a sorority girl. I ate a lot of frozen yogurt, sang and danced around in heels during rush, dressed up to match random themes for fraternity exchanges, and lived in our house/mansion on Greek Row. Those were some interesting days.

My sorority had a German chef named Franz who cooked up lunch and dinner for us during the school week. He towered over all of us girls and had a deep, thick accent. I remember short conversations with him as he would poke his head out of the kitchen into our dining room. I bet he sighed and rolled his eyes every time he saw all the girls eating his saucy ribs with knives and forks. Seriously, have you heard of such a thing? I tried to fit in for a while but at some point gave up and picked up the ribs with my hands. It was messy and incredibly satisfying.

I don’t know how Franz survived spending so much time in a house with peppy sorority girls. But he did, and he definitely fed us well.

One of my favorite things that Franz made was probably also the most simple. His roasted cauliflower was amazing. So moist and so full of roasted vegetable goodness. Every now and then I’ve tried to recreate it, and I think I’m finally pretty close. All you need are 4 of the most basic ingredients and some good roasting time in the oven. If you want, you can get green or purple cauliflower, to add a little excitement factor.

You can use this recipe for so many other vegetables- carrots, asparagus, butternut squash and Brussels sprouts. You just need to adjust the roasting time.

I think roasted cauliflower will always remind me of Franz and my sorority girl life.

Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower

1 head cauliflower, cut into bite sized florets
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Spread the cauliflower florets onto a baking sheet. Use your hands and toss with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes or until tender and browned. Add the Parmesan for the last 2 minutes.

Cool and enjoy.