Admittedly, I’d grown a little weary of cauliflower.

Not that I don’t love this brassica’s crunch and subtle nutty sweetness. But after so many recipes for ricing, pizza crust-making, and roasting whole and every which way, I kinda had my fill.

Then, along comes the spectacular and unbelievably easy “Char Siu Roasted Cauliflower” to make me appreciate it all over again.

This clever vegetarian riff on the classic Chinese barbecue pork comes from my friend and colleague, Santa Cruz’s Andrea Nguyen, of course. It’s one of 125 recipes in her wonderful new “Ever-Green Vietnamese” (Ten Speed Press), of which I received a review copy.

As she writes in the book’s forward, she — or rather her body — “hit a wall” as she was turning 50 in 2019. No surprise, the older we get, the more we begin to experience real changes in our bodies. In our 20s, we are lucky to get away with devouring most anything without a second thought. But in our 40s, 50s, and beyond, the digestive system starts to rebel more and the calories make themselves way too much at home.

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