Roasted Cauliflower "Fries" with Homemade Ketchup

So, it turns out that I'm a big fan of the species Brassica oleracea. Who knew? Some of my favorite veggies like cabbage, brussell's sprouts, kale, broccoli and cauliflower are all distant cousins. They're a bit of a strange looking crew, and they tend to get a bad rap, especially with the kids (btw, just had to double check that it was bad "rap", and not bad "wrap"...what would I do without Google?). I can understand it, too because I wasn't too fond of cauliflower when I was little--it looks like curdly, albino broccoli.

These days, though, I'm loving the stuff. Like Bubba and his beloved shrimp...I like cauliflower raw, dipped in hummus or tahini. I like it cooked and mashed, with olive oil, garlic and herbs. I like it stir fried with other veggies, and added to curries, masalas, and soups. I thought I'd tried them all, until one day I read this post from Katie. Roasted cauliflower?! Now I'm hooked.

Just cut it up and bake it at 400F for 30 minutes. If you want it crispier, stick it under the broiler for a few minutes. The next time I roast some, I'll try tossing it in coconut oil or spraying some grapeseed oil on it and sprinkling it with sea salt and spices.

I really liked it by itself, but I also thought it would be good with a sauce (Katie suggested bbq sauce in her post). Store bought ketchup and bbq sauce is full of sugar, so I've been wanting to make my own for quite some time. While the cauliflower was roasting, I experimented with what I had in the pantry, and came up with this.

I loved it with the cauliflower fries, and since then I've eaten it on burgers too. It's not exactly ketchup or bbq sauce, but somewhere in between. I'll have to do a little more tweaking to get the right flavor. I think next time, I'll try chipotle chili powder, for a smokier bbq sauce. If you're trying to cut out sugar, condiments are one thing that you really have to be careful about. Try this instead!

Homemade Ketchup
1 can tomato paste
1-2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 Tbsp olive oil
3/4 water (add more for thinner sauce, less for thicker)
1 Tbsp Braggs liquid aminos (or gluten free tamari)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (add more if you like it tangy)
1 Tbsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (adjust amount according to how spicy you want it)
stevia to taste

Blend it all together until it's smooth.