Cauliflower Olive Salad -- The Kind of Recipe You Learn at Someone Else’s Kitchen Table

May, spring fully arrived, gardening season. Gloria has her small garden going again. Destiny maintains it now, which she does with the same systematic attention she gives everything. She plants things in rows. She waters on a schedule. She keeps a written list of what is planted where. Gloria says she is better at the garden than James was. That is very high praise from Gloria about James. It may be the highest praise available in that category.

Tyler and I planted a small raised bed at the duplex. Tyler built the frame from scrap lumber from the shop. We planted tomatoes and basil and one zucchini plant. The tomato plants are small. Tyler talks to them when he thinks I am not watching. He has been talking to growing things since Ida was in my belly. He is an encourager of all things that are becoming. I find that completely beautiful in him.

I went to see Debbie this week for no specific reason, just to sit with her, which I do sometimes now on Saturdays when Tyler has Ida and I have a free afternoon. She always has something on the stove. This week she had a pot of white bean soup and we ate it at her kitchen table and she told me stories about Tyler as a child that I have not heard yet and I listened carefully because these stories are Ida stories too. What her father was like as a boy. Where she comes from on that side. I am building her history for her from the pieces I can reach.

The small Bright Beginnings Daycare in the small downtown Prattville is the small workplace. The small toddler-room teacher role (ages 18-36 months). The small daycare-worker-salary plus the small fiancé-Cole’s small carpenter-paycheck is the small two-income engaged-couple budget. The small wedding-saving has been the small two-year-project.

Tyler Clarke (the small fiancé, 29, diesel-mechanic-from-Millbrook) works at a small trucking-company. The small wedding is planned for October 2026 with Gloria walking Savannah down the aisle. The small marriage will be the small first-stable-adult-relationship Savannah has had. The small foster-care upbringing means the small family-of-origin had been the small unstable-shape.

The small foster-care-history: Savannah went into the small Alabama-foster-care system at age six after the small mother’s incarceration and the small father’s absence. The small seven-foster-placements between infancy and age sixteen. The small last placement (Gloria and James Martin in Prattville, who became the small forever-parents) since age fourteen. The small Martin-foster-parents continued to be the small only-parents until James died in 2024 at 77 from a heart-attack mowing the lawn.

The small self-taught-Southern-cooking is the small kitchen-identity. The small no-grandmother-recipes-passed-down meant the small YouTube-and-cookbook-self-teaching from age sixteen onward. The small fried chicken, the small biscuits, the small mac-and-cheese, the small banana pudding, the small sweet tea are the small staples.

The small Gloria-Martin kitchen-mentorship (Gloria is the small foster-mom-now-mom) has been the small adult-cooking-development since the small fourteen-year-old. The small Gloria-Sunday-dinners-with-Savannah-cooking-now are the small weekly-rhythm since James passed. The small Gloria-recipes (Black-Southern-comfort-food the small chain of Gloria’s mother and grandmother) are the small heritage-by-adoption.

The small Prattville-small-town-community is the small social-context. The small First Baptist Church congregation is the small church-family. The small daycare-coworkers are the small adjacent-friend-network. The small Martin-family (Gloria, James who passed in 2024, plus the small current-foster-child Destiny age 6 in Gloria’s care) is the small chosen-family. The small Tyler’s-family-in-Millbrook (Debbie, Roy, and four-brothers) is the small in-law-family.

Debbie had white bean soup that Saturday, and I have been thinking about it ever since—the way it smelled when I walked in, the way we just sat and ate and talked without it feeling like an occasion. I don’t have her soup recipe yet, but I have been making things in that spirit: simple, vegetable-forward, the kind of dish that feels like it has always been in the rotation. This cauliflower olive salad has that same quality. It is bright and a little briny and it comes together fast, which matters on the Saturdays I am cooking just for myself and trying to feel at home in my own kitchen the way I felt at home in hers.

Cauliflower Olive Salad

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 15 minutes (plus 30 minutes chilling) | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 medium head cauliflower, cut into small florets (about 4 cups)
• 1 cup green olives, pitted and sliced
• 1/2 cup black olives, pitted and sliced
• 1/2 cup roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
• 1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
• 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions

1. Prep the cauliflower. Cut the cauliflower into small, bite-sized florets. If you prefer a slightly softer texture, blanch in boiling salted water for 2 minutes, then drain and rinse under cold water. Otherwise, use raw for maximum crunch.
2. Combine the vegetables. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cauliflower florets, sliced green and black olives, roasted red peppers, red onion, and celery. Toss gently to distribute evenly.
3. Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes if using. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and black pepper.
4. Dress the salad. Pour the dressing over the vegetable mixture and toss well to coat everything evenly. The olives will contribute their own brine, so start with less salt and adjust after tossing.
5. Chill and rest. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving. This resting time lets the cauliflower absorb the dressing and the flavors come together.
6. Finish and serve. Just before serving, taste again for seasoning and stir in the fresh chopped parsley. Serve cold or at room temperature as a side dish or light lunch.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 112 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Carbs: 7g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 480mg