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Years ago, I was attempting to reverse my daughter Valentine’s disdain for cauliflower. She was always my veggie-loving kiddo, so I was stumped by her dislike of one my favorites. Who doesn’t love roasted cauliflower florets, with those crispy caramelized golden edges?
She loved artichoke — pulling apart the leaves and scraping them on her teeth. So, why not create a pull-apart version of cauliflower?
I roasted it whole on a lower temperature (about 350 F) for nearly an hour, and then pumped up the heat to 400 F for some browning. I then seasoned the whole head of cauliflower with a little lemon butter or cheese. The idea worked: all four of my kids had fun pulling apart the cauliflower, eating little florets like finger food.
Over the years, cauliflower morphed from dinner table favorite to movie night snack food, right alongside popcorn. The recipe has changed a little: I’ve found that steaming the cauliflower a few minutes first cuts the cook-time in half and the florets are easier to pull apart.
And, I’ve upped my seasoning, for example slathering on a garlicky cheese mixture spiked with just a touch of hot sauce to remind me of the buffalo wings of my college days, when I thought nothing of downing a half-dozen fried wings, skin and all.
With today’s recipe for Cheesy Pull-Apart Whole Cauliflower, the high-cal buttery and cheesy coating packs a garlic punch, even though each serving has relatively little of it, so healthy eating goals stay on track. And while we’re enjoying movie-time or game-time nibbles, it’s nice to know that we’re actually getting a little nutrition in our bodies, too.
CHEESY PULL-APART WHOLE CAULIFLOWER
Start to finish: 30 minutes
1 medium head of cauliflower (about 1½ pounds), trimmed of leaves
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
¼ cup grated parmesan
2 cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced
1 Tbsp. hot sauce or buffalo sauce
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Turn cauliflower upside down and gently cut out the bulk of the core, leaving a triangle-shaped indentation at the bottom of the cauliflower. Add an inch of salted water to a large pot and bring to a boil. Place cauliflower right side up in the pot and cover the pot to steam the cauliflower until tender, but still firm (not mushy), about 7-10 minutes, depending on the size and age of the cauliflower. Test with a slim sharp knife.
Once the cauliflower is done, remove it from the pot and place on paper towels to cool. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together butter, mayonnaise, parmesan cheese, garlic and hot sauce. Blot cooled cauliflower with paper towels.
Coat the outside of the cauliflower with the mixture, using your hands to coat the whole head. Place cauliflower on a baking tray lined with foil or parchment. Bake until cauliflower is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let cool a few minutes before serving. Serve with forks or as finger food.
Servings: 8
—Nutrition information per serving: 67 calories; 42 calories from fat; 5 g fat (2 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 7 mg cholesterol; 136 mg sodium; 4 g carbohydrate; 2 g fiber; 2 g sugar; 2 g protein.
—Food Network star Melissa d’Arabian is an expert on healthy eating on a budget. She is the author of the cookbook, “Supermarket Healthy.”

DEAR ABBY: My 18-year-old granddaughter ran away twice last year. She’s now living with her boyfriend and refuses to have any contact with her dad. I know my son is very strict, and I’m pretty sure she could just no longer live by his rules. Her mom passed away eight months ago, and my son is all she has besides her sister.
She opened a Facebook page. I was able to write to her a couple of times and she responded. She isn’t answering my messages now. I suspect her boyfriend is controlling and is preventing her from contacting her family. I’m also afraid she may be involved with drugs now. She and the boyfriend were recently arrested for shoplifting, and this just isn’t typical of my granddaughter.
I have trouble sleeping at night worrying about her. I know she’s an adult, but I don’t want her to give up on her family who loves her.
Do you have any suggestions? Should I go to the house and try and see her, or must we just sit back and wait for her to grow up? Any advice will be appreciated.
WORRIED NANA

DEAR WORRIED NANA: Do not just sit back. By all means, visit your granddaughter! She needs to know you love her and will be supportive if things don’t work out with her boyfriend.
Because she’s 18 and now considered an adult, you can’t force her to reunite with her father, whose heavy-handed parenting may or may not be the reason she left home. But you can, however, point out that if she needs something, there are better ways to go about acquiring it than shoplifting.
You should also encourage her to find a job. If she does, it will increase her independence, not only from her father, but also her boyfriend, if it becomes necessary.

DEAR ABBY: I was recently diagnosed with a stage four cancer. My surgeon has offered me an opportunity to be part of a clinical trial, which my family is aware of. They do not, however, know the details of how far the cancer has spread.
The prognosis for patients in this trial is about two more years. My wife thinks I should share this information with my extended family and friends immediately (although there are few signs that I’m ill). I prefer to remain silent until the disease catches up with me and my time gets closer. Your advice or reader response would be greatly appreciated regarding this very emotional decision.
KEEPING IT TO MYSELF

DEAR KEEPING IT TO YOURSELF: I’m sorry about your diagnosis. I’m sure when your letter is published there will be a tsunami of reactions — both pro and con — from readers.
Of course your wishes should be respected, but since you asked, I am inclined to agree with your wife. Your illness affects not only you but also the rest of your family and friends.
If you reveal your prognosis now, it will give the people who love you an opportunity to step up to the plate and offer emotional support, not only to you, but also to her and your family.
***
What teens need to know about sex, drugs, AIDS and getting along with peers and parents is in “What Every Teen Should Know.” Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $7 to: Dear Abby, Teen Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Trump administration said Tuesday it would not allow oil drilling off the coast of Florida, abruptly reversing course under pressure from Republican Gov. Rick Scott.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said after a brief meeting with Scott at the Tallahassee airport that drilling would be “off the table” when it comes to waters in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean off Florida.
The change of course — just five days after Zinke announced the offshore drilling plan — highlights the political importance of Florida, where President Donald Trump narrowly won the state’s 29 electoral votes in the 2016 election and has encouraged Scott to run for Senate.
The state is also important economically, with a multibillion-dollar tourism business built on sunshine and miles and miles of white sandy beaches.
Zinke said Tuesday that “Florida is obviously unique” and that the decision to remove the state came after meetings and discussion with Scott.
Zinke announced plans last week to greatly expand offshore oil drilling from the Atlantic to the Arctic and Pacific oceans, including several possible drilling operations off Florida, where drilling is now blocked. The plan was immediately met with bipartisan opposition on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
Scott, who is expected to run for Senate later this year, came out against the Trump administration plan when it was first announced, saying his top priority is to ensure that Florida’s natural resources are protected.
Other Republican governors also oppose the plan, including Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and Massachusetts Gov. Charles Baker.
“For Floridians we are not drilling off the coast of Florida, which clearly the governor has expressed that’s important,” Zinke said, adding that he knew when he announced the drilling plan last week that it would spark discussion across the country.
“Our tactic was open everything up, then meet with the governors, meet with the stakeholders so that when we shaped it, it was right,” he told reporters at a news conference Tuesday night. “The president made it very clear that local voices count.”
When asked what caused the administration to change its position on Florida drilling, Zinke said bluntly, “The governor.”
Scott said he was pleased at the administration’s change of heart.
“It’s a good day for Florida,” he said, adding, “I think it’s very important to continue our efforts to take care of our environment.”
Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson said the meeting with Zinke was “a political stunt orchestrated by the Trump administration to help Rick Scott,” who Nelson said has long wanted to drill off Florida’s coast.
“I have spent my entire life fighting to keep oil rigs away from our coasts. But now, suddenly, Secretary Zinke announces plans to drill off Florida’s coast and (five) days later agrees to ‘take Florida off the table’? I don’t believe it,” Nelson said in a statement. “We shouldn’t be playing politics with the future of Florida.”
Zinke said last week that the drilling plan called for responsible development that would boost jobs and economic security while providing billions of dollars to fund conservation along U.S. coastlines.
The five-year plan would open 90 percent of the nation’s offshore reserves to development by private companies, Zinke said, with 47 leases proposed off the nation’s coastlines from 2019 to 2024.
Nineteen sales would be off Alaska, 12 in the Gulf of Mexico, nine in the Atlantic and seven in the Pacific, including six off California.
Industry groups praised the announcement, the most expansive offshore drilling proposal in decades.
The plan follows Trump’s executive order in April encouraging more drilling rights in federal waters, part of the administration’s strategy to help the U.S. achieve “energy dominance” in the global market.
A coalition of more than 60 environmental groups denounced the plan, saying it would impose “severe and unacceptable harm” to America’s oceans, coastal economies, public health and marine life.