Life Behind the Curve

Allow me to introduce one of my BFFs, Mel. She rocks. Seriously. You may know her as @agirlnamedmel (or as the Tweeter formerly known as @bostonmama79). Mel doesn’t have a blog. Yet. I’ve convinced her to join with me on this quest to force her to blog. (Shhh…don’t tell her.) Unfortunately I only convinced her to talk about vegetables and not all things Friends, hip hop or Converse. She also rocks almost as much as Dr. Google. Alas, the day will come. In the mean time, please welcome My Girl Named Mel to mi casa and show her how awesome you all are. (Oh, and excuse her wicked Bahston accent though in all actuality I’ve never heard her speak. But I hear it in my head when I read her since she even writes with an accent…and a whole lot of commas.) Love you, Mel. Thanks for getting fresh with me.   

- EmmieJ  

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Like a lot of people, I’m usually rushing around pressed for time, so that can make putting together healthy well-balanced meals a challenge. I love me some veggies, but preparing them in a way that tastes good to me and the rest of the family, which includes my two girls, Haley (9 years) and Rory (16 months) is a struggle. Then there is Tim, my “better half,” who, unless it’s a potato, basically force feeds himself for the sole purpose of being a role model to the kids and not getting *the look* from me. But we won’t go there today. Generally my kids are good eaters. I can’t complain because they will eat fish, turkey, chicken, and a decent variety of veggies with minimal complaints. It’s just that every night we are either rushing to fix dinner in-between activities or not eating until 7pm (sometimes later), so it’s come down to pizza with veggies thrown on just so I don’t feel like a complete failure. They are getting bored and to be quite honest, so am I.   

I’ve always wanted to learn how to cook cauliflower outside the frozen version covered in cheese sauce. Cauliflower contains a high amount of vitamin C, folate, fiber, and complex carbohydrates. I knew I had to find the right recipe because if the results were horrible, my family would immediately write it off.  

I thought I would go simple this first time around and chose this Balsamic & Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower recipe.  

I didn’t follow the recipe exactly because I’m one to eyeball rather than measure. The ingredients I worked with were:  

• 1 large head of cauliflower
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar
• Grated parmesan cheese
• Salt & pepper to taste

I peeled the leaves off the bottom of the cauliflower and then cut off the head from the large thick stems at the bottom. I then broke it up into bite size pieces. I spread it onto a baking pan, drizzled with some EVOO and sprinkled with salt and pepper. Then I hand tossed it a bit and threw it in the oven at 425 degrees.  

It took about 15 minutes for it to start to brown and soften up. I have to admit that I tried a piece and it was pretty damn tasty at this point in the cooking process. I drizzled the cauliflower with about 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and sprinkled over some parmesan cheese and put it back in the oven for about 7 more minutes until it was fork tender.  

Balsamic and Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower

The brown color is partially from roasting, but mostly the balsamic vinegar. After the picture was taken I tasted it and was really surprised with the flavor. The balsamic vinegar and parmesan cheese together are really delicious. Tim agreed. The kids did eat it, but preferred the pieces that didn’t have as much vinegar. Haley suggested that next time I only sprinkle it on half of the cauliflower, and I agree it would be just as good that way.  

- Mel