The Cauli Of The Wild

Once again, I strayed to the Dark Side and watched some Christmas episodes of Martha. Jessica Seinfeld, she of the cook books which hide vegetables, demonstrated some recipes. I borrowed her Double Delicious book from the Library and made her Chicken Cannelloni this afternoon.

Her first book, Deceptively Delicious is all about surreptitiously adding extra vegetables to the food that children eat. This second book continues the theme, but with family meals.

First I had to make cauliflower puree. I bought a nice fresh local cauli and steamed if for about fifteen minutes. She said ten, but the cauli was still quite hard. Then I pureed it with a little extra water and it turned out perfectly. It is quite mild. So mild, that two Labradors will gladly eat it up when offered a portion. 

You know it must be good. My cauli yielded almost four cups of puree and I froze the leftovers in half cup batches.

I didn't follow the recipe exactly: I used some local ricotta which was not low fat, I eschewed the low fat mozzarella cheese for extra Parmesan and I added quickly sauteed onion, garlic and tomato paste to the passata ( tomato puree in a bottle) I did use wholemeal lasagne sheets and I poached the chicken breasts earlier. I served it with MrsValley's silverbeet sauteed in a tiny bit of olive oil with garlic and pepper. Yum. I could have eaten it twice!!!

I could not taste the cauliflower at all, and in a taste test neither could my neighbour. I will definitely be making this again. And I am eager to try other recipes. It's not that I don't eat lots of vegetables already, but the idea of extra secret vegetables is too good to pass by.

Susan's bespoke cardigan is complete. It just needs a button. I am very pleased and I hope Susan the Doll and her human like it.

Peri and Gilly like the new squeaky football, but a rice cracker is a much better thing.

The weather is lovely: cold and cloudy. We had breakfast and then slept till 12-30pm. I am banking sleep for when it is next hot. The new Delicious magazine arrived and I found lots of things I want to cook for Friday Food this month.

Comments

[RoseRed]

Oh no, not Martha! Heh heh!

I am intrigued by the hidden veggies. I might have to investigate these books too. I love that Peri and Gilly eat cauliflower!

[Rachel]

I'm intrigued by this book, going to put it on hold at the library when I get home and find my library card. Though booko tells me it is only $12.

[Monika]

The hidden veggie thing is a great idea! My son is grown up, but not when it comes to eating his veggies. :o)

[mrspao]

I think I may have to try the hidden veg thing on pao.....

[Pixie]

That looks delicious!

[Annie]

The food looks delicious. Gilly and Peri are looking like the food is much better than the footy. The cardy is so small and cute, maybe one day I will be knitting for Aahliyah's dolls.

[Jan]

I quite like vegetables in things like cake, eg potato, beetroot and carrot. They often give an intriguing flavour. I don't particularly like the idea of "hiding"them surreptitiously.

To me it really doesn't address the problem of not eating the vegetables. Toddlers in particular need lots of exposure to new foods before they decide whether they will eat it. Many multiple of times offering. On a thread in another forum, I've this week been reading about babies eating pickle, garlic, strong cheese, salad with dressing and more of what may seem strange as food for toddlers. I also think that hiding them in cake can lead to a problem with cake.

I don't want to offend but the amount of vegetable eaten that way is tiny and too much cake would need to be eaten to have a useful amount of vegetable consumed. Besides, to me it's deceptive.

Disclosure: I had three sons who had no problems. Food was given and removed without comment if uneaten. I only ever cooked one meal for the whole family. They ate what we ate and even as children had sophisticated tastes. One refused a slice of devon at three years old to say it had no flavour. Was there salami or pepperoni?

Sorry, this sounds superior. It's not meant to be. I've used the cauliflower puree myself but as a base for something else to be served on, not as a disguise and I put vegetables in homemade cakes and breads.

[Nat]

we have used these books to great effect in our house. Its a great principle that can be easily applied. we often puree as part of the food preparation or puree the end result, and we eat the same meal, just part of it has been through the blender. The bookshop had vol 2 on super special a couple of months ago for $8 something.good luck with your pureeing adventures

[Jennifer Rose]

i think if mom had of hidden veggies in our food when we were a kid, both my sister and i would have ate them more :p as long as she didn't tell us she put veggies in it :p

something healthy for the girls to eat :D i think sky would look at me and want to say what am I trying to poison her with now :p

[Michelle Lee]

That looks delicious!! I never made Cannelloni before :P Shouldn't really read about food at this hour. I'm soooooo hungry now.

[Bells]

a few years ago when I thought cauliflower was objectionable, this would have been handy, if I felt I had to hide it (i just ignored it). Then I learned that roasted cauliflower is sensational!

I have historically objected to hiding veggies too but then I started feeding Alice....I don't rely on the hiding, but I always feel good knowing I've added a little extra something that she might not realise she's eating.

[Lois]

I have become very adept over the years in hiding vegs from my kids....they don't need me to do this now as they all eat pretty much anything, but I find i still do it & love that our family gets even more vegs than what is visible. Keep any tips like this coming Cindy...I haven't tried pureed cauliflower before.

[drk]

i think any ways we can eat more vegies is good. im getting more and more used to them after a childhood of overboiled everything. including cauliflower. ugh. and its surprising how many vegies dogs will eat too, pumpkin is a big favourite here.

[Ann]

That looks yummy. My family loves cauliflower soup & I don't need to hide it.

[Melissa]

That looks sooo good!!!

[Amy]

I've used Deceptively Delicious recipes before! My kids love the homemade chocolate pudding with hidden pureed avocado in it. They never know. And pureed spinach in brownies works well, too. Even my husband couldn't tell.