My sister, Stephanie, was the master of hiding her vegetables – under her mashed potatoes, in a potted plant near the table, on the floor for the dogs after her peas “fell” off her fork. Even on New Year’s Day when eating black-eyed peas and cabbage prevented a year of bad luck and financial problems, Momma had to count out 12 peas, one for each month of the year, and use half a cup of Blue Plate mayonnaise in her special slaw for Stephanie to take just one bite – for the sake of good luck and fortune.
Stephanie did eat lettuce, but it was usually floating in buttermilk ranch dressing, and of course, as a girl from Mississippi, her love for fresh tomatoes was just a given, especially on a BLT made by my grandmother.
I started thinking of Stephanie’s battle with vegetables in her youth when I spoke to her recently and she told me about her new love for asparagus, and that she eats it several times a week. So, yes, the devil is obviously bracing for a cold front.
Isn’t it funny how personal tastes change as we get older? Like Stephanie and the asparagus, I despised turnip greens. Even the smell of them cooking made me cringe. Today, I can’t think of a better meal than a vegetable plate made by my Momma – black-eyed peas, turnip greens, homemade slaw, fresh tomatoes, and corn bread.
I can even open a can of Glory turnip greens, heat them in the microwave, and enjoy them like homemade.
I have a few recipes for those vegetables that get a bad rap. Sometimes, you need to take a second bite before putting that veggie on the “Don’t Even...” list.
Brussel Sprouts are probably my favorite vegetable. I love them steamed in the microwave and served with shaved parmesan cheese, kosher salt and pepper. I also like them with a little bacon. Bacon makes everything better.
Roasted Bacon Balsamic Brussel Sprouts
32 ounces Brussels sprouts, ends removed and halved
1 tablespoon olive oil
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
8 ounces thick cut bacon
1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a medium mixing bowl, toss the Brussels sprouts with the olive oil. Spread evenly on a large baking sheet. Salt and pepper the sprouts.
Place the baking tray in the oven on the middle rack. Roast for 20 - 25 minutes, stirring halfway through, until the Brussels sprouts are cooked and golden brown.
While the Brussels sprouts are roasting, cook and crumble the bacon. Set aside 1 teaspoon of bacon grease.
Whisk together the reserved bacon grease and the balsamic vinegar. Toss with the cooked Brussels sprouts and the crumbled bacon.
Serve immediately.
Like Stephanie, asparagus is one of my favorites as well. It is fantastic grilled or roasted on a baking sheet after being spritzed with a little olive oil.
I was treated to an entirely new way to enjoy asparagus – cheesy asparagus bread. Carrollton Mayor Pam Lee made this dish for me, and I will tell you it was about the best thing ever. This is a great side dish, but I enjoyed the leftovers for breakfast and again for lunch as an entrée.
Mayor Lee shared the recipe for us all to enjoy.
Cheesy Asparagus Bread
1 large loaf of Cole’s garlic bread
16 ounce can of asparagus
1 cup mayonnaise
3-4 tablespoons of asparagus juice
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
Line pan with aluminum foil. Open thawed garlic bread on foil, buttered side up. Slice bread into serving sizes but leave close together. Place asparagus on bread. Mix mayonnaise and asparagus juice to make sauce. Pour over asparagus and bread. Top with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until cheese is hot and bubbly. (To reduce heat, use cheddar and mozzarella blend or all mozzarella cheese.)
Now I love cabbage. I always have.
My Momma would fry cabbage in an iron skillet or boil it with salt back until it had just a bit of crunch left.
As an adult, someone shared the secret of the cabbage steak, and it is a complete game changer on the cabbage preparation. It’s easy enough for anyone to make, and it takes a few minutes to cook. That is a winning combination in my book.
Cabbage Steaks
1 head of cabbage
Olive Oil spray
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
Wash and core cabbage. Cut the head of cabbage into one-inch slices and lay slices flat on a baking sheet. Spray a light coating of olive oil over the slices, salt and pepper. Flip over slices and repeat. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, then flip cabbage steaks and bake for 15 more.
Well after he retired, my Daddy decided to learn how to cook. Now this is the same man who could not boil a pot of tea without burning the tea bags to the bottom of the boiler. He would set the microwave on 10 minutes to heat a bowl of canned soup.
So in his later years and out of necessity, Daddy decided to learn to cook. He mastered a cherry cobbler. He learned to make chili. He even finagled a pot roast in the crockpot.
He soon became the collector of recipes and became quiet adventurous in the kitchen. And if the recipe was a little out of his wheelhouse, he would send it to my sister, Deana, for her to make for him.
One night over the telephone, I told Daddy about the roasted cauliflower bites I had just tried.
“I have a new favorite dish,” I told him. “It’s so easy, you can do it. It’s not even a recipe. I’ll just tell you what to do.”
So I went on explaining how to make the cauliflower bites. Put the cauliflower on the baking sheet, spritz with olive oil, salt and pepper it, and roast it until the edges turn golden brown. Then you sprinkle it with shaved parmesan cheese, and voila!
The next weekend, I visited Daddy, and he planned to grill steaks for us. He was even going to make cauliflower bites.
“You are going to have to show me how to serve this cauliflower,” he said.
I was confused and thought to myself, how hard is it to sprinkle on some parmesan?
The Daddy pulled the baking sheet from the oven, and an intact head of cauliflower was roasted to a golden brown. It looked like a brain with a suntan.
I might have thought the part about breaking up the cauliflower was understood in my directions. However, Daddy followed my directions to a tee. Gotta give him snaps for that.
I hope you enjoy rediscovering the vegetables you hid in your napkin as a child.
