GroshLink

I'm embarking on a new experiment and the trial run was relatively successful. Yesterday I picked up a cookbook at the library called Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld (wife of Jerry). It consists of kid-friendly recipes that sneak in vegetables by using vegetable purees as secret ingredients.

I'd heard of this trick before but hadn't tried it until now. I guess seeing a whole book of recipes that sounded yummy to me was inspiring. Plus I had a key ingredient on hand -- cauliflower. Many of the recipes use cauliflower puree and last week I bought a head of cauliflower that was on clearance. As you may imagine, the white vegetable is not among the most popular in our home, so I needed a use for it. Actually, I was planning to sneak some into mashed potatoes or potato soup later this week, even before I stumbled upon the cookbook. But last night I made mac and cheese using cauliflower puree. And although I told the kids it was a new recipe I didn't dare mention the secret ingredient. Ellen casually stated it was in the middle as far as favorite mac and cheese recipes (box of Kraft being at the top of the list). I thought it was quite tasty and very creamy. Rest assured, it did have cheese in it too! Cheddar and cream cheese to be exact.

Getting back to the puree procedure -- since I had the cauliflower on hand I cooked it until soft in the microwave and then pureed it in my blender with enough water to make it creamy. Then I measured out 1/2 cups into ziplocs. Most of the recipes in the cookbook call for 1/2 cups, so I thought that would make it simple. I labeled and dated the bags and froze them flat on a cookie sheet in the freezer. Once they were frozen I stacked them in a gallon ziploc to store. That way they don't take up too much room. When I want to use them, they should thaw pretty quickly in some warm water since they are frozen very thin. Then you just squeeze them out of the bag -- premeasured! Genius!

I also had a little bit of broccoli that no one was looking forward to eating and another clearance purchase, a bag of broccoli slaw, so I cooked up those and pureed them. You have to be strategic with the green vegetables b/c if your kids are anything like mine, green is a big warning flag. But the recipes in the cookbook using broccoli puree include beef stew, chicken nuggets, gingerbread spice cake, rice balls, and spaghetti pie. So I think the color will be concealed.

Another bonus -- when our yet-to-be-born baby is ready for solids, the purees will already be made! I can freeze some in ice cube trays just for her. No extra work. So I'll be keeping my eyes open for more clearance produce since it doesn't need to be pretty when it's just going to be pureed anyway. A head of cauliflower will easily yield 4 cups of puree. The cookbook is heavy on cauliflower and butternut squash purees, I think because they are easily disguised in cheese dishes. But it will be interesting to try others too. I'll let you know how successful I am.

Note from Tom: Too bad I'm in 'da Burgh and missed the test run of the Deceptively Delicious, but of course I like cauliflower and broccoli raw . . . and there sounds like plenty more en route from the freezer storage ;-)