Veggie Ideas - need some new ones

I absolutely HATE cauliflower. I've tried it a few times, in different forms, raw, mashed, steamed, and I just couldn't eat it. However......today I tried roasted curry cauliflower for the first time and I absolutely LOVED it. Not only does it taste good, it's also healthy! Here's the recipie. My coworker uses grapeseed oil instead of olive oil because it has a higher burning temp for roasting.
•1 large head cauliflower, rinsed, cored, and broken into medium florets
•3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (or grapeseed oil)
•1 tablespoon good-quality curry powder
•1/2 teaspoon salt
Preparation: Preheat the oven to 425° F. Place the cauliflower florets in a large bowl. Drizzle with the oil, sprinkle with the curry powder and salt, and toss together until the florets are evenly coated. Pour the cauliflower and any oil remaining in the bowl into a roasting pan or large baking dish, and spread the florets into a single layer. Place the cauliflower in the preheated oven and roast, stirring occasionally, until cauliflower is tender and begins to caramelize, about 35 to 40 minutes.

^^ This sounds delicious, I have a head of cauliflower and was wondering what seasonings to toss with it. Thanks!

Thanks, that does help; it probably means I should look for canned (tinned) (it's like we speak two different languages when it comes to food, isn't it ;-) peas in the "U.K." shelves of the international aisle.

ETA: Sorry, I guess I haven't figured out how all the quote and reply buttons work; I meant to respond directly to the OP's reply about marrowpeas.

Bump!

We had Portabella Pizzas last night and I wish I had bought more so I could make it again tonight!!!

1 portabella cap
1-2 Tbsp spaghetti sauce
Cheese
Toppings (we did pepperoni, olives, and bell peppers)

Cook until the cheese is golden brown. SO. DANG. TASTY

Greens: my personal favorite is Collard.

Boil them, season with white onion, green pepper, salt and pepper...and it is Amazing! If you really want flavor boil a turkey drumstick in the water before adding the greens.

Roasted parsnips and carrots. Yum. Just spray some Pam onto a baking sheet, cut up your parsnips and carrots, drizzle with a little olive oil, add some salt and pepper and bake for 20-30 min at 400. Yummy. Onions and peppers are good roasted too as are zucchini and summer squash.

Have you tried spaghetti squash? Brown some lean ground beef or turkey, add it to some homemade or jarred marinara sauce, and put over spaghetti squash. Just as yummy as pasta, only with out the calories, AND you get your veggies!

Acorn and butternut squash are also good this time of year too.

Sautee some fresh green beans in a little bit of olive oil and garlic. Add salt and pepper. Delish!

Basically how I prepare all my vegetables. It's the best.

Me too. I particularly love doing brussel sprouts (I cut them in half) and asparagus this way. Oh, and broccoli.

OP, what about ratatouille? You can go meatless, or make it with ground Italian sausage. We usually do spicy, with eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash and tomato, seasonings as you please

Concerning cauliflower, I'm not a big fan, but slowly coming around; I introduced it to my 20mo the other evening by making it into it's own little casserole, with a white sauce.

Sweet potato bake= the yummiest thing ever, Cut two sweet potatoes (or yams) into 8-12 pieces and add them to baking dish; throw a few small pieces of butter in there with some brown sugar, and pop in the oven until tender. Or make sweet potato wedges, toss with olive oil, pepper and parmesan, then bake.

Primavera- whatever vegetables you have around (the more colorful, the better) sauteed in whatever you like- butter, bacon drippings or olive oil- with whatever seasonings you're in the mood for; I like adding a little marsala wine... toss that with some pasta, add some chicken or seafood... there's dinner.

Hope this helps

So many good ideas here - Thanks for all the replies. :drinker:

Steamed broccoli florets tossed w/ crumbled goat cheese and pumpkin seeds (add sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste ...)

Arugula salad w/ petite peas (in the freezer section, thaw them ... PETITE: this is important, they taste better than the generic "mature" frozen green peas) pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, diced avocado, and a balsamic and walnut oil vinaigrette (balsamic vinegar, toasted walnut oil, champagne vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, salt/pepper)...

Cauliflower Gratin:

Steam cauliflower florets, spread evenly in a glass baking dish, top with shredded Gruyere cheese, toss it, then sprinkle the top with grated pecorino Romano ... Bake for about 20 minutes, then put on broil for about 5 or so minutes or until the top is crispy ...

1. Have lots of fresh veggies in the fridge.
2. Think of a couple of them that you want to use today.
3. Google.

For example, one night I had both an eggplant that needed using and a previously roasted sweet potato waiting its turn. Who knew that googling "eggplant sweet potato recipes" would find some great Thai and Indian curries? Bingo! Curry for supper.

Beyond the every week staples (mushrooms, carrots, celery, peppers, cabbage, lettuce, etc.), we adjust what we get in the produce aisle by what looks good or what is on sale. For example, I only buy fresh beets when they are huge since the price per bunch or the number of beets in the bunch doesn't vary much and flavor doesn't really vary with the size.

Some veggies are truly "out there" on the flavor scale, e.g. fennel, cilantro, etc., but for a lot of the others, the flavors fall into families. So, if you like onions, you are likely to enjoy leeks. If you like coleslaw made with green cabbage, you are likely to enjoy red cabbage slaw as well, or Brussels sprouts slaw for that matter. Squashes, both summer and winter, are fun to play with. And don't forget mushrooms of various sorts. I recently spotted an online recipe for a loaded sweet potato stuffed portobello cap -- basically, a large lump of veggie redeemed by being topped with bacon and cheese. Yummy! We've had it twice now.

Make the veggies an integral part of what you cook rather than a forlorn, over-boiled, pile of obligation on the side of the plate. Start your meal planning with the veggies rather than the meat and as others have said here, "Eat the Rainbow" rather than boring beige food.