Food Wednesday meets Rain's Thursday Art Date

 

I'm combining Kathy's Food Wednesday, where we share anything food related, with Rain's TAD.  Rain has now allowed us to choose our themes OR follow the ones she has provided.  I decided to combine the two, since a portion of Rain's posts deal with food.  Did you know she makes her own cheese?  Check out her cheese blog.  

As I'm sure many of you know, I am a vegetarian.  However, I could never, ever be a vegan.  That's fairly obvious because I am not about to give up cheese, butter, or my half and half I use in my coffee.  Of course, unlike Rain, I have to buy commercial cheeses and Colby-Jack is my favorite.

Begin by removing the outer leaves of the cauliflower.  Save these for your compost pile.  If you don't have a compost pile, either start one, or leave the greens like those in the bucket for the birds.  Right now, they might want to use them to feed their young.  Be sure to cut them finer if you are feeding them to the birds.  These went to my current compost pile (I have three and I rotate them every three years).

Next, separate the cauliflower into individual cauliflower florets.  That makes it much easier to clean. To do this, quarter the cauliflower using a sharp knife, then cut away the center stem and use the knife or your hands to break the remaining cauliflower into florets.  I only cut away as much as I will use and return the rest to the refrigerator. 

Transfer the cauliflower pieces to a colander and place them under running water to eliminate bugs and pieces of dirt.  Briefly boil the cauliflower in saltwater (blanch) to kill bacteria and parasites.  Boil the cauliflower florets for about two minutes to ensure you’ve killed any parasites.  Remove the florets from the hot water and immediately plunge them into an ice bath. The cold water will stop the cooking process and ensure your cauliflower stays crisp. Drain well and return to the microwave safe bowl.

To clean broccoli, simply submerge it in cold water for at least 15 minutes.  Swirl the florets, every few minutes, then rinse them under cold water.  Pat dry to ensure all dirt has been removed.

Combine the cauliflower and broccoli, along with a small amount of butter, then cook in a microwave safe dish uncovered for three minutes.  Be careful.  There will be lots of steam if you are taking a photo (grin).

It looks like I overcooked them, but that is really an optical illusion.

Use a cheese slicer and slice cheese over the top of these hot veggies.  Add dill or other fresh herbs, along with your favorite seasonings at this time, too.

Cook only until cheese is melted, about one to 1 1/2 minutes in the microwave.

Remove veggies and cheese to serving dish and refrigerate any uneaten portion.  Enjoy!!

 

Rain's challenge this week is Planting Seeds. 

While buying plants last week, I purchased these broccoli seeds.  I've never tried to grow broccoli from seed before, so I guess I'll find out how easy it is to grow these.  At least my pot is ready to accept them.  Now if it would just stop raining.

Thanks go to Kathy and Rain for hosting these events.  I hope by combining these two challenge blogs, I will be able to finally catch up to everyone.  That is, if blogger would just play nice. Thanks, too for stopping by today to visit both Bleubeard and me.  He really just wants to eat the cheese, but I want to thank you for your continued support of my art.  Believe me, I'm not a cook, so this is truly art to me.