My kids tastebuds aren’t typical of most kids. I know that. I remind myself of that often, and thank my lucky stars because it means that I get to enjoy the vegetables I love without battles and struggles!
When they were toddlers, most of their vegetables were served up just slightly steamed. I’d love to say that I didn’t want to taint their developing taste buds with salt or other flavors that mask the vegetable but the reality is that steaming is about the easiest thing you can do to a veggie.
While I was away on a business trip one time, my husband felt bad that our poor children were always eating bland steamed carrots or other tasteless vegetables so he searched for a new recipe and made sautéed broccoli with an asian sauce.
My crazy kids didn’t like it! They wanted their plain broccoli back. They won’t even dip it in ranch. Sometimes carrots and tater tots get a dunk, but that’s it. Yes, craziness.
I have to admit, though: I am not a fan of steamed plain broccoli. I enjoy raw vegetables, salads and will sauté a wide variety of vegetables with a few spices that I serve over brown rice. But my favorite way to enjoy vegetables is to roast them. And boy do we roast veggies a lot around here, especially this time of year when the oven is often running anyway.
Roasted broccoli, and root vegetables like carrots, parsnips and beets, may be one of our top three ways to enjoy most vegetables and we make them weekly. Sometimes multiple times each week. My kids love the texture and how tasty they become with just some simple olive oil, garlic and sea salt.
Bird’s Nests with Brussels Sprouts Rabe
When I came across this post today from my friend Alysa at Inspired RD today on Roasted Broccolette I started dreaming of springtime visits to our Farmer’s Market. I learned that broccolette is a cross between broccoli and Chinese kale, which I’ve never seen at our local market. I get pretty excited to stumble onto broccoli, kale and brussels sprouts rabe and will buy a bunch when we can find it.
A nice benefit after these visits to the Farmer’s Market is to put our rabe in a glass for a day or two to let the flowers bloom before we cook them up. My daughter thinks they’re beautiful.
Our Spring Bounty
Are you starting to get excited about any springtime fruits or vegetables? What do your kids most look forward to?
