in the kitchen

now that my dishwasher is fixed,

(cue hallelujah chorus)

i'm trying a new veggie tonite that i've been scared of for many years...

cauliflower!

it seems everywhere i turn these days everyone is just raving over cauliflower...

using it as a substitute for mashed potatoes...

mixing it in with broccoli...

roasting it...

one particular recipe stood out to me from food network... with the crazy blonde haired lady (the lady isn't crazy...well, maybe she is... but the crazy i was referring to was her hair...)

[sigh]...anyway!

this recipe seemed to be saying

"try me, hannah! if you don't like the cauliflower,

just pick out the brussel sprouts* & eat those!"

*yeah, i know dad... i love them now.

surprisingly good!!

i think i'll try some other recipes and stick my neck out a little bit :)

i did modify it just a bit to bring in some other elements of roasted cauliflower recipes...

i added a good bit of shredded parmesan cheese!

and after coming to grips that i really didn't like cauliflower raw,

i figured i'd give cooked cauliflower a try...

...after all, its not a fruit--so, cooking it is ok :)

and as any good chef does, i had my assistant handy!!

this is her new favorite seat...

she's happy to be in the kitchen with mama!!

even though she still loves her bouncy seat,

it reclines a bit too far back to be able to "see" a whole lot of anything!

i was able to fix tonite's dinner (and the cauliflower)

and even fix a few other veggies for tomorrow nite's dinner

and get the dishes in the dishwasher

and wash bottle stuff

and get her bath stuff ready

...i could go on,

yeah, she sat up there a WHIIIIIILE! :-D

which was FANTASTIC!

i've been trying different ways for a while to figure out how

to keep her entertained while still fixing dinner, etc....

i think we're headed in the right direction!