Produce Gems

I took an unplanned trip to the grocery store Tuesday, which is rare. Usually I have my menu plan made and the shopping list made from that before I go. We were in need of some fresh vegetables and fruit and I didn't want to wait until the scheduled shopping day.



I have read and heard over and over again, "Never go to the grocery store when you are hungry." Well, I didn't heed this advice. It was bad enough that I didn't have my trusty list.



With Celiac, it's not like I can buy cookies and chips and the regular junk food, but I wasn't hungry for junk food. I discovered many treasures in the produce department. I took time to stop and look because I didn't have my list.



We bought purple cauliflower, leeks, jicama, watercress, and broccosprouts along with the regular produce.



I decided to make pureed cauliflower for the first time, I even thought maybe I could pass it off for mashed potatoes to DH. I thought this wonderful, lavender find would turn white when I cooked it, just like the seeds I told you about in an earlier post from rareseeds.com. This variety became brighter and more purple as it cooked. Wow! How was I going to pull off purple mashed potatoes... I followed a simple recipe I found on http://www.recipezaar.com/ . I don't remember which recipe, but it had some water, chicken bouillon and a garlic clove that you cooked the cauliflower in. Then you puree it with some cream and butter. It looked like purple grits! It was tasty, it had a definite garlic taste, the texture was a bit different. I'm not sure what bright purple, look-like-grits, glop of goo is supposed to taste like but we never imagined garlic! It was all eaten but the white variety would probably work best next time.



I had chopped the jicama into thick matchsticks, so they looked like uncooked french fries. Some went into the salad. I thought it might be a good crouton substitute. We had fun munching on the left over jicama. We love jicama now. Tonight we finished it up, I spiced it up with some lime juice and lime zest and sprinkled it with chili powder and salt. It was yummy! It was a great snack, especially when you want something zesty and crunchy.



We are enjoying the watercress in our salads and on sandwiches. The sprouts are a welcome addition also. These new items have really dressed up our salads and made them more appealing. No more boring salads!



I've never bought/used leeks before, so I guess I'll be making potato and leek soup. These new produce items have really created some excitement. Everyone has been open to trying the new items, no matter what color they are!