of clandestine cauliflower and furtive yams

The stealth vegetable regime continues. This new program is for the entire family's benefit. We are not vegetable people by nature. Between my Anglo heritage (canned peas, canned mushrooms, potatoes from a box) and my husband's Austro-Italian background (rigatoni, penne, penne rigate, rotini, farfalle - all pasta is not the same I've learned - and schnitzel) I don't think our kids have a green-loving gene in them. A predisposition I hope to change this year.

I am embracing Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook with open arms. If you're not familiar with her book, every recipe uses vegetable purees in sneaky, undetectable-by-the-human-kid ways. A spoon of squash in mac 'n cheese. Zucchini in the banana bread. That sort of thing. Tonight it was turkey burgers - the turkey part being a wily turn in and of itself around here - mixed with a glop of fresh cauliflower puree and a scoop of tofu. I really don't like tofu and yet I routinely buy it only to toss it out when it makes the fridge smell bad. I am determined to figure out how to work with it. Now tofu isn't even on the ingredient list of this particular recipe, it was an improvisation since I was feeling so very healthy and, at the same time, a little bit bad about tossing out yet another unopened container of the stuff. Tofu aside I followed the recipe to the letter. It called for:

lean ground turkey
cauliflower puree
unseasoned breadcrumbs
soy sauce
crushed garlic
milk
black pepper

I made micro-mini burgers for Stella thinking the novelty would distract her from the new flavours. She wolfed down the first one but got wise by the second and had to be bribed with the promise of chocolate pudding for dessert, which, I assure you, is not a technique I suggest or would normally employ. I just really wanted a success after steaming and pureeing all that cauliflower. Henry, however, dug in his heels from the first bite. No. Way. I'm surprised, considering he ate crayons for lunch. My take is that it's a good recipe in need of a bit of tinkering to suit us better. Here's what I would change next time: cut the soy sauce and garlic by half, or use the more familiar flavours of barbeque sauce or ketchup. The funny part is no one noticed the cauliflower. I declare a partial success.