Vegetables???

I am not generally a vegetable person. Growing up, I have really only liked a few pretty mainstream vegetables (broccoli, carrots...), and even the few that I like, I don't eat very often. I prefer fruit, but admittedly, I don't even eat fruit as often as I should either.

So a few months ago, I decided to borrow an idea from Cardigans and Cookie Dough to try one new vegetable a week. Well, to be honest, I haven't been very consistent with this, but my excuse is that certain vegetables are expensive, and I became quite busy soon after I started this project. I have still been making some effort to try new vegetables. I just haven't been doing it weekly, or regularly at all.

I wish I had pictures of all of the vegetables I've had so far and how I cooked them, but it doesn't always occur to me to pull out my camera until it is too late. This is something I'm trying to work on. However, here is a list of my attempts so far:

Artichoke hearts: I actually bought a jar of artichoke hearts, but I eventually plan on buying a whole artichoke and cooking it myself. I have no idea how to do this, but that is what the internet is for :) I first tried simply eating a piece of artichoke heart by itself. It had a very strong flavor, probably from the juices it was marinaded in, and was a bit tangy and sharp, but I liked it. I then tried it on homemade pizza. Yummy! I've since put it on more homemade pizza made with Foccacia, spaghetti sauce, chicken, tomatoes, pineapple, and onions. So good!

Eggplant: I cut a slice of this and grilled it with a little salt on my little George Foreman grill. Here was what happened when I put a bite in my mouth: *chew, chew* This isn't so bad. Not great, but I might be able to eat this. *chew, chew* Ewww!!!! Horrible, slimy, spongy texture! Gross sharp, sour taste! *spit out in trash* Yeah, I didn't like it. I then tried slicing the rest and putting it in some chicken lasagne to see if I might like it with something to help cover up the taste/texture. Bad results. Needless to say, I do not like eggplant and will not be eating it again.

Turnip: I originally planned on chopping up the turnip, boiling it, mashing it up like mashed potatoes, and adding some butter and brown sugar to it, because this was the way I had heard it was best cooked. Then I found a recipe for turnip fries, baked in the oven. Since I like to make sweet potato fries all the time, I thought this might be a good idea. They turned out okay. Initially I thought it was okay, but it was a bit sour, and after eating a few fries, I had to throw the rest away. I think I may have to try again with my original idea.

Parsnip: I have actually had parsnips once before, and I remember liking them, but that was at least ten years ago, so I decided I must try them again. I actually didn't try parsnips individually this time (though I will at another time). I actually made a Jamie Oliver recipe for Ginger and Parsnip soup, which turned out great! It's full of vegetables, I'm assuming it's very healthy, and it was tasty.

Spaghetti Squash: I had a roommate about a year ago that made this all the time, but I had never tried it, so I determined I needed to. I was a little wary of it, because, though I haven't actually tried much squash in my life, I never liked the smell of the kinds my mom would make, and never liked the idea of it anyway. Turns out, spaghetti squash is very good! The squash noodles are a little crunchy, and needed a bit of salt. Overall, it was a success!

This is my lovely spaghetti squash, pre cutting and cooking.

First you cut it in half length-wise, like so.

Then, with a large spoon, scrape out all the seeds.

After that, you lay them cut-side down on a cookie sheet and poke the skins with a fork.

What I did next was baked it in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, for about 45 minutes. Then I turned the squash so the cut side was up and baked it again until the skin was tender.

At this point, you take a fork and (being very careful because the squash is hot!) scrape the insides out of the skins and into a bowl. They should come out looking like noodles.

 

I topped mine with spaghetti sauce mixed with ground turkey, oregano, basil, garlic, and cream of mushroom soup (I always make spaghetti sauce with cream of mushroom soup. It makes the sauce creamy and I think it helps it stick to the noodles better, which I like).

I also made some garlic bread by taking a regular slice of bread, buttering it, putting garlic and basil on it, and broiling it until the butter is melted and the crust is crispy and browned.

Top it all off with some Parmesan cheese, and it makes a splendidly tasty meal.