by justJENN
Every week I take my kids to the Farmer’s Market. Luckily here in Los Angeles we have plenty of local markets to choose from with good produce available year round.
I like to involve the kids in meal planning: We walk the market, we taste samples, we talk about the different produce – what would taste good, what ‘color’ they want to eat that day – and all of that gets incorporated into our meals.
By choosing their own vegetables the kids feel involved and are more willing to try different foods. On this trip the veggie of choice was cauliflower. While we eat it plain all the time, we talked about different ways of cooking it and when I suggested we ‘cheese it up’ like mac n’ cheese, the kids were all for it!
If your child doesn’t like a particular food, try different cooking techniques or flavors. No one says you have to just eat broccoli boiled! By involving their ideas and changing things up, you open up a world of food options!
Cauliflower Gratin
Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
½ teaspoon paprika
1 cup gruyere or Swiss cheese
salt
freshly ground pepper
1 cup panko bread crumbs
½ cup parmesan cheese
Fresh from the market, cut the head of cauliflower into bite-sized florets.
In a large pot of boiling water, cook the cauliflower until tender – about 6-8 minutes. Drain.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and ready a 9×13 baking dish by greasing it with butter.
In a saucepan, melt the 2 Tablespoons of butter over medium heat, add the flour and stir constantly until combined – cooking through for about 2 minutes.
Add the milk and bring to a boil for about 2 minutes. Take off the heat and add the mustard, paprika and the cheese. Stir until thickened and combined. Season with salt and pepper.
Place the cauliflower in the prepped dish and pour the cheese sauce over.
Combine the panko crumbs and the parmesan and sprinkle on top of the cauliflower, adding bits of butter on top to brown.
Bake for 20 minutes, and serve.
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