Upping the Vegetables

I find that we just do not eat as many vegetables as we ought to and sadly that is becoming B's path too. When it was just the two of us we had a lot of meals that were just an entree and if it included vegetables great, if not, then that was pretty much it most of the time. We just don't do side dishes that much. Part of that was budget, part convenience, but we're trying to do better. At the same time, I have to keep in mind that with toddlers it takes MANY times of offering things for them to ultimately like them. When B was younger, we made his baby food and B ate basically everything other than possibly being allergic to eggplant. With the transition to table food we were less disciplined about making sure that all the vegetable servings were in there. The daycare provider served lots of vegetables so I guess we felt it was less on us, but now we're having to think about it more. We are very good with fruit and all big fans, but are still working on integrating the vegetable element. Part of my plan for doing that involves finding more interesting ways to make vegetables and increase some of the flavor elements so there the rotation is more interesting. Recently, we've tried a couple things that I've just loved and thought you might too.

The first, is Creamless Creamy Tomato Soup, from Cooks Illustrated. The boys were having grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner and I wanted some soup (and a bit of vegetable) to go with it. I quickly found this recipe and started in. I did tinker a little bit, as I often do. First, I scaled it down as I did not need quite that much soup. Also, rather than canned tomatoes I used homemade canned tomato sauce from my mom. The sauce probably already included some carrots, onion, garlic and maybe herbs. Nonetheless, I went ahead and added the onion and garlic in the recipe to brighten up the flavor a bit. I think it would be good with regular tomatoes too. The keys to making it creamy, I think, are both the pureeing for 2-3 minutes and the addition of bread that acts as a thickener. As extra bonuses, there is no heavy cream or milk involved. I think it is actually quite good for you, might be freezeable and is so very tasty. B and I enjoyed it Monday night and again for lunch on Tuesday. He did not eat a whole bowl, but did have a couple spoonfuls and declares it "yummy."

The second recipe I found via The Amateur Gourmet in his post declaring it The Best Broccoli of Your Life. I had had some surprisingly good broccoli at a restaurant this week and wanted to try and create a more flavorful version at home. He got the recipe from Ina Garten's new cookbook Back to Basics. (I did also try the sweet potato recipe mentioned. I loved it, but was unable to convince B that they were French Fries:)) I used the general instructions for the broccoli, but did not follow the ratios exactly as I had much less broccoli and wanted much less oil to keep it a more healthful endeavor. I think the lemon juice and parmesan at the end made all the difference. I think it would even be delicious without the cheese. I did add a bit of red pepper flakes too for a little kick. B wasn't as in to this, and Brent wanted it to be a bit softer. I agree that it was a bit crunchier than I'd like, but such a full wonderful flavor. I think I'll leave it in the oven a bit longer next time to address that issue, but plan to keep it in our repertoire.

Do you have any advice in increasing vegetables or any recipes/concoctions you turn to time and again? I have a couple more things I'm looking to try in the next week or so so I'll let you know if we find any thing fabulous.

(Side Note - today marks ten years since Brent & I's first date, but more on that tomorrow).