Thursday, November 13, 2008

Romanesco - the coolest vegetable ever?

Romanesco is a hybrid of broccoli and cauliflower, with a fractal pattern that almost makes it too pretty to eat! I bought it at the farmers market last week, and a few nights ago cooked it up in a panang curry. I'm crazy about the Thai and True curry pastes - they are easy to prepare and there's no need to try to replace stupid fish sauce! In Portland, they're available at the farmers market, Food Fight, and many of the local food co-ops, or you can order them online! I use half the jar with a can of coconut milk for a good sized pot of curry.


Panang curry with tofu, romanesco, green beans, carrots, and red pepper

The romanesco was actually the best part of the curry, and I'm usually all about the tofu! Jesse snuck back in the kitchen to pick out all the leftover romansesco from the pot and add it to his dish!

But that's not all!

I've been tagged by the fabulous VeganView!

1. Link person who tagged you and post rules on your blog
2. Share 7 random/weird facts about yourself
3. Tag 7 people at the end and include links
4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving comments on their blogs

All righty, let's give it a go:

1. I can't smell most things. I remember losing the sense when I was in 3rd grade and shared a room with a persian cat that my grandma was always powdering, but now I'm not sure if that had anything to do with it. I can sometimes smell really potent things.

2. I grew up living with my grandma, who I loved, but she was crazy. By the time she stopped drinking she was pretty senile, so there wasn't much difference. We always had around 10 cats, and she insisted that her favorite cats had their own bedrooms (hence me rooming with Esmeralda).

3. I hate bathing. I must have been French in a past life, right?!? I don't like swimming pools or hot tubs much, either.

4. I don't know how to swim!

5. I have a phobia that bothers me so much I can't even type it.

6. I don't have a dad.

7. I play World of Warcraft, but I'm not a nerd, I swear! It's my husband's fault!

Now I get to tag 7 of you:

Agnes of Agnes' World of Vegan Pleasures
Bianca of Vegan Crunk
Jen of That Pain in the Ass Vegan
Jess of The Domestic Vegan
Jessy of HappyVeganFace
Melynda of Veganic Adventures
Shelby of La Belle Vegan

Cookie says "hello vegan friends!"

12 comments:

x said...

Cookie is so so so cute, srsly! And that Romanesco looks interesting, I don't think I've seen it here

jessy said...

hooray for a fun tag! :) thanks for tagging me, too! if i can think of 7 more fun facts i'll totally do this one again! i love it! that's too funny on your world of warcraft love! dan soooo super loves that game and has tried to get me into it too - i would, but i am so afraid i would never leave the house again! it looks like a really fun (and addictive!) game! yay!

cookie is the best! and Romanesco looks really cool. i need to keep an eye out for some. i love both cauliflower & broccoli! mmmmmmmmm, your curry looks soooo good! boo to fish sauce & it's good to know curry pastes are easy to make! w00t!

hope you have a super stellar weekend, Chelsea!

Tami said...

That romaneso is wild looking! I'll have to keep my eye out for them.

Jen said...

i've already been tagged...twice! so do i have to list 7 more things?

that curry looks great. so...if you can't smell, can you taste? i've head the two are linked.

Jen Treehugger said...

That Curry looks awesome Chelsea - THE COLOUR!!!
I?ve really enjoyed this meme - it's so much fun learning random things about blog friends.

*rubs Cookie's fluffy tum tum*

Anonymous said...

Hey! I was trying to find your email address and couldn't! I am writing a research paper for my Ethics class on government banning foie gras. You mentioned a while ago that you had protested local restaurants so I wanted to ask you a few questions about it. Can you email me ?? Thank you!!

megan dot kielman at gmail dot come

Bianca said...

Cool! I've been tagged again. Thanks for thinking of me!

And your grandma sounds like the old lady I'll likely become...I imagine myself as a crazy cat lady (I'm almost there already with 6 cats) who drinks all the time.

I've never had romanesco....does it taste like cauliflower?

Chelsea said...

Jen - I can taste, but I don't think I can taste that well. I definitely gravitate toward spicy and very flavorful food. When I was in college, I remember horrifying my bf (now hubby) by eating/drinking rotten food that I couldn't tell was bad. The bad orange juice was pretty funny - he could tell from across the apartment!

Bianca - It really tastes like a cross between the two. We bought some for the classroom, and the kids were pretty evenly divided on which it tastes more like!

River (Wing-It Vegan) said...

Your Panang curry dish looks amazing!

I don't know how to swim either, but I wish I did, in case of a plane crash in the ocean or something. Oh wait, I'm terrified of planes and will not fly so I guess I'm good! :P

Cookie looks so regal there!

VeganView said...

Hey babe! I am awarding you a BUTTERFLY AWARD!
Because You have one of the coolest blogs I know!
Go back to my blog to see the rules :)

Bianca said...

Hey tag again! I just passed the Butterfly Blog award on to you ... details on my blog.

Sal - AlienOnToast said...

oh my, cookie is so flippin cute!!!

I bought some of that romanesco a while ago just because I thought it looked so ace. It looks a bit like an alien!! :)