My Purple Cauliflower

So last Saturday found me at the "big city" around here, and I ended up at the farmers' market on the town square. I was perusing all the tables when I stumbled upon purple and yellow cauliflower. I can honestly say it stopped me in my tracks.

This mother of three usually has to stick to a pretty tight budget, so if it's not sold at WM then I'm probably not buying it. Needless to say, the purple cauliflower was a first for me. I stood there staring it it for a moment envisioning my children so enraptured by the luscious purple color - something between dark orchid and eggplant - that they would eagerly gobble up this goodness and beg for more. Emerging from my daydream, I quickly dug in my bag for the $3 it would take to bring the largest head home with me.

I hid the cauliflower where I knew it would be safe, the vegetable crisper bin (my kids never root around in there), and waited for the right moment to spring it on my family.

Today was the day. After much thought, I decided to serve it up raw first since my kids like raw veggies more than cooked. I cut up some with a few other assorted veggies, tossed them with a little Ranch dressing (my kids' fave) and served it up with much fanfare. The purple cauliflower was met with excitement all around. All three of my kids were astonished by the color. Yes, we were on to something here. One brave daughter then my brave son began to munch on the cauliflower. The deemed it good and kept munching. My other daughter popped some in her mouth and gave me the look - the look that means she's stopped chewing and refuses to swallow whatever is in her mouth. She didn't like it, and she knew she wouldn't be allowed to spit it out.

This particular daughter has before battled it out with us over things she doesn't want to swallow. One day in the car she held a bite of granola bar in her mouth for nearly an hour because we wouldn't let her spit it out. The tension in that car grew with each passing mile as her mouth filled with saliva and she began to dribble down her chin. Her sister squirming next to her was about to gag as I am now just thinking about it.

When I saw "the look" today with the purple cauliflower I knew I needed to think fast. I cut a quick deal and told her if she would swallow what she had in her mouth that I would eat the rest of it on her plate. The gods must have been smiling down on me and my purple cauliflower because it worked!

I found some interesting information about colored cauliflowers from the Daily Mail Online. Their purple cauliflower is much lighter in color and more...um...radioactive looking than mine. Perhaps the most interesting tidbit in the article is about carrots not being orange until the 17th century when Dutch plant breeders looked for a way to honor Holland's royal family. Hmm...

I don't know if buying purple cauliflower is worth the hour drive to farmers' market, but I will definitely look for it locally. The taste is identical to traditional cauliflower, but with a few increased health benefits (read the article) and such a festive color, it is worth putting on my table again.