Well, We Can Cross that One Off the List

So, on my quest to lose some weight and be a healthier, trimmer me, I looked at the produce aisle with new eyes this past weekend. I find myself in a bit of a rut sometimes, making the same suppers, or at least the same side dishes. I thought I should check out vegetables that I normally wouldn't pay attention to.

I came home with this.

It looks healthy, doesn't it? All that dark, leafy goodness..

This is what it's called. It is not actually a member of the broccoli family, but is more like a member of the turnip family, more closely related to "greens". It is called broccoli rabe because of the little heads that look like broccoli.

I didn't know how to properly prepare this lovely bunch of vitamins and minerals, so I googled it and found out that you should first blanch it in salty water to eliminate any bitterness. Then you saute it in olive oil with some garlic. Well that sounded good, so that is what I did.  It was to be my side to some garlic sausage and mashed potatoes.

We got our plates ready and sat down at the table. I was ready to embrace this glistening dark green vegetable. I already felt a little bit healthier just for having it in my house! I took my first bite... and it was horrible. I don't mean "fussy kid, I hate broccoli" horrible. No, it was bitter, "I tried to take a pill but it dissolved in my mouth before I could swallow it" horrible.

I told my husband and son not to bother to eat it, it was that bad. My husband did actually eat it and said he didn't mind it. My son took my advice and didn't even try.

I don't know why I bothered to put the unused portion of broccoli rabe / rapini back in the fridge. I won't be doing anything with the rest of it, apart from taking the pictures for my blog. I might as well just put it in the compost bin now.