C is for CRAZE.

According to www.dictionary.com, a craze is “a popular or widespread fad, fashion…or mania.” The Brits agree with this definition, “a short-lived current fashion” or “a wild or exaggerated enthusiasm.”

Vinnie Antonelli, played by Steve Martin,
finds love and veg-e-ta-bles at the supermarket.

I’ve noticed over the last few months that CAULIFLOWER has become a craze. I can’t scroll down Facebook without running into a delicious picture of cauliflower, accompanied by a recipe, and followed by dozens of enthusiastic comments. The goal seems to be to combine the veg-e-ta-ble (pronounced like Steve Martin does in My Blue Heaven) with an alarming number of ingredients not found in my kitchen so that it no longer looks or tastes like cauliflower. 

 For example, some powerful wizard transformed these florets into faux chicken drumsticks, using only 13 ingredients and a deep fryer, which I don’t own.

http://www.easyrecipes.in/saladsdips/cauliflower-roasted/

What is aginamotto? It sounds like heart disease. Who is Garam Masala and where is his homeland? What is Chilly Powder? Will it cool the recipe? Alas, the wizard can cast a spell on cauliflower, but cannot spell Chili Powder.

Maybe it’s the photo that’s faux and not the drumsticks. After all, the recipe doesn’t list Chicken Bones with the ingredients, yet there they are sticking out of the so-called cauliflower florets.

Still, I hate to miss out on an important national craze, so when I shopped at the Surplus Outlet this week, I bought a 2 pound bag of frozen florets. Tonight after I removed my slightly over-cooked chicken from the oven (sorry, I had fallen asleep in front of the TV) I steamed a pot of cauliflower. While that cooked, I microwaved some leftover Tostitos CHEESE DIP.

It only took one added ingredient to make the cauliflower taste not so much like cauliflower. And the cheese dip improved the dry chicken as well. 

Call me craze-y.