here's to you

here's to you, who let me read every food label and patiently wait while I reread it more slowly.

here's to you, who welcome me into your house, and understand when I have to read every food label of every item in the meal you're preparing.

here's to you, who invite me to stay and email/text to see what you can buy for me...and for understanding when I bring my own food.

here's to you, who don't add a single spice to a food without checking with me.

here's to you, who invite me into your house while i'm travelling and offer me safe harbor from foods.

here's to you, who cook me food that seems bland and boring and IS bland and boring, but don't comment on it.

here's to you, who go out to eat with me and understand while I question the server. who understand why i peruse the menu before we even go out to eat. who doesn't comment when i proceed to scarf down every morsel on my plate because I so rarely get to eat such deliciously prepared food I didn't have to make myself.

here's to the server who thinks to tell me the pasta is made fresh with eggs in it and that the bread is made in an environment with eggs in it. who brings the dessert menu already knowing which item has eggs in it. (i tip well to prove my gratitude to you!)

here's to you who scout out places for me--be it to check if there's a kitchen or to tell me there's a grocery store here or a good, safe restaurant here.

here's to my mom, who cooks me shrimp even though it makes her anaphylactic and thus generates twice as many dishes when she goes to cook her own beef/chicken entree.

here's to my brother, who can't remember the list of foods and offers me bread, to have his wife reprimand him, to his comment of "just say no."

here's to my sister, who tells me to order anything on the menu that i want, knowing the options are limited.

here's to you, who listen when I complain about my diet and my theoretical anemia or vitamin deficiency.

here's to you, who understand that it's not gluten and I'm not a vegan.

here's to you, who don't say, "hey, I didn't know you were a vegetarian!" like there's some expectation that everyone knows I'm a vegetarian.

here's to you, who don't judge when I do eat something I shouldn't just because it looks so good.

here's to you, who walk with me as I peruse the fair looking for something safe to eat.

here's to you, who modify your holiday plans and feasts to incorporate something that I can eat.

here's to you, who text me from your wedding caterer visit to make sure that there's something i can eat.

here's to you, who understand why I don't tell everyone that i'm allergic to everything on the list and who understand why sometimes I eat allergens when people offer it to me.

here's to you, who say "we don't have to go out if it's too hard." who understand me skipping meals. who understand the lunchbox I carry with me almost everywhere and the snacks in my purse. and the pills.

here's to you, who send me new recipes. and to those who teach me the recipes of their culture.

here's to you, who understand my shyness and discretion.

here's to you, my fabulous support system.

Cauliflower Casserole

I remember my parents always being so proud of my siblings and I as kids for always raiding the veggie plates at events; we were, and still are, big broccoli and cauliflower eaters. So when I saw this recipe for cauliflower casserole on my sister's pinterest, I pinned it myself as a possibility. And I will outright say I didn't like it. I'm not a huge fan of sour cream and this had a tendency to collect in the crevices between the cauliflower. However, my mom liked it AND she took it in to work (since I obviously wasn't going to eat it) and they all liked it too. It's apparently quite good on certain dishes, like a baked potato.

It was a bit of work, since I had to shred the monterey jack myself. I also will caution y'all to make sure your steamed cauliflower is well drained--between the water that cooks off that and the cheese, I ended up draining a bit of water out of my finished dish.

• 2 lbs cauliflower florets
• 8 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
• 8 oz shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
• 8 oz block cream cheese, softened
• 4 tablespoons heavy cream 
• 2 bunches green onions, sliced (1 1/2 cups)
• 6 sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• Salt & pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Steam cauliflower florets until tender.

3. While cauliflower steams, cream together 6 oz of the shredded cheddar, 6 oz of the Monterey Jack,

cream cheese, and heavy cream.

4. Stir in sliced green onions, chopped bacon, and garlic.

5. Set aside.

6. Drain any liquid from steamed cauliflower and add hot cauliflower to cheese mixture.

7. Stir cauliflower and cheese mixture together.

8. Taste for seasoning, and add as necessary.

(If you want a finer texture, give a few mashes with the potato masher.)

9. Pour into a 2-3 quart casserole and sprinkle on remaining cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese.

10. Cover dish with foil and bake for 25 minutes; remove foil and continue to bake until cheese is brown and bubbly.

I would also add that you could probably add a lot of variety to this--broccoli and cauliflower mix, more/less bacon (bits or otherwise), garlic or onions in greater quantity, etc etc. I probably won't have anything further to say on this subject because of the whole clumps of sour cream antipathy that I have going on towards this dish, but for anyone who likes cheese/cream, the world's your oyster. :) (but not mine, I'm allergic!)