My cousin Judy....

Every time I eat cauliflower, I think of my cousin, Judy. Judy was my mother's niece, but my parents raised her, so Judy was more like a sister to me than a cousin. Anyway, when I was little, I can remember Judy in the kitchen with those little boxes of cauliflower. She asked me if I wanted some, and, being the finicky child that I was, declined. She finally convinced me to just take a bite and try it, and after some hesitation, I took the plunge and tried it. To my surprise, I loved it! So, every time Judy made cauliflower, I'd join her in this "treat". She must have really loved it, because all I remember her eating was cauliflower! Obviously, she ate other things, but Judy should get credit in getting me to try something new in the food group, considering the fact that I grew up eating a lot of peanut butter sandwiches due to the fact that I didn't like trying new things. The other thing that Judy absolutely went crazy over was icecream.....any icecream was good to her, but her all time favorite was homemade icecream. When our family would get together for various occasions, homemade icecream was just a given! We would usually make 2 containers of it....one vanilla and usually one banana. Now, I love icecream just as much as anyone, but my cousin Judy could eat us all under the table! She'd eat bowl after bowl of homemade icecream....and she wasn't a big person at all! Where she put all this icecream is beyond me! So, everytime I eat icecream, I still think of Judy. My cousin is no longer with us....she passed away a few years ago from cancer. And I miss her, because she was like a sister to me. But, I made cauliflower last night for dinner, and couldn't help but smile, because I can still see her trying to convince me to give it a try! I'm so glad I did! Cauliflower and Icecream! Together.....not a good combination, but separately.....pretty awesome. One more thing that reminds me of Judy is my dad's homemade nutbread...I can still see her at family gatherings munching on this! She was an awesome lady, and she gives me many fond memories. Cauliflower, Icecream and Nutbread! Thanks for the memories, Judy!

Until next time......