For the Love of Celery

Growing up as a child in the 1970's, I spent a lot of time with my grandmothers. They were both amazing women who helped shaped who I am today. I also loved visiting them because of the fun food I got to eat at their houses.

Now I know that most kids looked forward to the fresh baked cookies or apple pies they got to eat during their visits to grandma's house. But not me. I used to get super-duper excited about the crudite. That's right--I am a freak. I wanted raw veggies. Every time I went to visit my grandma, she would make up a special platter (just for me) of fluted celery, radish roses, sliced cucumbers, carrots and broccoli. And I would gobble down the entire thing.

My favorite part was the fancy celery. She used to make it special with the ends ruffled like so:


To this day I have no idea why I loved raw vegetables so much as a child, but I still credit my grandma with my love for crudite to this day. And I feel very fortunate that I have the ability to chow down an entire bunch of celery instead of a bag of chips when I have the urge to binge. This is a key weight loss skill that has come in handy for me on many an occasion.

But the question is: Could my love of celery withstand the next Retro WW Recipe experiment -- Celery Parmigiana?

It sounded simple enough. Cut up 3 cups of celery into 3inch pieces and boil in some chicken broth until tender. Then transfer 1/2 the celery into a small casserole and top with thickened tomato juice, mozzerella cheese and onion powder. Repeat layers and top it off with a sprinkle of parmesan. Bake at 400F for 15 minutes until bubbly.





Because I was pressed for time, I had to bake this dish in the morning before going to work and then cover it up & put it away for my evening dinner. I waited in suspense all day wondering what this interesting celery casserole would taste like.

The hours crept by, until I finally made it home to my Celery Parmigiana. I eagerly tore off the plastic wrap and placed one single portion on my plate. The moments seemed to drag as I waited for the dish to heat in the microwave. Then, at long last...DING! It was done, and I was finally ready to sample my celery bliss.



As I chewed on the first bite, I realized that it tasted... just...... like.........

Cooked celery topped with tomato juice and cheese.

Well that was anti-climactic.

I was so hungry I ate the entire casserole. But I think I'll just stick to raw celery next time and save myself the trouble.