Cauliflower

 

I never liked cauliflower - still don’t. My hate for this vegetable goes back to my college days. Once I drank half a bottle of rum and ate cauliflower like crazy - those days it didn’t matter what you ate after drinking.  And so - after drinking, what felt like, gallons of rum I puked - and the floor became a cauliflower garden. So I gave up - not drinking - but cauliflower. 

My mom had a belief that one should eat all the vegetables and since I didn’t like cauliflower ( not aware of the reason ) she was hell bent on feeding me. So she devised a plan. 

She cut this bloody cauliflower into small pieces and shoved it into pav bhaji. She camouflaged it like a true detective that she was -some secret mission.  She served me pav with this bhaji, and  sat back. Generally there was always a smile on her face when she served food but this time there was no smile and so I suspected something fishy. And then I spotted just a tiny bit of my nemesis sticking out of the well disguised bhaji.  To not disappoint her I ate the bhaji with extra pav so as to reduce the know-ability of cauliflower. She smiled and asked me - How is the bhaji?- 

I said - It is terrific -

She smiled even broader and said - There was a bit of cauliflower in it - 

I gave a silly-overacting-astonished look and said - I don’t believe it-

She busted out laughing and said - See, you like my cauliflower. 

I nodded vigorously - overacting in full force. 

I hated to spoil her secret tactics. And went along with it. But told her laughingly not to do that again else I would fear eating pav bhaji next time.

She said ok.  But she did that again many times. And I acted even more stupidly every time.  We played along with this game for quite some time. 

After many years of this, she eventually stopped making cauliflower pav bhaji.

One day we talked about it and I told her that she quite fooled me with that dish. She was getting old but more alert.  She rested her legs on the table, reclined her head and said

 - Oh! of course you knew there was cauliflower in it. You just played along to please me - 

she smiled and then added 

- hope your acting has improved since then-

She passed away a few days later. 

I wish to have that cauliflower bhaji again.