One of the easiest ways to annoy D is to use a describe a body part with a medical word rather than the colloquial (and crasser word). For instance, once I said “pubic mound” with a totally straight face and he just lost it.
Cruciferous isn’t very colloquial and might sound a bit antiseptic. But I like it because it's inclusive and illuminating, like learning that Ira Glass is cousins with Philip Glass... or Amy Bloom is cousins with Harold Bloom. All of sudden, you have a deeper understanding.
What's a cruciferous vegetable? You have the sexy superstars: kale and brussels sprouts. The hall-of-famers: broccoli and cauliflower. The up-and-comers: collard greens and kohlrabi. And the uncoolest of the bunch: cabbage.
But knowing that they’re all part of the same family helps you realize that wallflower cabbage is not that different from its movie star siblings.
As Mark Twain wrote in Pudd’nhead Wilson, “cauliflower is nothing but a cabbage with a college education”.
RECIPE: This is really nothing special... just a super-hot pan, safflower oil (or some other high-smoke-point oil) and cabbage. You can choose to simply halve the cabbage and cook it in butter like this Bon Appetit recipe. I added feta for two reasons. 1) A nod to iceberg and bleu cheese dressing, and 2) sulfurous is mellowed by creaminess... like hollandaise on eggs.
Other cruciferous vegetable recipes: