Endive

I'm no stranger to endive. I'm also not a fan but that's the point of this project, to be more open minded when it comes to the vegetables that I eat. It's like when a child turns his or her nose up to something saying "I don't like it" when in fact they've never tried it or they've only had a bite or two, without really "tasting" it. That is how I felt about endive when I saw it sitting there in the produce market. My first reaction was that of hesitation, and I said to myself "Ewww...I don't like endive" but the more I thought about it, I couldn't remember an instance where I actually had eaten it. So, I figured it's time I gave it a fair try. Pretty certain that I do not like it raw,(confirmed just before I started cooking it this time) I decided to saute and simmer it with some butter and lemon juice and a pinch of sugar. It cooked for about 20-25 minutes and out of the pan it came. Part of me was hoping to not like it, just so I could justify all those times I said "Ewww!". I can't do that now, at least when the endive is cooked in this lemony-buttery concoction. The bitterness just melted away into the sauce but a tiny bite still remained which added a nice flavor to sweetness of the butter and sugar and tang of the lemon. Honestly, this is the first vegetable that I have been surprised by so far. Never in a million years did I think I would be saying that I actually like endive. I might even buy it again!