Broccoli Cheese Casserole

Rosemary's Broccoli Cheese Casserole

6 Tablespoons of butter
6 Tablespoons of whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon of sea salt
2 cups of milk
1 cup of grated Tillamook mild cheddar cheese
1 head of broccoli or cauliflower
breadcrumbs (I save them from homemade bread and freeze them)

Slice the broccoli into bite size pieces. Peel and cut the stalks into one inch lengths. Cook the stalks in a medium large saucepan in boiling water for five minutes. Add the crowns and cook for an additional twelve minutes.

While the broccoli is cooking, melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the flour, and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until bubbly. Stir is the salt, and pour in the milk. Cook and stir and cook over medium heat until your white sauce thickens. Add the grated cheese and blend well. Turn off the heat.

Drain the broccoli or cauliflower. Combine it with the cheese sauce in the larger of the two saucepans. Fold the mixture into a casserole dish, and cover with breadcrumbs. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown, about thirty minutes.

Rosemary Valaire taught me this recipe when I lived with her in Santa Monica, California. I was seventeen. It is so delicious! I made it for my parents when I went home to visit, and my mother and aunt went crazy over it. They decided to add it to the Christmas dinner menu.

 Rosemary was a gourmet cook, in addition to being a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet in London. She was one of my finest teachers in LA. Because I rented a room in her home, she also taught me how to cook, bake, and swim  in the ocean. She was a great master. Yvonne Mounsey,  the director of Westside Ballet, referred to Rosemary as "the sage from Mar Vista." I always loved that line. It was such a perfect description of her. Yvonne and Rosemary were a remarkable team, and they trained numerous professional dancers together. They were such divine artists. They were also very good friends.

I've been practicing the windowpane stitch with a contrasting color. I still don't have it quite right, but I'm getting there. I left in my mistakes so I could see them. It's a little tricky, and I spent several hours working on it this morning. This afternoon I went back to knitting the socks and hope to finish them by the end of the week. I broke my rule about only having two projects, so I ripped out the window pane sample. It's still gnawing at me, though, because it's such a pretty stitch. I'll probably work up another sample for practice. I've got big plans for that baby blanket yarn that I was gifted.