Eat Your Veggies.... They're Good for You!

When it comes to vegetables a lot of people have issues. I guess there are some that I might dislike if I'd ever given them the time of day, like radishes and beets. I think I've tried them, found them wanting and never bothered to go back. My favorite standby is the canned green bean. As a child we grew ours in the garden and canned them to last the year. I prefer them this way to fresh. I have never been a fan of any of the lima, pinto, black beans or of any other kind of bean one might see in a salad or in a refried fashion or as part of a bowl of chili or wrapped up in a tortilla. However, in recent years I am opening up to the idea. I order black beans with my cilantro rice in my Qdoba burritos and I loved a salad my friend made that had multiple beans in it.

I LOVE mushrooms and asparagus (particularly fresh), though I am fairly new to hollandaise sauce and I loved it when I had it. I enjoy corn now more than as a child but given my druthers I would take it on the cob (it's just so much more of an event like that with the little corn handles and whatnot!) or just plain old canned or frozen corn rather than creamed corn. Though I like that too. The potato might be my favorite of the veggies. It's so versatile. Or maybe that's the Irish in me coming out. I love onions and think they are great raw or sauted or in any number of dishes. I'm not a huge fan of the tomato (this may be a "fruit" but I think of it in the veggie category) but I like them in dishes and I enjoy a slice now and then on a sandwich and I think cherry tomatoes are so cute that I can't help but enjoy them. Especially dipped in this nice lemon dill dip I now know how to make. Yum. Which reminds me, why is it that I love red bell peppers so much more than green ones? I love them both really, but gosh the red ones are so good. It's like a burst of flavor in each bite. I like all kinds of peppers: hot ones, mild ones and my favorites are the ones they call "banana peppers."

I don't care for celery because of the way the strings of it get caught in my teeth but I don't mind it chopped up in things... or with peanut butter on it. Carrot sticks are pretty good. And cooked carrots are great in a stew or soup. I recall eating carrots straight from the garden. After pulling them out of the soil we'd use our tee shirts to wipe of the dirt and start munching, just like Bugs Bunny!

I was somewhat traumatized by a couple vegetables in my life, however. One is iceberg lettuce. For most of my life I've been unable to stomach a plain house salad. This dates back to an incident that occured in 8th grade at the State Spelling Bee when during the banquet I was forced to eat a limp, warm salad before being served the main course. I've never enjoyed them since. I don't especially like salad dressings and would prefer to eat any salads I DO eat nowadays with a simple vinegar wash or perhaps a light oil and vingear. I love cherry tomatoes and sliced cucumbers but I don't believe hard boiled eggs or cheese should ever be in a salad. In recent years I've tried hard to enjoy them and have actually ordered one from a restaurant -- Salmon Avocado salad from Suite 49 and The Oriental Chicken salad from Wendy's. I'm growing up!

I also had a bad experience with peas. Because my parents had a huge garden when I was young I had to weed, and pick and hoe and all that. Well, after picking two brown grocery bags full of green peas I had to shell them. I didn't really like them to eat, fresh or canned. I DO like the way they look. Like little green pearls. I remember sitting in the living room with blue plastic bowl on my lap, probably watching Days of Our Lives, and shelling and shelling and shelling. The bowl filled up and the shamrock imprint on the bottom was pressed into my thighs like a badge of honor for all my hard work. The trouble in this memory is that the smell of the peas was suddenly overwhelming and what might have been yummy or aromatic for some was overpowering and sickening to me. It's like I can still smell it today. I complained to my mother as she emptied the blue bowl into a larger container and handed it back to me to finish my task. I am sure I grumbled a few words about child labor and kept on shelling the peas. But ever since the smell of fresh peas makes me a little light headed. Bizarre, I know. (I have similar issues with broccoli and cauliflower but the taste makes up for it -- cooked or raw... plain or drenched in cheese... I like them fine)

--Kate