Recently a friend reached out asking how to expand his diet to incorporate more vegetables. He said he was familiar with the ‘ordinary’ stuff but had no clue about most of what he encountered at farmer’s markets or produce stands.

He also has experienced some rather severe health issues as a result of allergies that took years to get diagnosed and under control. To say that he is a tad shy of trying new things is putting it mildly.

I admit I had a lot of thoughts floating through my brain. Here are a few:

Ask Questions

Believe it or not, the person behind the stand can usually answer a lot of questions or offer suggestions. What is it? How is it normally eaten? If cooked, how do they recommend that? Is it an heirloom variety? Don’t forget to take notes!

Give it a Try

Small quantities are a good bet for things you aren’t familiar with. If you like it, you can often go back and get more.

Try it Raw and Cooked

Most folks never really think about this but did you know that cucumbers and pickles like gherkins, Dill Spears, hamburger pickle chips and the like are actually the same thing only processed/cooked differently…or not at all.

Onions and pickled onions are another example. Beets, when pickled, take on an entirely different flavor and are great accompaniments to a lot of meals.

Broccoli and cauliflower might not be a favorite when cooked, but try them raw, with or without dips, and you have two entirely different tastes and textures. Frankly, I love these vegetables steamed, roasted, baked, you name it but raw is a treat.

Tomatoes are another item that changes when cooked. And the varieties of flavors and textures are amazing. Turn them into an amazing pasta sauce and you will not believe the difference. Try making some salsa.

Asparagus was something I had from a can as a child and it is no surprise that no one – no one – enjoyed it. However, when it is in season and I can get the tiny ones (the diameter or my little finger), eating it raw is amazing.

Cabbage might not be your favorite thing cooked, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you enjoy a good coleslaw. Sauerkraut is just the pickled form of cabbage.

Squash might be something new to you but if you enjoy pumpkin – as in pie or bread – you might find that you enjoy it as a savory dish, too.

Potatoes… I’ve never met one I didn’t like! Isn’t it amazing how many ways we eat them? Baked, fried, boiled, just to name a few options.

Not sure where to start? Think about the things you already eat. Salsa? What is in your favorite? Relish? Same question! When you get your favorite meal at a restaurant, ask the same question. Think about what it is that you particularly like.

And, before I forget, tastes change over time. The things we don’t like as kids might be an entirely different experience as we get older. And vice versa. Growing up my mom made relish using a variety of vegetables, including green peppers. It was perfectly balanced for our tasted and a welcome addition to our table. Now, green peppers and I don’t always get along. I’ve learned to peel them as I prep them for use.

My point is don’t get stuck in that ‘ew!’ mindset back when you were in grade school.

You don’t have to go out and buy up all the fruit and veg stands, but it could be fun to experiment with what is on offer and expand your ‘like list’ along with your cooking list. You might not like everything but I doubt you won’t like anything.

Enjoy!

Hiding As ‘How To’ Videos…

I’ve watched How To shows for decades. How to cook. How to garden. How to update furniture. How to … You get the picture. And, over the years I have learned a lot. Like, how to properly prepare a room for painting or how to make many of the Mother Sauces (look it up). I have also learned there are lots of things (!) I have absolutely no intention of doing myself, but really enjoy watching someone else go through the process. 😀

Saturday is usually my day for catching up with the various folks who produce these shows. Channel surfing could often result in finding the various shows, some at rather early hours. In this day and age, however, a good portion of them can be found on YouTube.

Here are some of my favorites. The links go to the channel itself where you can learn more.

Salvaged by K. Scott is a wonderful resource to learn about furniture flipping – or just updating second hand pieces you find at yard sales, second hand shops and the like. Katie does an amazing job explaining, and showing, her process and the end results are often stunning. And, to be honest, not that difficult if you are willing to put in the time. That is not to say there isn’t a lot of work involved.

DIY In Progress (formerly DIY Danie) is a DIYers playground. Danie tackles a wide variety of projects from building her garage to creating furniture pieces. She isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty, frankly I think she prefers them that way, and often finds unexpected and unusual solutions.

Quick Cuts is one of those channels I tripped over (no idea why, either) that focuses on overgrown garden clean ups and more. Set in Australia, I appreciate being able to see not only a beautiful part of the world, but one I would not be able to see on my own. George does an amazing job clearing out all sorts of properties and the results… <chef’s kiss> I turn the volume down, settle in my comfy spot and let ‘er rip!

Watching these folks do what they do feels a bit Zen to me. Restful, relaxing, and I get the added bonus of learning a bit, too.

Enjoy!

When I was a small child I used to sit on my mom’s lap on Sunday morning while she would read the funny pages to me. The ‘funny pages’ were the comic strips that were published, usually in its own section, in the Sunday newspapers.

As I grew up, I could be found stretched out on the living room floor reading the funnies by myself. As I made it into adulthood, the funnies were welcomed in whatever form I could find. including on the Internet.

For those of us of a certain age, we grew up reading the classics. Dick Tracey. Beetle Bailey. Peanuts. B.C. and a whole lot more. I have favorites that I read every day even though they went out of production years ago. For Better or For Worse, for example, tells the stories of a family and friends in Canada. Years after the strip ended production, the stories are still engaging, still relevant, and even still funny.

The comic strips (funnies) made way for the cartoons, some of which began production in the early 1930s. They all share a love of art and a love of story telling.

Recently CBS Saturday Morning brought us the story of Beetle Bailey turning 75. (!!!!) I remember reading Beetle’s adventures way back when. Check it out:

I like the idea of the retrospective. Lots of things have changed over the years while lots of things haven’t. I love the idea of the family carrying on Mort’s work and I especially love, and appreciate, that his techniques are being taught to new generations of comic artists.

Have you read a comic strip lately?