Tuesday, January 5, 2016

On hidden treasures

Some produce is inherently charming.  Strawberries, blueberries, clementines, shiny green apples, romanesco cauliflower - all of these draw you in so easily, so readily.  How can one not resist those juicy red berries, those fun little dark blue orbs, those bright and happy citrus fruits (especially when sporting cute little green leaves on top), those crisp and proper apples just waiting to be picked, the bizarre and captivating brassicas - they are all so easy to love and eat and bring home and adore.

Others sitting in the produce aisle or at the produce market lack these innate charms and instant lovability.  Some are even prickly - both figuratively and literally.  Like, for instance, the pineapple - an alien-looking creature that is quite difficult to grasp and sports a brownish-yellow coat.  Or the artichoke - so sadly green and pointy.  Or the kiwi fruit, looking like fuzzy pieces of poop.  Or the turnips and rutabagas and celery roots - the lowly root vegetables whose outward charms are so lacking that we generally overlook them, rendering them invisible.

As much as I am a sucker for the produce in the first category, my heart truly belongs to the produce in the second.  The ones that need some love and care, to hack away the nasty hard parts to get at the delicious goodness inside.  The ones that need some extra prep to make them stand out and proud. The ones that need a bit of extra oven time to sing.  Today, I will be sure to fill up my basket with the hidden treasures of the produce world.

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