Day 16: Something new, each week
Posted by kathryn in Shopping Basket and Vegetables
This Saturday is another guest post. This time I’m chuffed to have Lucy from Nourish Me on board, with an excellent strategy for including more vegetables in your diet.
Shopping is a strange business. Shoes may be your thing, or perhaps it’s the chase for that elusive pair of perfect jeans – the kind that manage to make you look both long of leg and narrow of bottom; for others still, a cavernous bookshop holds hours of possibility, but for me, there is nothing quite like the thrill of finding a new vegetable.
Over the last few years this passion, the result of a deeper need for change, is the single, simple, defining factor in the improvement of my health. Always a confident sort of cook, adopting an adventurous attitude to the buying of vegetables seemed, well, natural. An easy, achievable goal for lasting dietary change. Going slowly was key.
Each time I shop, I slip something new, to me, into the basket. An abiding distaste for the earthy sweetness of the humble beetroot was as good a beginning as any. Prejudice is a notoriously difficult thing to conquer, but the simple act of taking on something new, something challenging, and running with it made me not only a better cook, but a healthier and more appreciative consumer, too. Delightful, added bonuses from small, simple change.
It is easy to fall into ruts; to mechanically reach out for the same things, rushing, as we do, through busy lives. But Variety, well, she really is the spice of life. Though the weird and wonderful are seductive – lotus roots and ginkgo nuts are exotic, rare creatures worth working toward – conquering even the most pedestrian of veg can be immensely rewarding. The same sweetness that once made beetroot so unlovable, tamed and balanced, is something I now crave. Love the stuff. Even those beautiful leaves. No, especially those beautiful leaves.
So, a challenge. To try one new something this week. Bring home one fresh vegetable with which you are unfamiliar. It must be fresh, so don’t hesitate to sniff, to squeeze, to prod and use all your senses when choosing. Promise, out loud, to use it if not tonight, then definitely tomorrow.
Over to you.
Resources
There are some great recipe resources online:
The Stephanie Alexander classic, The Cook’s Companion, is an incredibly valuable, comprehensive tool worth seeking out, or requesting for a special occasion. Though expensive it is, without doubt, the single most useful book in my ever-expanding collection . . .
What new vegetable are you going to try today?
Lucy from Nourish Me is a writer and photographer living in Melbourne. She loves fennel, dreams big dreams of a small place to grow her own fruit and veg and counts her stepson’s love of bitter greens among her greatest achievements.
Berries photograph by G & A Scholiers and vegetable photographs by Lucy.
16 August, 2008
Comments
nice post lucy. I am afraid I am not as adventurous as I should be. I think it depends where you shop – if I go to a farmers market or the nice green grocer in carlton I am much more tempted than by some of the soggy specimens in the supermarket. I also am guilty of letting challenging vegies go soggy in the fridge so I like to think about what I can make before I buy.
But I agree that expanding the reportoire (even different types of vegetables we know is a great way to get to appreciate them more) does make cooking more exciting and tasty as well as healthy.
Just thought I would add that there is a new search engine http://vegblogsearch.com/ I discovered recently which I think Susan of Fat Free Vegan has started.
Lovely post Lucy, thank you so much. Trying something new each week – now that’s something I don’t do. Not with that consistency anyway.
So you’ve inspired me and today I’ve been to the market and come back with a new mushroom – chestnut mushrooms. They have a beautiful earthy, nutty smell. Not sure what to do with them yet . . .
I also found some cavalo nero. Which doesn’t quite count as I’ve used it before, although only once. Looking forward to trying something new with that though as well.
Great post, Lucy! You’ve inspired me: I vow to buy one new thing this week (what, I’m not sure – I’ve pretty much tried almost every veg in my local supermarket, so may have to venture further afield). Though I’ve never even heard of chestnut mushrooms – so there are obviously lots of new choices for me!
And gorgeous photos, as always.
Johanna – that’s a sensational new tool…will be off to explore it this afternoon. It does make a difference, of course, where you shop. But for beginners, particularly people who really want to make change (as I did), picking up say, rocket when you would normally buy spinach can help to develop an interest in cooking (and eating, too!)
Kathryn – even if we eat widely (and I know many people who read this already do) it’s the simplicity of the idea that has, for me, stuck. Chestnut ‘shrooms sound great. I’ve bought home some long spears of deep green endive I’ve never seen before. Bitter (incredibly so) but a little but of braising with stock and it will come right. I think.
Ricki, I find that something new (or perhaps something you rarely use) spurs me on, culinarily-speaking. It’s my simple way of avoiding ruts – or turning regular meal ‘ruts’ into something a little more diverse. I really DID hate beetroot, but love the stuff now!
Ricki: sorry about the funny cross-out that appeared in your comment – made it look like you didn’t really want to say what you were saying. I’ve fixed up the formatting. My theme really doesn’t like emdashes – mistakes them for crossing out.
And Lucy: simplicity of ideas, you know I like that. I love endive, love the bitterness, happy to eat it raw – but braised with a little bit of stock also sounds lovely.
We’re going to have the mushrooms on toast tomorrow morning. Cooked with a little bit of butter, garlic and thyme. Wanted something simple, to really let the flavour shine through. Buying them has also reminded me of porcinis in the freezer. How could I forget them you ask? So we’re having porcinis in a risotto for dinner.
Another fantastic post! Of course, credit to the guest blogger for this one! I am loving your blog Kathryn. I am always actively searching out new ingredients and I definitely agree that variety is the key. You can never get bored, it’s not possible.
I shall buy kohlrabi next week in our veggie box and try it. I keep looking at it but never buying it.
yhis is a great idea. i sometimes get inspired and buy different fruit/veg at the grocer’s, but i am often trying to get it all over and done with quickly, so i don’t spend much time checking them out. i should because my strike rate of liking new fruits/veg is pretty high – my crecent razy devotion to Brussels Sprouts is evidence of this!
ummm… recent crazy, i mean!
Guess it’s about time I bought that celeriac I’ve been curious about for a while, then, next time I am at the veggie shop! I know I’ve seen a recipe somewhere for celeriac and white bean soup… mmm…
Gwyneth: I have a recipe for celeriac and white bean soup here.
Sue: kohlrabi is my next one to try, never eaten the stuff, but am intrigued by it.
A couple of weeks ago, I discovered Garlic Shoots in the supermarket. They are fantastic in a stirfry – mild garlic taste, great texture. Worth a try!
I meant to add that I also love celeriac. It makes a delicious soup, but is also good baked like a potato. In winter, we often make a meal of baked vegies – celeriac,beetroot, parsnip, carrot,potato, sweet potato, onion, mushrooms, tomato, eggplant (whatever is in the fridge or looking good at the greengrocer’s). Just peel the ones that need peeling, cut them into good sized chunks, toss them in a bit of oil and garlic, spread out on an oven tray and roast in a 200 degree oven until done. It feels like a treat, because it always reminds me of Mum’s baked dinners!
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