VEGTABLES ARE BORING

         My most favorite ways of eating vegetables are steamed and smothered with cheese or as a raw salad with dressing – though some vegetables don’t seem to work in salads for me – such as zucchini and other squashes. We learned that eggplant has been planted in the community garden as well.  What’s that all about?

Roland and I have tried various recipes for the zucchinis, squash, cucumbers and beets that we have picked.  He found a recipe of using an olive oil base and breading and throwing cheese on top of sliced zucchini. But I am getting so sick of trying to disguise or appreciate my vegetable and continue with what I thought started out as boring in the first place.  I do like zucchini cookies and zucchini bread. But I should be able to eat my vegetables in other ways.

My mom had a recipe for glazed carrots.  I don’t know if it will work on squash or zucchini, but am willing to give it a try.  I’ve tried several other ways.  I did a beet and bean salad which I ate by myself – so that got tiring.  The roasted beets were good by themselves.  I should have just kept them separate.

Last night Roland and I tried a tomato and cucumber salad as seen here:

My favorite part: the croutons. Wish I had Claire Robinson's enthusiasm.

         Not only do I think they are boring, but vegetables actually stimulate my appetite – along with rice.  Seriously.  I eat the vegetable dish with whatever else has been prepared – but I am hungry within two hours.  Vegetables (at least for me personally) make a lousy snack.  They just don’t fill me or satisfy me for more than two minutes.  A Girl Scout cookie on the other hand can chase away the hunger a lot longer than a vegetable can – not to mention that it just tastes 100% better.

I think that placing the vegetables in a pasta casserole is my best solution.  Then I am getting vegetables and grains at the same time.  Add some cheese and I am also getting dairy.  I’ve had broccoli and chicken.  I like cauliflower – and actually is one of the few vegetables I would rather eat cooked than raw.  But there are just some vegetables that I would prefer not eat at all: okra, Brussels’ sprouts, egg plant, celery . . .

I’m not a big fan of legumes either.  Kidney beans, black beans, garbanzo beans, lima beans.  My mouth has broken into “yuck” just thinking about it.