"Billy" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Farm1" wrote:

"songbird" wrote in message
...
Farm1 wrote:
songbird wrote:

when it comes to matters of taste
things are quite subjective. in one of the
other groups (preserving) there is someone who
hates beets and calls them dirt chunks.

Hmmpf! Obviously the person who thinks that must be a seriously bad
cook
if
that is how they taste to them. I'd stop reading any hints or tips
from
them.

oh dear! i think they are a fine cook as they
win many awards. they simply do not like beets.
and i've never noted the person saying things
about cooking that would make me suspect they
don't know what they are doing.

"Dirt chunks" should have been a dead giveaway.

Well, there is "chacun à son goût",

I thought about that and I've dismissed it as merely being lack of
experience on the part of the eater :-))

I was thinking about this issue as I went about my chores after posting here
this morning. I tried to think of a vegetable of which I didn't like the
taste. There really wasn't one veg I could name IF and I do mean if, it was
harvested at optimum time and well prepared. All, overly big, tired and
poorly or unimaginatively cooked veg can, and most often are, hideous.

If I had been asked in my 20s if I liked silver beet, or Broad Beans (Fava
beans in USian) I'd have said no. Then I discovered how to both harvest
them and cook and present them. I could also have said that I'm not overly
fond of Brussel Sprouts but very young and tender ones are a delight - ditto
swedes and turnips. But all of these must be young and cooked by a
compatent cook. I even like chillies if prepared so as not to blow my
brains out (what few I still possess).

Himself (my SO) used to say that he hated green beans. After putting up
with that crap comment for decades, I finally decided to ignore his wishes
and plant them. He has now discovered that when picked young and steamed so
they don't go a grey colour, they are actually well worth eating. Maybe not
on his I want to eat then 5 timfes a week list, but certainly soemthing he
eats and doesn't whinge aobut when he sees them on his plate.

There is a British cook/lifestyle bloke called Hugh Fearley-Whittingstall
who does wonderful TV progs about his life, his recipes and his caff/small
holding and he set out a challenge competition between himself and the chef
at his caff, to serve cauliflower in an exciting way so they could
potentially servie it to the customers of the caff. His shows are brilliant
because he is always managing to convert people to the love of veg after
they vow and declare that they will not, have not and could not possibly
ever eat 'x'.

Out of the hearing of the chef, he said to camera that he absolutely loathed
Cauliflower cheese since he'd been forced to suffer it at boarding school
and that he would never ever serve it at his caff.

Of course the chef chose to make what he called 'Cheesy cauliflower' to
serve up to Hugh for his tasting. Hugh was very rude about it till he
tasted it, he gave it the thumbs up and agreed to serve it to customers.

On Fri, 13 Apr 2012 22:08:13 -0700, Billy
wrote:

relationship to eating healthy. Prolly because everyone I asked about
how best to prepare it responded with "first, fry up some bacon..."

You're in northern California? Must be a housing tract. Anybody north of
north of the bridge will tell you olive oil and garlic, sheesh.

I'm out in the country, and I've had dealings with McEvoy ranch just
outside of town.

We use a lot of olive oil in our cooking here, but I'm a big believer
in that food should itself bring a desirable flavour to the dish. i
personally just didn't find that with the Italian white-ribbed chard -
though I do have seed for some other varieties, since I don't write
off a veggie after just one type doesn't tickle my fancy.

Steve Peek wrote:

If you like pickled beets, try pickling the chard stems. Just cut them the
length of you jars, pack and pickle them. The rainbow chard is very pretty
canned this way.

i'll likely do that if we have extra.
diced and added to pickled beets or three
bean salad. if we have a huge amount then
i'll try canning whole stalks in a small
batch for gifts.

we like to use the beets and three bean
salad as a topping for salads, larger pieces
don't work so well for that application.


songbird

Farm1 wrote:
....
I left out an 'm'. It's 'umbellifera'. Think 'carrot' family - carrot,
parsnip, Queen Anne's lace etc.

ah, ok, yes, we have gobs of queen-annes-lace
here. i have to continually weed it or we will
be overrun. it flowers a little later than the
alfalfa.

it's funny because i was thinking "umbrella"
when i first read what you wrote.


songbird

Derald wrote:
songbird wrote:
Farm1 wrote:
...
IIRC, the ubellifera family are the best bug hosts. I'd not heard of
lucerne (alfalfa) being a bug haven.

i'm finding lichens and tropical plants
for that family. not sure what plants you
might really be meaning here. latin or
taxonomy have never been my strong points.

Look for "Apiaceae". Parsley, celery, anise, coriander, dill,
fennel, cumin, and more.
....

i like all of them. my own cooking times in the
past i've used them. now i don't cook as much so
have to limit my plantings to what will be used or
it is a waste of space and effort.

with okra, chard and turnips i'm hoping to widen the
cooking palette, but i think she's already determined
she won't like the turnips. i have a good chance with
the chard. okra, doubtful, it might be too much like
black pepper. we'll see.

we lost cabbage this past year, she won't cook
with it any longer other than saurkraut. to
me that is about the whole point of veggie soup...


songbird

"It's basically just a beet without the bulb..." Yes, that's true, but a healthy specimen will have a big tap root. I have had real difficulty digging them out when they are no longer needed. Not sure container growing will suit them too well unless you are just growing them short term in the pots.
You can just direct sow if you don't want to bother with indoor sowing. And transplanted chard is more likely to bolt early.