By contrast, what veggie have you grown to like?

[Phil]

Or one that you hated as a kid, and now have quite often. I used to gag on asparagus. But, mom used to serve them from a can.

I saw this in a Southern Living mag. About 3 c. fresh asparagus peeled, ends snapped off and cut in one sections. Sometimes I don't peel 'em. I bunch chopped green onions, 2-3 cloves minced garlic, 2 Tbs. butter, a chicken bouillon cube dissolved in 1/2 c. water w/a tsp. sugar. Saute the asparagus in a pan with the melted butter and onions. When onions are about clear, add the water mixture and garlic to the pan and cover for ten minutes, or until moisture has cooked out. Top with sesame seeds and enjoy.

 

[pdswife]

Sounds great.


I used to hate spinach... but like you mom only made it from a can.
I love the fresh stuff. It's so good.

 

[Sandyj]

Brussel sprouts. I think maybe my mom might have over cooked them, they were a funny olive green colour and bitter. M I buy the fresh ones when available - clean, cut in half and saute with a little onion and garlic until just cooked. I can eat the whole pan full by myself!

 

[urmaniac13]

Raw mushrooms.
I always loved them when they are cooked, but eating them raw, I thought that was a huge waste of this wonderful food.
Then Cristiano introduced me to this wonderful mushroom salad with rocket, shaved parmigiano (or aged pecorino), lemon zest and bresaola, dressed with dijon with seeds... this completely changed my view about raw mushrooms!! yum!!

 

[Haggis]

I used to not like tomato (not counting tomatoes in pasta sauces and stews etc) but I have grown to like it even raw.

 

[Phil]

In the 50's, it wasn't as easy to get around...

Sounds great.


I used to hate spinach... but like you mom only made it from a can.
I love the fresh stuff. It's so good.

...and canned foods were pretty much the norm. Corn, beans, and peas are much better than the greens. However, I'm not a tremendous fan of frozen veggies. The exception, for me, are peas and beans. I have found that having bacon, ham bone, ham hoc, or some pork fat handy, fresh garlic, green onions and chicken broth, make any frozen peas or beans taste fantastic. Those four items are a must in my kitchen.

 

[Constance]

Okra. I never even saw it when I was growing up. My first husband was a Cajun, and when we lived down there, his farmer grandpa gave us some fresh okra, and his aunt told me how to slice it and stew it with tomatoes. When I sliced them, big strings of slimy "snot" came out of them, and I was turned off for years. His folks didn't use okra in their gumbos, or I might have learned to like it then. It's just been in the last few years that I discovered that I do like okra in soups.
I have eaten it fried, and it's OK, but I'd rather have fried zucchini.

 

[Debbie]

Broccoli ...........I would never eat that as a kid, but now I like it steamed and in salads, or stir fry.

 

[GB]

Asparagus, spinach, onions, radishes, eggplant just off the top of my head.

 

[texasgirl]

I used to hate the smell of cabbage, wouldn't even think of eating it. Now I love the stuff!!!
Same with all cheese that stinks, like, blue cheese etc...Love it now.

 

[licia]

We never had cooked cabbage when I was growing up, but had cole slaw a good bit. It seems like every time I heard about cooked cabbage it was in a mystery book about old boarding houses that reeked of "boiled cabbage". I only cook my cabbage about 5 minutes and it never smells, but it tastes wonderful. I use only the water that stick to the leaves and add a bit of salt and pepper. It is still crisp and green - makes me think the vitamins are still there.

 

[kimbaby]

brussel sprouts, I actually love 'em now...

 

[Constance]

When I married my husband, was a meat & potato man. If he had to eat a vegetable, it was peas, corn, an occasional carrot, or green beans.
His mother wasn't much of a cook, and his first two wives had tastes similar to his own, so I think he just didn't know how good vegies can be!
I have taught him to eat everything except cabbage. I don't know how a person can love broccoli and brussels sprouts, and hate cabbage. He says it's the smell. I have gotten him to eat a few bites of my spicy North Carolina Slaw, and he says it would be good if it didn't have cabbage in it.

 

[Shunka]

I think that after I got married, I learned that I started to like more veggies because I was cooking them the way I wanted. Asparagus, spinach, peas, sauer kraut and even carrots were the ones I stayed away from. Now I eat all of them quite often!! Most of the veggies that y'all didn't like (broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts, etc.) I always loved; even as a kid.

 

[MJ]

Mushrooms.

I found out that they taste pretty good on a pizza though!

 

[Robo410]

It's the truth, when you learn to cook the poor veggies the right way, they taste really great! My veggie conversion started early...always likes peas (frozen) and string beans (canned) corm and potatoes, but the rest were horrid unless fresh. Even those purple bowling balls called rutabagas are yummy fixed right.

Roasting does a lot for veggies...concentrates the flavors, caramelizes the sugars, mellows the sulfurs and acids.

My most recent converison was beets a few ago. Had them in a pasta at a great fusion restaurant. awesome...sweet, blended nicely with the tomato sauce, etc. also nice with nuts and cheese in a salad.

 

[sattie]

Phil

As a kid, I hated peas, carrots and corn.

Peas did not stand a chance... so to this day they are still off the list.
Carrots.... love them raw, but will not eat them cooked.
Corn... big winner here... I love corn, from the can, from the cob, under a tree, in a barn.

I really love taking corn ears and rubbing them with a mixture of butter, garlic, herbs and salt and grilling the holy tar out of them till the get that nice charred look. Man, talk about gooooooood!

 

[Phil]

Let's work on the carrots....

Have you steamed them and slathered garlic butter on em'?

 

[auntdot]

My diciest (sorry, don't know if that is a word) veggie is Brussel sprouts.

Take them, put them through the mandoline, and saute them in butter with some shallots and I will eat them. But they do not make my happy.

Even toss in some crumbled bacon, and still not a sale.

I like most cruciferous veggies though, it is just the sprouts that I cannot appreciate.

Were it not for Mrs. Auntdot they would never appear on our table. But she loves the doggone things.

And I eat a bit.

Mix them into the mashed tatties and you can hardly taste them.

Don't know of a breed of dog that likes the sprouts, but if there is, please, clue me in.

 

[Shunka]

Most of my 9 dogs like sprouts!! Even a couple of my cats do; not to mention the two burros in my avatar here too!! Of course they love cabbage; raw or cooked too. They very seldom get any as I or the hubby tend to not leave any for leftovers!!