beets me why I love them so much

Summer is not officially here for another week, but already we are seeing local farm produce being offered in stores. The first rites of Spring in North America and Europe saw asparagus, then strawberries and rhubarb, and soon we will see our local farmers markets and grocers filled with this year’s summer vegetables.

You have likely experienced an emotional trigger to certain foods.  I love most vegetables in spite–or because–of the long hours of tending to our large family garden growing up.  Vegetables still represent “fruits of labour”, from planting in the spring to preparing and giving thanks at the dinner table.  Conversations around the family table often included the food itself; how well this particular crop did in comparison to past years.  Very much like the Edwardians, our family ate seasonally from our family “estate” garden, and “put up” the excess for storage for the winter months.

Continue reading »