Root Vegetable Lady

“I know the pleasure of pulling up root vegetables. They are solvable mysteries.” ~Novella Carpenter.

As a kid, I would ask my mom for boiled cabbage for dinner. Yes, I know an odd request coming from a child but I never had to be prompted to eat my veggies. I especially liked boiled cabbage even though the distinct aroma lingered in the house for days.

When my kids were small we hosted a lot of playdates at our house. As a mom, I always felt if my kids’ friends were at our house I knew where they were and what they were doing. It was not uncommon for us to set extra places for the playmates to stay for dinner.

Each Friday after work, I stop by the grocery store to shop for the upcoming week. One of my ways of processing the events of the week has been to cut up vegetables, especially root vegetables, and roast them in the oven. There is something very civilized, mindless, and healthy about selecting vegetables at the store, CSA, or farmers market, coming home, washing them, cutting them up, adding a bit of olive oil and salt, and putting them in the oven. The simple act of preparation in the methodical slicing of the rainbow assortment of vegetables has been so soothing and nurturing to me.

A few weeks ago I was at the store and a young employee in the produce section came over to me. He had recognized me because years ago he had spent time at our house. He saw me selecting my vegetables and commented that as a kid he remembered me as the “root vegetable lady” because every time he came over to our house we had vegetables for dinner. He apparently got to try for the first time a bunch of different vegetables at our house. He said to this day he thinks of me every time he sets out the squash in the produce section because he had eaten squash for the first time at our house. He was surprised as a kid he even liked the taste of it. My young produce fellow went on to say that as a kid after spending time at our house he would go home and ask his mom to make root vegetables for dinner. Then he laughed and said she would always have a look of shock on her face whenever he requested them!