Monday, February 09, 2015

Monday Forum - What is your least favourite vegetable and why?

As a child, I was forced to eat my carrots. I acquired a dislike of them that lasted for many years. Eldest hates spinach with a passion, while youngest hates chilies. She blames me for that.

So, just as a break from politics, what is your least favourite vegetable and why?

Mind you, you don't have to break from politics totally. Feel free to equate vegetables to any politicians or political events you like. Or to anything else. Whimsy is most welcome!

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately, due to advancing age chillies now hate me! The shared fiery curries of our misspent youth are now but a fond memory.
Best and Happiest of Birthdays to you for tomorrow, dearest James.
And while you are carousing, think of me locked up in a dark theatre, with a bunch of mad actors, and mad techies and the mad panic of an opening deadline.
I should have taken up macramé!
love
JCW

Jim Belshaw said...

I still love chillies, Judi, but am less able to cope with hot Indian curries. I live in a diminished world because neither Clare nor Helen love hotter (not hottest) food. So the curries and many other dishes of our misspent youth are now eaten alone or not at all.

Thank you for the birthday wishes. Carousing is not on the agenda. Mind you, I still like a good carouse!

Macrame indeed. Don't expect sympathy. You wouldn't have it any other way. So, break a leg and all that stuff.

2 tanners said...

No contest here Jim. Every vegetable, no matter how basically repulsive to your taste, has a defining purpose. Slimy bitter eggplant becomes babaganoush, sickly sweet pumpkin becomes iconic pumpkin scones, and so on. Except cauliflower. Roasted, fried, in tempura, boiled, steamed, in cheese sauce - revolting. I even push it aside in my delicious Indian curries.

2 tanners said...

Oh, and words. I hate having to eat my words!

Jim Belshaw said...

I had to smile, 2T. I, too, hate eating my words. Are words vegetable?

You have mounted a great defence of most vegetables. However, I actually like egg plant and cauliflower is great, especially with cheese sauce and corned beef!

How much were your views formed in childhood? I find that a lot of mine were.

Anonymous said...

Jim, pretty sure this has nothing to do with your worrying vegetable fetish but I thought this short article on pricing reactions was quite interesting:

http://www.smh.com.au/business/numbers-game-how-prices-get-shoppers-feeling-right-about-a-deal-20150209-139eyg.html

But back to your fetish - is it true that all vegetables are rooted and, if so, are we being subtly metaphorical again?

kvd
ps must look up where "eat my words" comes from.

Jim Belshaw said...

That's a fascinating piece, kvd, worthy of a Monday Forum topic! I look forward to your advice on the derivation of "eat my words."

Should I apologise or my vegetable fetish? No. To many have been forced down my throat because they are good for me!

Vegetables are, I think, all rooted. Mushrooms? Yes, that too. But not all vegetables are root vegetables. So we can think of different levels of being rooted. In some cases at least, we are both rooted and picked. Is it any wonder vegetable analogies abound?



2 tanners said...

Jim,

Happy birthday. I think nearly all my vegetable biases were fully formed in childhood except for a formative experience with eggplant. The rest of my life has been a reasonably successful battle to overcome most.

Pedantic note: mushrooms are not a vegetable.

Evan said...

Pumpkin. It's the consistency - sweet and mushy.

The opposite of my problem with politics - excessively harsh and with sweetness at all.

Anonymous said...

Yes - and many happy more to you Jim!

I gave up looking for eating one's words when I found it mentioned in "Much Ado About Nothing" or was it "A Midsummer Night's"? Anyways...

Re the vegetable thing, memory fades as the new century reaches teenagehood, but I remember childhood as typical 'meat and 3 veg' fare, with vege variety provided by being boiled, steamed, or roasted. I hated them all, but nowadays can't actually think of a vegetable (or mushroom) that I don't enjoy, with a little butter and/or pepper.

On that eat words thing - you can also eat your hat, eat your heart out, be eaten out of house and home, and I'm sure others will think of others.

HB to ye Jim :)

kvd

Jim Belshaw said...

Thanks for the birthday wishes kvd and 2T. Point about mushrooms noted. Isn't tomato a fruit?

Love baked pumpkin, Evan. But perhaps a pumpkin is like some pollies. Thick skin with mush on the inside?

kvd, eat humble pie comes to mind.

Evan said...

I like that, Evan

Rummuser said...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Momordica_charantia

Why? In my childhood, I was forced to eat it regularly for its medicinal properties!

2 Tanners said...

But not humble pie, Jim. That's a meat dish, made up of the innards of the animal (see also umble pie). I concede that in either sense I wouldn't want to be eating it, although recently some have at least said that they have been munching on vast quantities of the stuff.

Connorcore said...

Cauliflowers. Truly the work of the Devil himself!

Jim Belshaw said...

Having looked it up, Ramana, I can see what you mean! Technically, a fruit, but I introduced humble pie!

2T, I had forgotten the derivation of that phase. Do I have to eat it again?

Hi Chris. So another vote for the humble cauliflower. The work of the devil, eh.

2 tanners said...

Karela, or bitter gourd, is vile in itself, I agree. But it still falls into the 'this vegetable has a wonderful use' category. Using karela as the basis for a curry paste or relish gives a really full flavour.

Also, Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem about it, so it can't be all bad.

Jim Belshaw said...

I had forgotten the Kipling poem, 2T. Hadn't read it since childhood. You are making a strong cases re combination. I am looking forward to one of your curries.