My whole life (a whopping 29 years) I have dismissed one whole section of the food pyramid. Ok, in reality, it's more like two to three whole sections of the food pyramid.
As a child, my parents and I came to an understanding that one bite of vegetables consisted of six kernels of corn. I can't say I was forced to eat vegetables, it was understood that vegetables were not something to be craved. And that was ok. I have always been labeled as a picky eater, which is also ok. I went through life being high maintenance at restaurants, cringing as a guest in someone's home and scrambling eggs for dinner. I've been tempted to say I'm allergic to several foods so I don't get the inevitable "you're crazy" for not liking Food A or Food B. Several years ago, I started to change.
It has not been an over night change and it has been guided by many different people. The more I wander through life, the more I discover the diversity of food I have been missing. While I still love my staples, plain eggs, buttered noodles and chocolates... I'm learning that sauteed mushrooms are to die for and artichokes are ugly representations of what heaven hopefully tastes like.
This blog is part of a New Year's Resolution. I have moved in with my boyfriend of one year, Trevor (lovingly referred to as my "BF", Boyfriend and Best Friend) and as a result, discovered just how undomesticated I truly am. It's inevitable that I'll become more domesticated and I might as well enjoy that journey. While I would be content to eat my canned mushrooms, noodles and mozzarella pastas, my BF would not. I need to contribute to the household chores and daily maintenance of two people. My New Year's Resolution is to eat more vegetables and to learn to cook them.
Each month we will collectively select a vegetable to focus on. I've had many, many conversations about this and have developed many, many lists of vegetables. In fact, I have significantly more than 12 vegetables that have been suggested to me. But let's not get crazy people! This is a stretch and as a result, we need to take it slowly, one toe-touch at a time.
I'm trying to keep it small (the BF suggested picking one grain, one meat, one veggie and one fruit to focus on... whoa there! baby steps sweetheart). We might have to develop a Year of Fruits and a Year of Grains, but that's yet to be determined.
I am excited about this project and am looking forward to sharing it via blogs. This will be a collection of recipes I've tried and conversations I've had. I might take creative liberties with what a true "month" is or even my definition of a vegetable. Regardless, I hope you enjoy the journey with me.
