Wednesday, December 20, 2006

The star, and playing favorites


Frost-nipped parsley (Petroselinum crispum neapolitanum) is still good eating

When I reread my enthusiastic post about brassicas from yesterday, it got me thinking. Why do we pick favorites?

Broccoli has always been a favorite of mine, but it was only once I became interested in vegetarian foods and cucina povera (Italian for, basically, use what you have in your pantry) that dried beans and kales became regular dinner fare. But do I love them, I ask myself, because they grow so well for me? Is this a mutual admiration society here?

And I think it is. This parsley did not grow for me last year. This year I started it in the garage, and transferred it out to two big patches in the veg garden. Parsley is so...ubiquitous that it usually isn't given much consideration. It is an herb, after all; my experience is that most anyone can grow herbs. But parsley ends up in almost every savory dish I make, usually as a finishing touch, so it, like lowly onions and life-affirming garlic, is very necessary. That it is pretty and bug-free earn it bonus points, certainly.

(Do you play favorites?)

4 comments:

Leslie said...

I think if I could overhear the conversation in the garden on a spring day it would sound somthing like this ... "We all KNOW you like the garlic best."

El said...

And you have some gorgeous garlic, Leslie, so it's no surprise!!

Anonymous said...

Anything that you dig up is my favorite - carrots, beets, garlic, onions, and most especially potatoes. They're buried treasure. :)

El said...

I remember when I planted my first potatoes last year I thought: this cannot be as easy as it seems. But wow. Now I am in a landgrab every year about what space I am devoting to potatoes!! I agree, Shannon, the surprise when you pull up a beet or a carrot is always a little thrill.