Eat your fruits and vegetables.

When I was younger, you could not pay me to eat my vegetables. One evening after my mother had served me mixed vegetables at dinner (the absolute worst punishment that could be inflicted upon my eight-year-old self), I came up with a grand idea. Instead of trying to hide them underneath the potato skin again (my parents were becoming too smart for this technique), I would just occasionally drop a carrot or bit of corn onto the floor. Of course, once all of my vegetables had landed near my foot, there was the question of how I would get rid of it, as we didn't have any pets around the house to help remove the evidence. My young mind started to panic. What do I do? I began to stomp the vegetables subtly with my shoe, as to not alert my sisters or shake the table. I dared not look down to see the mess I made - the veggies would just evaporate, right? As we got up to clear the table and my mom made a passing comment that I ate my vegetables rather quickly and without complaint for once, I disappeared into our den to watch The Cosby Show. About midway through the witty Huxtable banter, my mom came into the room.



"Lizzie, come into the kitchen with me." My stomach dropped. Maybe my naive mind thought the vegetables would eventually just exit the kitchen on their own, that they would do me a favor just this once and am-scray. Turns out, the vegetables had no such intentions. That night I didn't get any dessert. Instead, I was stuck on my knees, picking up the smashed green beans, carrots, and corn from the linoleum, cursing the day vegetables were born.

Vegetables and I have long since reconciled our differences. While I wouldn't necessarily say I daydream of cucumbers or fantastize about my next dish of peas, I can certainly recognize vegetables for what they are: natural, nutritious, and beautiful. I took these pictures from a farmer's market in Kansas City over the weekend. The beautiful heaps of fruits and vegetables piled next to each other put a smile on my face. The friendly merchant's smiles, the handwritten signs, the colorful displays - I loved it. It was perfect. It was simple. It made me want a salad.