Vegetating

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I have reached a new stage of old age – vegetating. Family members have somewhat resisted my serving fruits rather than vegetables. Some of them, like John before them, need a vegetable to make a meal complete. I certainly grew up that way, since we called my dad the Mad Farmer. My parents were FORCED to eat tons of vegetables, because he loved having a prolific garden with no fruit in sight. Mother never complained about canning and later freezing the things he grew. She was a miser, having gone through the depression with her brother and widowed mother. Mom’s mother told me that once she had only potatoes to feed her children, and she cried that night.

Today I began to feel hungry. As I walked toward the kitchen, I decided to have cauliflower with white sauce before considering what protein would follow. This is probably the very first time that any vegetable called my name and made me listen. I made the white sauce while the frozen cauliflower cooked in the microwave. Since I wasn’t cooking anything else at the time, it came together perfectly. There was just the right amount of salt and pepper, two things I didn’t use when John was eating with me. The food was piping hot when I set the dish on the table, and was still warm as I finished. Nothing could have been more perfect for me. With cooler weather on the horizon, I’ll try to hear the broccoli, beans, and peas when they call.

Cauliflower with white sauce
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Published by Anne Mehrling

I'm a retiree who loves to write about life in the mountains of North Carolina.

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58 thoughts on “Vegetating”

  3. Growing up I counted 856 different ways my mom served potatoes; the depression may have sucked the value from the dollar, but the potato was the gold standard for many.

    Grace & Peace,

    Dr. Russell Brownworth 167 Cedar Circle ​Thomasville, NC 27360 Mobile: 336-804-4702

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    1. I’d be a butternut squash. That one was new to me when I married and lived in NY. Surely they grew in TN, but I never saw one. I’d buy one now, but they are hard for me to cut. Do you have a favorite vegetable?

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      1. Corn, can only get it in season.
        Reminds me of being a child. We had some great corn back then. Dad would take us on a Sunday drive in the countryside. We’d look for a farmer who sold corn at the end of their mile long driveway! Nobody there, just put the money in the jar and grab what your dozen….which was $2!

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        2. I’m a total corn addict, too. I even love the canned stuff. Lucked out this year in the grocery store and got 6 for $1. Matching your childhood prices. What a treat! The money in the jar thing is still an option, but generally it’s around $6 a dozen, I think. So I rarely get it fresh anymore.

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          1. At 6 for a $1, you should have bought a crate full!
            $6 for a dozen eh………I checked yesterday and the local supermarket (Co-op) has corn on sale for $1.50 each. Making a dozen $18 or 3 times your cost!
            So you tell me…..how’s a corn lover going to survive?
            Good to hear from another Corny soul Chrissie!

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      1. I need to get another microwave. I had one and went downstairs to heat up something and there was a huge black spider walking on the top of it … then it disappeared in back of the microwave. Marge’s microwave went on the blink shortly after that and I gave it to her. I have no counter space, something my mom always lamented over, so it had to be plugged in downstairs. Now the crockpot takes up valuable counter top space. I have no cupboard space to put the crockpot in and it’s large and heavy. I think I just need a petite microwave to have instant gratification like you. 🙂

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          1. Me too Anne – I am still trying to declutter the house and I’m nowhere done. I wonder how two other people and a bird lived here?! I was typing the last comment and the power went out, just like that. Generator went on for about five minutes but the power is back now.

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              1. Me too, but then I was writing to you and the screen went dark – I shut it down and came back onto WP and decided to check at Facebook in the Resident’s Forum to see if anyone else lost power and I got a message that said “Too many UI instances started!” I Googled it and have no idea what that means … I’ll just keep calm and carry on.

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                    2. It is so different from Windows 7 and when I was still working our accounting system was on a Windows XP computer. I liked Windows XP too. I’m still getting acclimated to it.

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  8. I need to squeeze more veggies in but we do eat salad several nights a week. If I start eating badly, my body starts craving veggies. I like spinach and squashes.

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  9. I love vegetables, and they are so wonderful in summer when they are really fresh. But with fall on the way it will be squashes, and brussels sprouts, here and there. Hubby hates the brusells sprouts so I have to sneak them in when I can eat on my own.

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      1. I don’t like Cauliflower with white sauce. Iam a vegetarian. I like all vegitables. I don’t eat nonveg.What a great meal, we should all eat more vegetables.

        Tack Care, Anne ☺️

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              1. Thank you so much,Anne, iam so..so… glad you, you late reply me.

                Really your mom’s mother that told you, Mom’s mother told me that once she had only potatoes to feed her children, and she cried that night.

                Tack Care, Anne ☺️

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