Vegetables are a way of life

By Rennie Phillips

It is kind of amazing how many fast food restaurants there are today. It seems like there is one on about every corner in big and small cities alike. One is running a special on single- and double- and triple-patty burgers.

What I'm afraid of is our younger generation is growing up without any ties to the garden and the soil. Burgers and fries just lack something. But adding veggies to our meals doesn't mean we throw out taste for health.

Gardening and eating veggies has been a part of my life since I was a baby. Mom and Dad always had a garden. Dad would plow a spot east of the house and plant potatoes out there.

He would plow a furrow with a C International, and we'd plant potatoes down that furrow.

We'd shove the potato pieces in the dirt about 4 inches down and every 16 inches or so. Then Dad would plow two more furrows before we'd plant another row of potatoes. We would keep doing this 'til we had planted a spot about 80 feet wide by about 250 feet long.

Then west of the house, Dad would plow a spot about 100 feet wide by 150 feet long.

It was out here he planted corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans and all the rest. So, during the summer, we ate tomatoes and cucumbers and green beans and so on.

Mom was a good cook, so we ate pretty good.

We also grew peas, but we ate those right out in the garden.

Along the north edge of this garden, there were some gooseberries and rhubarb, I believe. There might have been currants. Along the east edge of the garden, there were plums and grapes.

For breakfast, we always had eggs and some pork of some kind. But for dinner and supper we had meat, potatoes and vegetables.

When Marge and I got married and lived southwest of Arthur, we had a small garden.

We probably didn't raise a lot, but we gave it a try. And then when we moved to Oklahoma and then Kentucky we had gardens both places. When we moved to Missouri, we put out a garden every summer.

Eating vegetables for Marge and me and our family is normal.

We have vegetables at dinner and at supper. We have boiled or mashed or baked potatoes about every meal except breakfast. Then we have at least one vegetable, like green beans, corn, cucumbers or tomatoes at both dinner and supper, and many times I have a vegetable for breakfast.

There are days when I'll eat cucumbers and tomatoes virtually all day long.

One breakfast last week, I had fried eggs, three pieces of toast, some fried hog jowl, some black-eyed peas and some leftover Brussels sprouts. If we have some leftover veggies, I will normally have them for breakfast as well.

Last summer we grew green beans and canned a bunch of them. We also froze a bunch of green beans.

Frozen green beans taste close to fresh ones. We also froze a bunch of fresh corn, broccoli and tomatoes. Then we watch our local grocery store here in Scott City, and when they have a sale on veggies, we buy several bags. We like mixed vegetables and peas and Brussels sprouts.

We also watch the sales at Aldi and Schnucks and buy veggies when they are on sale. When I sit down to eat, I like a good piece of meat, maybe some potatoes and definitely a vegetable or two.

But what Marge and I have noticed is that our boys and their families like vegetables as well. It is amazing how many cucumbers our boys, Vic's wife and their kids will eat on a daily basis. And not just cucumbers but corn, green beans, zucchini, tomatoes and the list goes on.

Both Marge and I are amazed how our family eats vegetables. But Leroy, Vic's father-in-law, is also a gardener. Vic's wife has grown up around vegetables and especially home-grown vegetables.

There is nothing that makes me happier than to see our boys, Vic's wife and our grandkids chowing down on vegetables. Many times I think people are turned off by how vegetables are presented.

I'm not a real fan of raw carrots, but if you cook them just a bit and leave them a little crunchy, I really like carrots. There are times when Aldi has baby carrots on sale for something like 60 cents a pound. We will buy several pounds, and they will keep almost forever in the crisper in the ice box.

We both like raw cauliflower and broccoli, but one can also cook it just a bit or steam it a little, leaving some of the crunch in it. Throw some cheese on it, and I can't see anyone turning it down.

When going out to eat, I like places where I can add veggies to the meal. Probably one of my favorite sandwich shops is Subway. One can get a little spinach, lettuce and peppers on their sandwich.

Berghoff's in Scott City serves an awesome taco salad. The best I've eaten in this whole area. Cup 'n' Cork has some awesome salads. I especially like the Southwest Layered Salad. As an added benefit, I also enjoy their coffee.

Many restaurants have a salad bar. Most restaurants have salads on their menu. The Grecian in Sikeston has a nice salad bar.

I truly believe that we influence those around us by our own actions. I don't know if you are a veggie eater at the present time, but why not give it a try? Others may just notice and try it, too.