…that makes me think that maybe I should not eat so much meat and concentrate on a vegetable diet. I've never been a particularly avid vegetable eater, but each year along about this time I think of gardens being cleaned of winter debris, spaded and turned in preparation for planting. Actually, when I think of these gardens two particularly come to mind. One is the big garden in the backyard at 821 North Third Street when it was my parents' place.
  As soon as the snow was gone, my father began to clear the garden area of the accumulations of winter stuff. I helped whether I wanted to or not. I think it was more often "not" but even though my "nots" might well work with my indulgent grandmother or my mother, they never worked with my father. Garden plans each year changed as my father found new things that he wanted to grow. I remember particularly the year that he was promised some new tomato variety from a New York Central railroad friend he met in Mackinaw City, where the DSS&A met the N.Y. Central line. This new variety was the Rutgers University in New Jersey "beefsteak" tomato. I think we might have been one of the first families in Marquette to have this new tomato.
  In those days the Marquette County Fair was held in the city at the fairgrounds which covered a large area at what was then the dead end of Lincoln Avenue where the National Guard Armory is (the harness racing track circled those Norway pines that still stand) and the grounds went as far to the west as the beginning of the Catholic Cemetery. I recall that each year for a number of years our beefsteak tomatoes got first prize. Unlike today's unfortunate paucity of vegetable entries at the fair, because most people had home gardens to supplement their diets, the number of entries was amazing, as was the quality. I think first prize was seventy-five cents and in those dark days of the Depression this bought two pounds of butter and five loaves of Mother's Bread, six cents a loaf, sliced, from the A&P with some change left over for a Popsicle on a hot August day.
  The second garden I think of at this time of year, in anticipation, is that of my friends Ted Bogdan and Maggie Linn. In some respects I like this one better as I don't do any work on it and Ted manages to grow some of the best stuff around and freely lets me taste it. Their vegetable garden, carefully planned, is greatly enhanced by Maggie's beautiful complementary flowering plants. But how could anyone who creates such beautiful watercolors produce anything but plants of beauty?
  It has been lightly snowing as I write this and the snow cover is far from gone, but I feel confident that the snow will stop and the green will come again.
I think that one of the reasons I tire so quickly of vegetable dishes is the mostly unimaginative preparation methods. The vegetable preparations that follow are, it is hoped, somewhat different than the usual and I hope that they will lead you to test them. And, despite what I might have said in the past (something like "meat and potatoes are enough") these vegetables are very good and very good for your health, I am told.

Asparagus: In the not very distant past, an exotic vegetable, rarely available except in season. Now it is in the vegetable section of most stores seemingly all year long. It varies in price, by season, from not too bad to absolutely horrible. But as one doesn't need more than four or five on a plate to add color and class to something ordinary, and individually they are light in weight, cost of service is quite reasonable, even when they are expensive by the pound. Choose asparagus all of the same size and thickness. Cut off the very end, peel stalks only if they are large, cook in simmering water in a deep fry pan and remove before they become soggy. Drain. For Asparagus Flamande (1 lb of asparagus) chop two hard- cooked eggs finely, season with salt and pepper, melt 1/4 cup of butter. On service dish, sprinkle eggs, pour butter, serve.

Brussels Sprouts: A much maligned and overlooked vegetable, not to say one whose name is frequently mispelled, is the Brussels sprout, a distinguished member of the cabbage family. First to be noted here is that the spelling of the vegetable is always with a capital "B," as in Brussels, the Belgian city giving name to them, which means there is always an "s" at the end. Frequently the name is incorrect on the store labels, not only in Marquette, but many other places. I suppose soon, in another generation, the capitalization will disappear and the ending s will be gone. (I am surprised that no one yet has named a teen-aged rap group after this vegetable. Let us hope that God will continue to intervene.) But for the time being, it is Brussells sprouts.
  Buy fresh, green sprouts. Pull off any loose outer leaves. Trim stem end if needed and make fairly deep cross cuts in the stem, for more uniform cooking. You do not have to presoak them in lemon or vinegar water. Wash them briefly under running cold water. Simple preparation methods are best. Here are two wonderful ones:
  Cook for 8 to 10 minutes in lots of boiling water until they are barely tender then drain quickly. For 1-1/2 lbs sprouts, melt about 6 tbls butter in a frying pan over medium heat, add the cooked and drained sprouts and roll them in the butter for a minute. Squeeze the juice of one lemon over them, put on a serving platter and add a little salt and pepper. Enjoy.
  You can turn these simple Brussels Sprouts in Butter into Brussels Sprouts Italiana by following everything above and when you put them on the serving platter, sprinkle 1/2 cup of good, grated Parmesan cheese over them.
  Simple is best.

Broccoli: (There IT is again.) Remember when President George Bush (the Elder) said that he didn't like broccoli? Some of us joined with him in his remarks. But remember, too, that he was only a one-term president. No one has asked the Kid yet if he likes broccoli.
  Mostly broccoli is cooked in boiling water, salted or buttered or cheesed and served. Here is a little better way, I think: Braised Broccoli Romana. Get rid of any tough outer leaves—actually your store will have done that in most cases and if not, pull them off before getting them weighed. Price is high enough without paying for debris. Cut off the stalks about two inches below the heads. Peel stalks, cut any thick stalks in half lengthwise or if they are very thick, quarter them. For 2 pounds of broccoli heat about 4 tbls of oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add 2 cloves of crushed garlic and cook until garlic begins to color. Add one cup of dry white wine and the broccoli stalks, season with a little salt and pepper, cover the pan and simmer for about 5 minutes. Now lay the heads of broccoli on top of the stalks, season again with a little salt and pepper and cook uncovered for about 10 minutes longer or until both the stalks and heads are tender. If too much wine evaporates, add a little more but five minutes before the broccoli is cooked raise the heat and reduce the liquid to about 1/2 cup. Arrange the broccoli on a serving platter and pour the liquid over.
  Here, too, simple is best. Broccoli is most often spoiled by over-cooking or over-flavoring. Properly cooked, lightly flavored broccoli is very tasty and good. I remember that former President Bush tried mightily to modify that anti-broccoli remark, but he didn't really succeed in molifying the Broccoli gods, I suspect.

Vegetables, properly handled, are very good. Now, in this Vegetable Apologia we are only at the very beginning of the alphabet of vegetables. I bet you can't wait until we get to turnips and zucchini, eh?

—Don Curto

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