Contrasts

It's common to have a bowl of fruit in the kitchen. Now I have a bowl of turnips and sweet potatos, a fresh gift from a friend's garden pantry overflow. Normally I would have stuck these in a bin in one of the lower cabinets, but for some reason, they just caught my eye. The purple, white and green of the turnips, their smooth globes and shiny shoots, the lumpiness of the sweet potatos and how their rich, orange interiors slightly tint the brown skins. I want to arrange them. I want to toss in some strong beans, an apple or two and my pomegranates just for the look of it.

Turnips and sweet potatos are both seriously nutritious root vegetables, full of vitamins A and C and other cancer fighters. They're good for you foods. One of my childhood memories is picking turnips with my grandmother from her garden. We both bit into one fresh from being rinsed under the garden hose, and its bitterness was a shock from which my palate never recovered. I can still see her chuckle over my expression. Now, sweet potatos are a different matter. From a simple baking to my mother's marshmallow encrusted casserole to my delectable souffle or sweet potato crusted chicken (bought frozen from a warehouse club, not my recipe), I can chow down on sweet potatos. The bitter and the sweet, how perfect they should rest in the same bowl.

Symbolically, root vegetables stand for inner energy and strength. Isn't that appropriate as well? I'm displaying these veggies as a reminder to bring my inner me out from the shell more often. It's not always pretty. It is sometimes bitter, but it is indeed rich and good for you. Well, at least for me.

vegetables