Monday, September 3, 2007

My daughter, the food snob

I'm growing lots of things these days: canteloupe, okra, zinnias, tomatoes, basil, corn, gourds, watermelon, raspberries, cucumbers, and.... a food snob.

My sweet daughter has become a food snob. I got the first clue of her transformation back in June when our congregation had a reception to welcome our new priest. "Aren't you going to try the blueberries?" I asked her. "You love blueberries."

I caught a glimpse of the teenager-to-be as she all but rolled her eyes. "Momma, those blueberries didn't come from around here, and I'm not about to eat ones that were shipped in!"

She was right, of course. The Easter freeze wiped out the entire blueberry crop for our region. Caught in an early full bloom by a late 3-day freeze, not a berry escaped. I tasted the berries: the usual insipid taste of the grocery-store berry, nothing like the warm berry eaten while standing in the berry patch.

Inside, I cheered. My preteen daughter values the food I grow. She recognizes the taste and freshness of food straight from the back yard. Last week she glared at the canteloupes in the produce section of the local grocery store: "Yuk! Why would anyone want to buy a canteloupe when they could grow their own?" Way to go, Garden Gurl!!!

Laney

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