Reasons why Fran was grateful for carrots yesterday

Yikes.  Two days until I'm fifty.

This will tell you how old I'm getting.  I got excited yesterday because we had carrots rather than broccoli.  It felt like a real event.  And that tells you a LOT about my life.

My husband has an allotment the size of Lake Victoria and, boy, when he grows broccoli, he grows broccoli.  We've been eating it for weeks.  With omelettes.  With fish.  With pasta.  With stir-fry.

Let me rephrase that.  We've been accompanying broccoli with other foods for weeks.  Broccoli with omelettes.  Broccoli with fish.  Broccoli with pasta.  Broccoli with stir-fry.

It's hard to disguise broccoli.  It's no good going, 'oh well, if you look at it differently, you could even pretend it was French beans'.  I mean, look at it.

The most unambiguous vegetable EVER











And then yesterday, some carrots appeared on my plate.  Really orange ones.  The effect was startling, after centuries of broccoli, like when you get off the plane in Cairo and the sun's really high in the sky. 






The glare was so strong, she had to put her biggest sunglasses on.  She was
glad to be in Egypt and away from any chance of broccoli.  But then, what was that behind her ?...... Could it be?.....



Comments

  1. Has your hubby never thought of opening his own market stall?

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    1. It's in our kitchen. Come and get some.

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  2. "Fran was grateful for carrots yesterday"...ah, so was Bruce the Horse!

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    1. Bruce should come round for dinner. Does he like broccoli too?

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  3. Wishing you spinach & zucchini & great gobs of beets!!

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    Replies
    1. That's more like a curse. Wish me some chips.

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  4. While I do sympathise, how can you say broccoli is unambiguous when the heads look just like miniature trees? But I do think that getting excited about carrots is a worrying sign...

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    1. You should see when I get crinkle cut chips instead of straight ones. I go wild.

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  5. Did you know that Constable used broccoli heads as a reference for trees, when painting in his studio? I guess orange conifers would have been frowned upon in his day.

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    1. I just love that picture of Constable with his broccoli life models, lounging on a chaise longue.

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  6. Reprogramme him .
    No one ever complains of having a glut of strawberries or raspberries .

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    Replies
    1. This is very true. In the summer, I'm very happy for him to bring home shedloads of those.

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  7. We have a similar glut, ours is purple sprouting broccoli. I do like it, I really do, but sometimes I yearn for a carrot...

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    1. Is 'yearn' the right word for carrots?

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  8. and there was I thinking you were going to say how you could suddenly see in the dark.

    Did you know that broccoli is good for you? You must be the healthiest near 50 yr old - you slip of a girl you - on the allotments.

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    1. No one has called me a slip of a girl since 1966 when I was four.

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  9. People looking at me would be surprised that I would eat anything that isn't deep fried or covered in chocolate, but I love broccoli and can't seem to get enough of it. Often when we go out to dinner the restaurant will serve broccoli as an accompaniment or even as a garnish, It's always passed down to me. The only vegetable I like more is Brussels sprouts.

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  10. Happy up-coming birthday. Can't wait to see the photo of a candle protruding from broccoli.
    I love broccoli in its immature broccolini persona. The heads are tender asparagus-like spears, much less robust and daunting. Picking broccolini must reduce the harvest of its big brother, no?
    Some marketing person has all restaurants convinced that broccoli is a must on every plate. Un-seasoned and barely cooked, Yuck!

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    1. Know what you mean about the concrete broccoli in restaurants. Since when did broccoli need carving?

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  11. Oh my, if only I had known you ten years ago; I had a craving for broccoli and fish when I was pregnant with my first born. Broccoli,pictures of it, smell everything could make me drool.

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    1. When I was pregnant (in Edwardian times) my craving was for celery and salt and I used to go round the house with a stick of celery and a pot of salt. Must've done terrible things to my kidneys.

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  12. Power to home grown veg! I started growing them in pots last year, and got excited to actually eat a small, but tasty assortment of food. My favourites have been rocket and radishes.

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    1. I quite like rocket and radish, too. With chips.

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  13. Happy Birthday Fran !!! When I worked on a farm in Israel we ate what we gathered - peppers, onions & tomatoes to save money. I'd have killed for some Broccoli ( or Haggled for some if they grew it )
    I saved up & went to Cairo after the farm & saw the biggest sun I've seen in my life... then got ill from eating beans ( should have had broccoli ) and had to live on black tea for days til I could eat again. ( was oh so slim though ! )
    I like my veg quite hard ( yes needs carving )I knew a cook on a boat once who had guests complaining about the al dente Broccoli - so she said she'd boil it to a pulp for them ...and she did.

    Hope you get a lovely birthday cake for being a good girl and eating your greens !

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    1. Thank you, BP. I am enjoying my last hour of being 49 right now. Not sure I like the sound of your Black Tea diet idea.

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