EAT YOUR FRESH VEGETABLES! ...OR NOT

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

We eat rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and beans here. Occasionally the treat of beet or cabbage salad is prepared as a side dish that the Americans swarm like moths to a lightbulb. It is truly a delightful rarity. One day my friend was in the kitchen as they were cutting mountains of fresh green peppers, tomato, onion, and cucumbers. Before she was able to celebrate the prospect of salad for lunch that day, the head chef dropped handfuls of the fresh veggies into boiling tomato sauce. She asked, "Why don't we eat them fresh?" His response was simple, "Because we are not poor."

Several days later in the kitchen, another American had the same experience as she watched all hopes of salad simmer away in the giant crock pot. The chef noticed the disappointment in her eyes and said, "You white people are like rabbits. You eat fresh vegetables, you drink a lot of water, and you scare easily."