By Patrick F. Cannon

To me, it takes a lot to beat a perfectly roasted chicken, or a prime steak done to medium rare. But there have been many times when they’ve been plated at a restaurant with under- or over-cooked vegetables. Vegetables are said to be good for you, but why are so many of them unpalatable?

            I once saw a cooking show where numerous tactics were used to make eggplant edible. As I recall, it was first micro-waved to dry it out, then deep fried to infuse it with God knows what, then mixed with tomatoes and other stuff in a salad from hell. If it has no flavor to begin with, why bother? I feel exactly the same way about zucchini, which I believe is a relative.

            They are not the only vegetables that require a bit of doctoring to become even remotely edible. Although I don’t make it a habit of grazing on lawns, most green beans taste like grass to me. The best way to cook them is to first blanche them, then burn flavor into them in a skillet with olive oil and a lot of garlic. Brussel sprouts need a similar treatment. If you just boil them, you have to douse them in copious amounts and salt and pepper to take the cabbagey taste away.

            Carrots are OK, so long as you don’t cook them into mush. Ditto, fresh and even frozen peas. And I confess that canned baby peas are a guilty pleasure. And then there’s the noble asparagus. The best is locally grown, available for a short period in the Spring at your local farmer’s market. Steam them briefly. They are often served with hollandaise sauce, far too tricky for me to make. I prefer a light vinaigrette, but butter and a bit of salt and pepper would work too.

            In any serious discussion of vegetables, broccoli must be addressed. As it happens, I don’t mind it. Again, it should not be overcooked; indeed, some people even eat it raw. It’s often served on a plate with carrot and celery sticks and its relative, cauliflower. The idea is you dip it into ranch dressing for a healthy snack. If something better is on offer, say shrimp, I take a pass. But not everyone loves broccoli, as nutritious as it is.

            Former US president George H.W. Bush – who I met twice and found very likeable – was a famous hater. “I do not like broccoli. And I haven’t liked it since I was a little kid,” he was quoted as saying. “My mother made me eat it. Now I’m president of the United States. And I’m not going to eat any more broccoli!”  

            I often eat salad. I like many lettuce greens, and I’m a big tomato fan. But I simply don’t understand kale and arugula. They’re often touted as super foods, high in nutrition and other good stuff. But they don’t taste good! They have a bitter taste. Cod liver oil is good for you too, but do you gulp down a spoonful every day?

            My regular readers will know of my distaste for avocado, or “green slime” as I’m fond of calling it. Like eggplant and zucchini, it has very little actual flavor,  so it’s often mixed with other stuff to make it bearable, guacamole being the most common result. I’ve actually dipped a corn chip into it occasionally, but not if onion or artichoke dip is also on offer. And please don’t get me started on tofu!

Copyright 2026, Patrick F. Cannon