John Ashby > wrote:
> Dick Adams wrote:

>> One of my doctors gave me a laundry list of things to do and
>> to not do. One was to eat less salt. Another was to eat more
>> fruits and vegetables.
>
> I would say that the first thing to do is to stop using the pepper
> sauce. All those hot and spicy condiments are killing off your taste
> buds....

First, I thank you for the time you have taken and the concern
you have shown in responding to my post.

I have been on numerous pain killers over the last 4 years
and have never fould cold turkey a problem. Until I started
having severe back problems, I gardened inside and out growing
my own habeneros. To the amazement of my wife, one day I ran
out of ground habenero. I have done without since than (over
a year) because the stuff is expensive at retail. My switch
to Chipotle was for much better taste and less heat.

> Next is to buy the best vegetables you can afford, defined by freshness
> and quality (there's a tautology for you, best defined by quality). You
> want crisp, healthy looking vegetables, but (there's always a but)
> don't just accept what the supermarket tells you are good-looking veg.
> Organic food can often look inferior, but because it isn't speed grown
> and pumped full of water, it will often have a far superior taste. Best
> of all, grow your own, organically if you can. If you do, then you'll
> find that different varieties of vegetables taste differently (you
> already know this about apples, I would guess). By growing your own,
> you can find varieties you like best and be sure of being able to eat
> them.

Excellent advice. It should be noted that organics grown
via hydroponics grow very fast and are oblivious to the
seasons of the year.

> Cooking: Don't. Oh, all right, if you must, but as little as you can get
> away with (in some cases, e.g. parsnips, that will still be quite a
> lot, in others, e.g. green beans, a few minutes (3 or 4) in as little
> water as possible or steamed will be great). Don't boil veg in great
> saucepans of water and then tip it down the sink - half the flavour
> goes out with it, as well as being dreadful for your carbon footprint.
> Roasting will also retain a fair amount of flavour and introduce some
> new ones by caramelising the sugars in root vegetables.

Isn't boiling vegetables a capital punishment offense?
My wife seems to think so.

It has always been my opinion that there is no reason to
heat water above pasteurization temperature (167F; 75C)
and the only reason people do is because they don't want
to take the time to use a thermometer!

Roasting had never occurred to me. Great idea!

Dick