Things I miss about Colorado: views of the mountains, cool temperatures (it's been 106 at home today), hiking, slower pace of life.

Things I missed while we were on vacation: vegetables!!!

I've already been to the store. I bought parsnips, okra, butternut squash, kohlrabi, turnip greens, asparagus, and Swiss chard. I never realized how few vegetables are served in restaurants until this vacation. Salad is plentiful - that's good. Broccoli is available, as are onions. But when restaurants say "vegetables" they mostly seem to mean potatoes, corn, and rice.

Salad bars seem to offer lots of choices, but even they aren't ideal. Between avoids like kidney beans, cucumbers, & alfalfa sprouts, fad foods like pasta salads, and "dessert salads" like banana pudding; I feel like I'm walking through a mine field.

I remember when cafeterias served a huge variety of vegetables, but cafeterias are out of style these days. It wasn't many years ago that "home style" restaurants were popular and served dinners that included 2 or 3 vegetables from a long list of choices. One of that type restaurant is still near our home, but none were open in Estes Park. Chinese restaurants serve lots of vegetables, but MSG is always a threat and our son is extremely sensitive.

So as much as I miss the mountains, I'm glad to be back in my own kitchen preparing beneficial vegetables.

I also missed swimming laps. It will be really good to get back in the pool - especially on these hot August days.