It is a curious thing how different people prefer their vegetables raw or cooked. In my own family, there is quite a divergence of opinion. My daughter likes all vegetables raw. She is adamant about it, refusing to eat cooked broccoli or carrots. I on the other hand prefer cooked vegetables. I can hardly swallow raw onions or broccoli. There are a few exceptions - I would rather have raw carrots and raw kohlrabi.

Tonight I asked my husband and as he listed vegetables he surprised himself. He would rather have everything raw except broccoli. And even broccoli he is willing to eat raw. My son is easy to please. He will go either way on all vegetables except two - he prefers cooked onions and raw celery.

This is on my mind tonight because I tried a new recipe for escarole cooked with beans. The person who posted the recipe was very enthusiastic about it. The ingredients were beneficial and sounded delicious. I bought and washed the escarole earlier in the week and added it raw to our salads one night. Everyone liked it.

Then I tried the recipe. It was good - but the four of us liked raw escarole better. It reminded me of the time I blogged about cooking fava beans. Someone wrote to me saying, "I would never cook fava beans. My family loves them raw." I have been on the lookout ever since for fresh fava beans, but have never seen them in my stores.

The point of this blog is - if you try a new vegetable and don't like it; don't give up! Try it a different way. If you don't like kohlrabi as kohl slaw, try cooking it in the oven with your meat. If you don't like cooked greens, tear them up and add them to a salad.

Hmmm…will I take my own advice and give turnips another try?