National Veggi Mama: Arugula by Way of Princeton and Harvard

I'm reading that there will be arugula in the new White House garden, but I don't see any on Politico's map.

click for larger view, via Politico

I had no idea that President Obama's reference to the price of arugula created such a political land mine on the campaign trail. With all the pressure on the economy this week, I'm not so sure about arugula in "The White House Kitchen Garden", as the new neighborhood hangout is officially called.

Can you believe that the arugula story made its way to The Economic Times of India, who weighed in on the merits of arugula in America on Feb. 29, 2009:

Most of all though anti-arugula attitudes are stupid because it tastes great (unlike the average American beer, which tastes of nothing). Arugula has the peppery pungency that is not uncommon to brassicas, the vast vegetable family that stretches from cabbage to mustard. (Eruca , the Latin word for a type of cabbage, is the source of arugula’s Latin name, eruca sativa, and also its many colloquial ones, like rocket, rucola, ruchetta and roquette).

(No comment on the erudite nature of writing at The Economic Times of India.)

Apparently, only elitists know about arugula -- or would be caught dead eating it. And if you are an elitist, well then you just aren't in touch with "real America."

It's amazing how our not-so-logical-minds work, in evaluating our potential value as American citizens.

For additional insights on the politics of Arugula, read David Kamp, author of “The United States of Arugula: The Sun-Dried, Cold-Pressed, Dark-Roasted, Extra Virgin Story of the American Food Revolution, and also my Obama blog love Obama Foodorama.

I just found a new gem of a Washington DC, nonpolitical blog . . . very graphic, colorful and witty, written by a nonfoodie. It's called The Arugula Files.

Enough already. Back to pea planting.

Peas in a Pod

via Flickr's mochilandWe've got a whole lot of peas going on in this garden. How American is that!

I admit that my own preference is for sugar snap peas, which are in the minority in the new garden. Probably too elitist, as well.

I'm looking forward to getting a whole new perspective on peas, because I grew up eating them in hot milk . . . canned peas in hot milk, that is.

In fact, all my veggies were canned in hot milk, except in the summer, when we definitely enjoyed them in hot milk, straight from the garden.

Lactose Intolerant

This moment, I'm reliving a terrible childhood nightmare.

With all due respect to my darling mother, she also served canned asparagus with hot milk. It nauseated me, and I tried to hide the asparagus behind the sugar bowl, running back to school asap, after finishing my lunch.

I pulled this stunt about five times in a row, until my mother had enough.

Returning from school, my cold asparagus with milk was waiting for me. We spent quite a lot of time together -- the dish of cold asparagus and I -- before I somehow gagged it down.

I did not eat asparagus again for nearly 20 years. I put it in my napkin, flushed it down the toilet . . .I did everything but eat it.

Today I eat asparagus probably twice a week, finding it a healthy, flavorful, very sexy food. But I eat it Alice Waters and Michelle Obama style. If that's 'elitist', well then, I'm guilty as charged.

My new veggie mama is Michelle Obama, and unless she tells me that asparagus in milk is a must-eat, I'm going the Princeton/Harvard route.

Not everything from the Heartland makes sense to me. At my age, hopefully, I've developed some critical thinking skills on vegetables and other important topics to the nation.

More Straight Talk from the nation's veggie mama:

Peace out. Anne