Yep, we're talking about vegetables and fruits and the joy of homegrown food. Read on about vegetarian eating, getting the kids on the veggie train, a bit of food history, and recipes—some tried and deemed true by kids themselves.

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Imagine a little guy, sitting on a small Adirondack chair and smiling with pride at the head of broccoli in his hands. He was involved in the process of growing the broccoli, from digging the garden plot to planting, tending, and harvesting that same broccoli. Now it's easier to offer vegetables for any meal/snack, even breakfast.

It's fun to join that kid for a walk through the garden patch to sample the products. There's nothing like the taste of snacky green beans right off the vine, or oranges and peaches plucked from the tree. Lemons can be turned into refreshing beverages by juicing them and adding healthy water, a bit of sugar or honey, and some mint or lavender.

Children are enticed by the color, texture, scent and “magic” of homegrown vegetables and fruit. Get them involved when they're young and you'll send them into the future with healthy eating habits.

Below are two simple, kid-friendly recipes (both from The Forest Feast for Kids, by Erin Gleason; Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2016):

STRAWBERRY SALSA: Remove the stems of a tomato and two cups of strawberries. Now, chop all, along with a quarter of a red onion and ¼ cup of fresh cilantro. Add the juice from half (or more) of a lime. Mix all the above and add just a pinch of salt. Serve with crackers, or spoon onto a layer of cream cheese slathered on a whole-grain, crusty slice of bread. Heavenly! . . . and easy enough for a child to prepare if there is chopping supervision.

CAPRESE BITES: Stack one yellow or red cherry tomato, one mini mozzarella ball, and one or two basil leaves on a wooden toothpick. Sprinkle lightly with olive oil and salt before serving.

Vegetarian Meals

Like any other menu planning, a vegetarian meal can be as simple or complicated as you wish. Let's talk about the simple:

QUINOA SALAD OR MAIN DISH: Cooking up a batch of quinoa is a matter of rinsing the quinoa with cold water, putting water on to boil, and following package directions for the length of time to cook, usually 15 minutes or so. (Make extra, allow it to cool and put it into a couple of containers to be frozen for another day.) Dry or canned beans, couscous, and lentils may be used instead of or in addition to the quinoa. Add in some raw or partially steamed green beans, broccoli, or asparagus, turn up the flavor with your favorite fresh or dried herbs, or drizzle with some delicious extra virgin olive oil and a splash of vinegar, and voila! You have a great bowl of nutrition to which you may add any number of other ingredients.

Photo by J. Davis

If you can spend time chopping, here is another salad or main dish recipe you might like:

1 cup each finely diced tomato, cucumber, and onion
1 cup each finely chopped parsley and mint
3 Tbsp. each of extra virgin olive oil and fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Gently toss all ingredients together several times. The salad is fresh and delicious, and the quantities may be adjusted to taste.

A recipe that might surprise meat eaters:

PASTA IN EGGPLANT SAUCE

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
½ cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, crushed or finely chopped
Chopped fresh parsley
1 pound Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 6-ounce can tomato paste, or same amount made with fresh tomatoes
½ cup (or less) dry red wine
4-8 ounces mushrooms, sliced and sauteed in olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
½ to 1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon or more dried oregano or chopped fresh
1 pound spaghetti or rotini pasta (rotini will hold the sauce better)

Photo by Justus Menke on Unsplash.com

Heat oil in large pan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add eggplant, onion, garlic, and parsley. Stir until tender, approx. 5-6 mins. Stir in tomatoes, paste, wine, mushrooms, oregano, salt, and sugar. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 40 minutes or until desired consistency. Serve over cooked pasta, sprinkle with grated parmesan and fresh oregano.

A Bite of Food History

Let's examine some of the history of frozen vegetables and fruits. During the 1800s, experimentation began with the purpose of creating a machine that could produce frigid air. Scientists worked with liquids which would evaporate and draw heat from the surrounding air. Named refrigerants, these liquids were not safe for use in the home. Other factors also played a part. The cooling machinery built to contain the refrigerant was large, complicated, and operated by steam engine. These machines were installed in ships, which cleared the way for meat to be shipped around the world. Research continued and eventually the home refrigerator was a viable appliance in the early 1900s. It took scientists a while longer to perfect the freezer component of the refrigerator, but by the early 1930s, millions of refrigerators were sold in the U.S.

This invention now opened a door to safely freezing foods in massive quantities to be sold to the users of those refrigerators. Inventor Clarence Birdseye created machinery which would fast-freeze edibles. The speed of the freeze prevented the development of large ice crystals. The flavor of the frozen foods was therefore preserved! Birds Eye “frosted foods” hit the U.S. market on March 6, 1930. Ads invited customers to, “Be one of the first persons in the world to try these foods!” And the rest, as they say, is history.

(Credit to The History of Food, by Judith Jango-Cohen; Twenty-First Century Books, 2006)

Wrapping Up with a Tribute to this Author's Birthplace

An easy recipe for SUCCOTASH SALAD, y'all!
3 cups high quality canned or frozen corn
2 cups high quality canned or frozen shelled beans such as butterbeans or baby limas
3 garden-fresh medium tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped
½ cup chopped fresh basil
3 or more Tbsp. lime juice
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Whisk together lime juice, olive oil, and mustard. Season with salt and pepper. Pour dressing over the first four ingredients. Mix, refrigerate, and stir occasionally to meld flavors.

(Credit to The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook, by Matt Lee & Ted Lee; W.W. Norton & Company, 2006)

Now grab a lawn chair and a mint julep—it's a lazy day!

As I pondered a topic for this article, brilliant rays of sunlight penetrated the dark rain clouds, bathing my garden with a beautiful rosy glow. What perfect and timely inspiration.

With respect to gardens, our sun is far more than a “mass of incandescent gas” (a phrase borrowed from the song “Why Does the Sun Shine?” by the group They Might Be Giants); the radiation from our nearby star literally powers the engine of plant growth. Sunlight is the fuel that allows plants to convert water and carbon dioxide gas into glucose—a type of sugar—and oxygen—a vital component of the air we breathe. It's a miracle of nature.

Sunlight and plant health are closely intertwined, so here are some things to consider during your spring planting and gardening chores.

All plants can be categorized by the amount of sun exposure they prefer: full sun (6 hours or more a day), part sun/shade, or full shade (1 hour or less a day). These distinctions are a standard part of nursery plant tags and reputable gardening references such as the Sunset Western Garden Book, for good reason. One of the most important factors for a plant's health is sun exposure.

If a sun-loving plant is planted in an area with too much shade, it won't get the light it needs for optimal health and growth. Conversely, a shade-loving plant will be severely stressed or killed if planted in an area where it receives too much sun.

Sun-loving yarrow (Achillea millefolium ‘Salmon Beauty’) is a beautiful, heat-tolerant plant for full sun locations. (Photo by Kathy Ikeda, © 2022)

Not all sunlight is created equal. Morning sunlight is less intense than the hot afternoon sun, particularly during our scorching summers. A plant that receives only two hours of full sun early in the day lives in a far different and milder microclimate than a plant that's exposed to full, intense sunlight at midday or during early afternoon. Sunlight is essential for plant's survival, but there can sometimes be too much of a good thing.

The angle of the sun and the length of daylight hours change constantly throughout the year, and this is an important consideration in garden planning. Yearly changes in sunlight—direct or indirect, long or short periods—can have major consequences for plant health. For example, a spot in the garden that is fully shaded during the winter could get full afternoon sun for many hours in the summertime, and only a plant with wide-ranging tolerances for sun exposure and heat/cold will thrive in such a location. Make sure you understand the year-round conditions—including seasonal sun exposure—of any planting site, and then choose the plants for that location appropriately.

Heat and light are two distinct components of sunlight, and too little or too much of either can harm plants. Symptoms of inadequate sunlight include weak, spindly growth and pale leaves. Some types of damage caused by excessive sun include bud drop, leaf scorch, leaf tip burn, sunburn, sunscald, and wilting. Sunscald is one of the most serious injuries; with too much sun exposure, the bark splits, cracks, and peels away to expose the living plant tissue underneath, which then becomes susceptible to diseases, insect damage, and even death.

Several-year-old sunscald damage on a large Japanese maple branch. The tree has attempted to heal itself, but the new, rounded-edge, living plant tissue still hasn’t covered the large scar. (Photo by Kathy Ikeda, © 2018)

Outdoor plants aren't the only ones affected by sun exposure; houseplants are, too. Relatively few plants are naturally adapted to extreme low-light conditions. A typical houseplant placed in a dark corner will eventually start to appear sickly, and might develop long, straggly growth that stretches toward the light from the nearest window. On the other hand, plants placed near a south- or west-facing window might sustain damage from too much heat or direct sunlight exposure in the late spring and summer. Window materials are also a consideration for houseplants. Older windows without UV-blocking coatings allow a wider spectrum of light (and heat) into a home, a condition which more closely mimics outdoor sunlight. On the other hand, modern windows block ultraviolet wavelengths, and plants might need to be grown under a full-spectrum grow light in order to thrive indoors.

The sun is also is factor to consider when pruning plants. If you open up the structure of a tree or shrub by removing many branches, the trunk and remaining branches or stems might suddenly be exposed to strong sunlight since they're no longer shaded by foliage. Monitor the plant to see where the sun hits remaining wood, then prevent sunscald by painting those surfaces with a temporary protective solution made by mixing equal parts water and white, water- based, flat, interior latex paint. Paint only the parts exposed to strong sunlight—upper and southwest-facing surfaces—not those that are shaded. (Do not use “sealing compounds” or tar on branches or pruning cuts; they do more harm than good. Simply prune plants on a dry day with clean tools, and allow the cut surfaces to heal naturally.)

Be sure to keep the sun in mind when planning a vegetable garden or home orchard. Vegetables need at least eight hours of sunlight per day for optimal growth and crop production. Fruit, nut, and citrus trees need six to eight or more hours of sunlight a day in order to be at their healthiest and most productive, and heat is the most important factor in the ripening of citrus fruit.

Some cautionary notes about citrus: the bark of lemon trees is especially susceptible to sunburn, as are the fruits and leaves of Red Ruby grapefruit. These citrus varieties and newly planted citrus trees appreciate some sun protection; loosely wrap their trunks with newspaper during times of peak sun exposure, or use the diluted paint mixture described above to coat the sun-exposed portions of their trunks and main branches.

Sun exposure should also influence your choice of garden mulch. Inorganic mulches such as stone and gravel can be appropriate in shady locations or when placed around heat-loving or desert-type plants. However, rock retains far more heat than organic mulches such as bark, wood chips, or leaf litter. Rock mulch absorbs heat from sunlight during the day and radiates it back to its surroundings throughout the night; this can literally bake plants, scorching their leaves, damaging their bark, and cooking their delicate surface roots. Choose garden mulches wisely, and always keep them several inches away from tree trunks and the bases of shrubs.

May sunshine brighten your days, and may you learn how to effectively manage it in your garden!