Rooted in Flavor: A Culinary Journey with Roots, Fruits, and Bulbs

A friend loves to cook and experiment with different combinations of foods and seasonings in her dinners. She likes to try them out on me, and I’m happy to oblige as being the test taster. After all, the record so far has been phenomenal. Before she started cooking for me, I got those prepared meal ingredients.  I wanted a little variety in my cooking. Sure, I’d use a variety of spices, but they were thrown in with no thought of proper proportions and mixing. She not only has created similar meals, but she usually surpasses the prepackaged meal recipes. Needless to say, I have discontinued the delivery of meals and spent the money on providing her with ingredients for our meals.

My approach to grocery shopping is a blend of thrift and resourcefulness. I enjoy the thrill of discovering ‘reduced for a quick sale’ or ‘on sale’ items, especially in the produce department where I often find bags of fresh items for just $.99. I also make it a point to be mindful of what’s in season, not only for the freshest produce but also for the best prices.

Many meals include fish as the meat, and there are often great sales on fish. Chicken or beans are the second most prevalent protein choices.

She may ask if I have a carbohydrate/starch preference (pasta, potatoes, rice, etc.). Still, I usually leave the meal to her imagination. Only one or twice has there been a “good, but not quite up to your usual standard” result, which usually means the seasoning was a bit off or the dish was slightly overcooked. But even in these instances, the meal was still enjoyable and a testament to her culinary skills.

One night, I asked her what she was preparing. Her response was: “A tasty combination of roots and fruits.” Roots and fruits! I love it. But which roots and fruits? I enjoy many root vegetables, such as parsnips, carrots of all varieties, and, of course, potatoes. One of my fondest memories of college was receiving a care package of home-grown potatoes from my grandfather, Herbert Crofts, in Pennsylvania. They were particularly tasty. I suspect it was because they were grown with love.

In the discussed meal, the roots were potatoes and carrots, while the fruits were Hatch chiles and garlic. You might not think of chiles as fruits.  But they are. More on them later.

First, let’s discuss vegetables. Carrots (Daucus carota subsp. sativus) originated in Iran, where they were cultivated for their leaves and seeds. Of course, nowadays, we primarily eat the taproot.

Potatoes are considered vegetables because the edible part is the root. Originally from the Andes, the potato has spread to become the fourth most cultivated crop in the world. Interestingly, potatoes were grown as a crop from about 8,000 BC!

For the fruit, we had the Hatch green chiles. Hatch chiles are the fruits of peppers of the species Capsicum annuum. They are only grown in the Hatch Valley region of New Mexico, dating back to the Spanish settlement of the area. These chiles have a unique taste and can be eaten either fresh or roasted. However, due to their alluring aroma, they were once considered a spice.

Hatch chiles can range from 500-3000 SHUs on the Scoville scale. Consumers can choose their preferred spiciness: mild, medium, hot, or extra hot. I prefer the medium intensity myself. My local grocery store usually separates the various heat levels. However, one year, they mixed them all together. I ended up with some of the hottest peppers I’ve ever eaten, and I’ve tasted Scotch Bonnets. I don’t do unlabeled anymore.

I was going to lump garlic in with the fruits, but it turns out garlic is neither a fruit nor a vegetable! Garlic is a bulbous plant growing underground as a bulb with several cloves. Because of its flavor, garlic is a stable ingredient in the food of many cultures.

My friend created a tasty meal that included roots and fruits—but she should have said roots, fruits, and bulbs!

Curious about more of my adventures beyond the kitchen? Dive into my other posts, where I explore reptiles, hobbies, and everyday life in the Sonoran Desert!