Thought I didn't like it, but I do...

My ex fiance hated pretty much ALL vegetables when I first met him, which was particularly hard for me because I don’t eat much meat and love my vegetables.  It took some time, but I finally got him to try a few things. I think the first was roasted broccoli.  He was surprised that he liked it.  He had never even tried it before.  

And then he tried corn on the cob.  He had never tasted fresh corn on the cob!  We were at the state fair where they sold it right off the grill.  He copied how I was fixing mine with butter, a squeeze of lime juice and a light sprinkle of chili pepper.  They had several stations set up for people to choose their own condiments after picking up the corn cob.  He was shocked that he liked it too.

Then I learned that the only type of vegetable his mother served were canned. No wonder he didn’t like vegetables!  The only fresh vegetable she ever served was something that she and his dad used to pick from the sides of the road.  It was some green of some sort that grew wild and they would take it home and boil the heck out of it.  I don’t know what that was but he hated it.  It wasn’t spinach.  They didn’t have a lot of money and he was forced to eat this green often because it was free.  

I asked if they ever grew a garden which is an almost free source of vegetables.  Nope, just this fresh green harvested from the roadside.  He said it was bitter and that they ate it boiled with salt on it.  I would fear it might have been sprayed with an insecticide coming from the roadside.  

Over the 10 plus years that we were together, he learned that he actually liked vegetables too.  I have tried a very limited number of canned vegetables myself and hated them all too. About the only things I buy canned are tomatoes, water chestnuts, tuna, and beans.

My parents were both really good cooks and we were exposed to a variety of foods growing up.  I can’t remember being given any food that I didn’t eat at least a few bites of.

Where was he from? If it was in the northeast, especially Maine... FIDDLEHEADS! More Appalachia, likely ramps.

I HATED fiddleheads when I was first introduced via my ex. They are typically home canned and taste like dirt. The texture is GROSS!! But get a bunch of fresh ones?! YUM!!

Ramps? For years, it was an annual pilgrimage to specific ramps festivals in WV. They fix them like knock off (poorly knocked off!) greens down south, boiled with some pork of sorts, and salted... UGH! Then, I learned my dad's trick. Eat the fresh ones that are in the bud vases on the table and ignore the cooked ones. They are a type of mild oniony scallion thing, and quite tasty! Then I started experimenting with them all kinds of ways and they are incredible! The foodies picked up on them about 10 years or so ago, and it's alot of fun to play with them.

He is from Nebraska.  I had to Google what both a fiddlehead and a ramp looked like.  I have heard the names, mainly in books, but never seen the items themselves.  Just going by the photos, I think I would try a ramp, but will leave the fiddleheads for others to enjoy. Do either of those grow wild along roads in Nebraska?