antioxidants

I don’t think I’d ever so much as looked at a beet until after college, when I had houseguests who were passing through town. They had learned how to make borscht while serving as missionaries in Russia, and I came home from a long day at work to a simmering pot of the root soup that they’d thoughtfully prepared. I’ll admit that I was a bit nervous at first, but was relieved to find it both delicious and nourishing.

Have you ever had the pleasure of picking berries right from a garden or gathering wild berries in the woods? Berries, with all of their natural, juicy sweetness and beautiful gem-toned colors, are truly gifts from nature. They’re gorgeous and bursting with sweet, earthy flavor. So make haste, as now is the time of year to head out with your basket and sun hat to gather the season’s treasures.

As I’m planting my crop of tomatoes this year, I couldn’t help but ponder about how much I’ve benefited from this one item of produce. In her recent Simple Good & Tasty post, Rhena Tantisunthorn described the history of tomatoes, so I reflected on my own history and realized how my love for tomatoes has been a catalyst of growth for me in so many ways. Here are just a few of them: