Growing up, I was a picky eater. “Clean” pasta (butter, no sauce) kind of eater. I thought the only yummy vegetables were broccoli, peas, and white potatoes. Nothing else.

In the years since, the hard-to-please 6 year-old began discovering that she likes many kinds of food, that a sniff and a taste were not the end of the world. In fact, I started craving mushrooms, onions, red peppers, and developed a love for ethnic foods that I was afraid to touch as a child. My discovery of delicious vegetables, herbs and whatnot has reawakened as I shop at grocery stores and markets with more variety–more than plain potatoes, cabbage and onions. Curiosity now trumps the fear of tasting something unpleasant.

And good food is beautiful.