Seattle's Pike Place Market is an open-air, farmers market buzzing with activity. You can find Alaska salmon and dried flowers; T-shirts and olive oil. Vendors do whatever it takes to get your attention. It worked for me. I spotted a sign that read, "Brussels Sprouts: Little Green Balls of Death."

I decided to ask the guy standing behind the vegetable display. Mike Osborn's his name...

"So Mike, what's with the sign next to your Brussels sprouts?"

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"Well, Christ, if you've ever tasted Brussels sprouts you'd understand why I put the sign there. They're a degradation to vegetables, Brussels sprouts are."

"Do they sell?'

"Well, to people who don't like their neighbors or something. I don't know. "

"You don't eat them?"

"Does it show? You might find this hard to believe, but I was not asked to be the spokesman for the Brussels Sprouts Commission this year."

Overhearing our conversation, a customer leaned forward and added, "They work great on the fairway, though."

"Yeah," Mike said. "And I use them in my slingshot to shoot at my neighbor's dog when he poops in my yard. That's what they're good for."

Later, I thought about Mike's agitation over Brussels sprouts. How long would he hang on to this hatred? I mean, what if a genie appeared at his stall one day and said, "Mike, if you eat Brussels sprouts every day I will make you a millionaire." At that moment, a fierce struggle would rage in his mind. I don't know Mike, but he might say, "Are you nuts? I hate Brussels sprouts!"

Sadly, our eating habits are just as irrational. Experts say our poor nutrition is not because we don't know what is good for our bodies but that, when it comes time to eat, we don't have the will and the discrimination to make the right choices.

There is hope. Our senses can be trained to serve us very faithfully, by choosing what we eat by what our body needs, for example, rather than by what the taste buds demand.

When Gandhi lived in London, he discovered that taste lies in the mind, not on the tongue. The young man missed the highly spiced foods of his India, but to survive, he needed to adopt English fare. It was a matter of choice.

Whether it's the food we eat, the movies we see, the people we associate with, all of us are subject to the dictatorship of rigid likes and dislikes. To free ourselves from this conditioning, we need to learn to change our likes and dislikes freely when it's in the best interests of those around us or ourselves.

Now please pass the Brussels sprouts, won't you?

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About the Pike Place Market
Founded nearly 100 years ago as a farmer-to-consumer solution to overpriced onions, Seattle's Pike Place Market has become one of America's premier farmers' markets. Its nine acres is home to nearly 200 year-round commercial businesses, 190 craftspeople and 120 farmers who rent table space by the day. Then you can't forget the street performers and musicians. "The Market," as the locals affectionately say, attracts nearly 10 million visitors a year, making it one of Washington's most frequently visited destinations.

How to love a Brussel sprout
According to www.nutritondata.com, Brussels sprouts are low in calories, and are a good source of fiber, minerals and vitamins. Each sprout contains one gram of protein. Brussels sprouts are also a good source of thiamin, riboflavin, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and copper; vitamin A, C, K and folate.

Brussels sprouts are bitter because they contain high levels of glucosinolates. And since these flavor components are concentrated in the center, it helps to halve the sprouts and cook them in a large pot of boiling water, which will leach out the bitterness.

For many, many, many more articles about organic gardening, food even photography tips, check the list on my www.plantea.com website.

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