It is rumored that the “apple” in the Garden of Eden was, in fact, a quince. If so, I don’t know how Eve walked about eating it. They are as hard as a rock until you cook them. And who would think something so ugly could taste so decadent?

By no means did I grow up sheltered as far as food was concerned. My parents traveled extensively, and my mother always came home with some exotic new food. Despite this, I never so much as heard of a quince until fairly recently. It would never have occurred to me to cook with one. 

When I bought New Flavors for Desserts in Williams-Sonoma a few months ago, I was immediately drawn to the recipe “poached quince with mascarpone, caramel, and gingersnaps.” Raquel Pelzel described it as apple-and-pear-like, which sounded so appealing. The reality is better than that simple description. They are like an apple and a pear combined, but with an amazing floral fragrance, and just the slightest hint of vanilla.

It took me several weeks to find quinces, since although they were in season, there is not much demand for them in Miami.

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Personally, I love beets. But I never ate them until I was in my 40’s. My mother has a pathologic dislike of all root vegetables. (She also despises the anise family, but that’s a story for another day). Potatoes were for Christmas and Thanksgiving. Turnips, beets, sweet potatoes, radishes, they did not exist in my world.

The first time I really ate beets were the pickled, canned ones on a salad bar. So, a humble beginning… But then I discovered that you could roast them. Wow! And you can eat the greens.  I’ve been eating them ever since.

Many years ago, beets took the bum rap. When I was a juicer, they had the reputation for being empty calories that offered nothing but sugar and a funky color.

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