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Vegetables 🥕

Gosh, I so like vegetables. They are all different, have strong, unique tastes and textures, you can eat them and combine them in so many different ways, what's not to love?
Quite a while ago I had to be examined: they shoved a camera on a tube up my throat, which ended up in the stomach and had to move onto the bowels. Except; it got stuck there.
As I was lying on the examination bench, the doctor went away and asked a colleague to come and help. This colleague inspected things and could not help.
They asked a surgeon to come in. Three men were now circling around me, trying to move the camera which was firmly stuck in my stomach. "I can feel it." I said, which they said was impossible. I said "Yeah, I feel it, it's here!" and I pointed at an area. They turned around to the screens and saw that the camera was indeed stuck right there. Stumping.
The surgeon was concerned (and I was getting concerned as well by that time). He went out of the room and came back with another surgeon, the men examined the situation and then started talking to me.
"It has to move! Think of something nice to eat." I was surprised.
"Think of yummie things. Chocolate! Cookies!" they said.
"Sweets, think of cake! Chocolate cake with cream!" they suggested. Nothing helped.
I then said "Wait a minute, I know what will help."
The camera moved and slid out of my stomach, as the men were cheering at the screens.
"What did you think of then?" they asked me.
"String beans." I answered.
So, yeah, gosh, I so like vegetables!

Broccoli

Broccoli gezicht

I just finished this one, it was a painstaking effort! But it's here.

Broccoli! What's not to love? Why the heck did a president not allow this goodness in the White House?

It's beautiful with all the tiny flowers that can open if you wait 'too long'. Because come on: too long just means it will blossom. Teeny tiny yellow flowers will open. You can still eat it then, go ahead.

I like it. I even like it raw, but it's very tough to swallow because of all the tiny buds. I tried many times, but well, each time I decide it would be best at least slighty cooked. Or sautéd, with some fresh ginger maybe, some hot pepper, some cumin... Oh darnit, now I want to make this today. I have bought cauliflower though, that will have to do (and it's great too).

The radish

Rashishes, I love them

I love radishes but they aren't as kick-ass strong as they used to be. In the supermarket they even sell 'treat' radishes, brrr... Just give me radishes that make you go 'Oops! 🔥 But nice.'

My father used to put pepper on them, jeez... That should not be necessary. But where oh where can I find good, strong radishes?

A vegetables salesman once offered me a radish that was supposedly kick-ass. But jeez... where are the real men too, nowadays?

Sun root, impression

xx

Well, this one is difficult to translate, but I'll give it a go.

Zon = Sun. Wortel = root.
But in Dutch, 'root' does not only mean, well, root, but also carrot.
Now you understand the word 'zonnewortel' can mean sun root, but also sun carrot.
I placed this on the 'hands page' too.

I also drew a 'real' sun root illustration, but I can't publish it here yet. Can hardly wait 🤣

Sweet potato

Zoete aardappel

With all the hassle of moving things around I lost track of this one, but it's back: the sweet potato.

Very healthy, full of sugars that don't digest too quickly, and that are well supported by diabetics, too.

This is the very first vegetable drawing I ever made, in the style I would develop later. I didn't even add a lot of text yet, but that was soon to be changed.

Playing with colours

Zoete aardappel

more realistic but fun

Zoete aardappel tekenen in Adobe Illustrator

It's always such fun to play with colours, they don't really have to be realistic all the time. On the left, only the leaves are the right colours, and not even all of them.

The right example uses more realistic colours but I increased their saturation to make them 'pop'.

Look at that shallot! It looks like a mini onion, and a bit flatter. In a dish, you could almost replace it with erm... well, an onion. But the result would really be different.

A shallot has a different taste. It is a bit milder, more refined, a tad sweeter sometimes. It's perfect raw, but you can cook with it perfectly as well. And don't forget the leaves, these are yummie too. I always use the leaves of onions and garlic, too. Really. And I never take out the 'heart' of garlic, come on, it's too good!

There are so many different kinds of onions and garlic that it sometimes makes me dizzy. But I have to stay sharp: this drawing is about the shallot. The Shallot!

They come in different colours, but the 'real ones' (as 'they' say) are greyish. And they usually come from France. But you can grow them here, too. You can start sowing them end of February or early March. Mmm!

I drew this for the 2020 March newsletter of Vreeken.nl.

The shallot

De sjalot, sjalotjes

patisson: pattypan squash

Een patisson

Oh what a joy of colours and shapes: the pattypan squash! They sometimes look like tiny UFO's, what's not to love about that?

They are often frowned upon though; something so pretty surely can only erm, well, be pretty. But come on, they are so tasty! And healthy, too.

Once I start drawing this usually means all sorts of stuff can happen, this is the case now as well. A tiny birthday party, flowers, and of course patissons as lanterns, some laundry (makes perfect sense, right?), tiny creatures... It's such fun to draw or actually: I find it fun to draw.

Latyrus tuberosus

De aardaker, familie van de pronkerwt, die ruikt ook al zo lekker.

Lathyrus tuberosus, there's tuber in it all right! And while the flowers smell lovely, you can eat those tubers. They are tiny and are named 'earth mice' in Dutch, which is cute. Okay okay, they are also named 'aardaker'. And yeah I know they can't fly, but sometimes something comes out of my head and I have to add that.

They are no longer protected in the Netherlands, but still are in Belgium and Germany, countries to the right and bottom. Some aardakers are known to have fled the Netherlands.

Broad bean

De tuinboon

Ah, the broad bean! I like this so much. It takes a while to clean them, but that while is worth erm... while.

I don't buy it in a pot, and absolutely not in a can. Frozen, okay, but there are limits, right? But really, they are so much better fresh.

I made this illustration for Vreeken, a company that sells tubers, seeds and plants in the Netherlands: https://www.vreeken.nl/

The 'Latyrus Tuberosis' too, actually.

Preparing broad beans

Tuinbonen doppen

Here's a picture of me cleaning them last year, mmm!

Topinambur

topinamboer

This is the topinambur, a great vegetable that you don't see very often, or should I say 'don't see very often anymore or not a lot anymore again'. Because it used to be quite common.

My mother ate it quite frequently during the second world war, just like other vegetables like the crosne. Crosne? Yeah, just look it up. Oh, and don't pronounce that 's'. I might draw the crosne too.

In Dutch, the topinambur is also named 'earth pear', which is fun because there are also 'earth apples', that's how the Dutch call potatoes. They even call strawberries 'earth berries' which is silly, those don't grow in the ground, after all. This page also contains the 'earth aker', yet another vegetable. Cos it's the veggie page, right?

I drew this one for Vreeken as well.

A bunch of vegetables

Een stelletje groenten bij elkaar

Just a few vegetables I drew, all together.

I had fun putting them all together, but then I needed nine to do that well which created a precedent 🙄 Becaues that meant I also had to draw nine nuts! But I have fun drawing, so that's okay, and they turned out quite nice.

peas

Het erwtje, de doperwt

Peas, such wonderful things. I added a simple one for a student, Astrid, who told me peas are easy to draw. Yeaaah, a circle, come on!

In Dutch, the pea is named 'erwt'. You pronounce it as 'airt', so no idea when that weird 'w' is gonna come out and play. You might just as well write it as 'erw7t' where both the 'w' and '7' are silent.

beets

Bieten

Beets! They are so gorgeous on a plate and in the garden, too. They are very tasty to boot. Beets are often used in those oh so fancy smoothies. I don't like them, I prefer biting into a fruit or vegetable to drinking juice. Why in the world would I have a smoothie? Take your smoothie and leave. Give me a fruit of veggies any time, they turn into a smoothie in your mouth all by themselves. Chewsies.

Ye carrot

De wortel

I think I am addicted to carrots. They taste so good. WIth some cheese, with a bit of mayo... mmm they are so great!

I prefer to eat them raw. Not because I am of the raw persuation, but well, so many veggies taste so wonderful raw.

More carrots

Wortels in allerlei kleuren

Carrots are available in a whole array of colours, sizes and kinds. You can even find 'rainbow' boxes in the shops. The taste is almost the same in most cases. Some though taste nuttier than others, which I really like.

I actually like to use carrots in other drawings, too. Have a look at those space drawings, for instance.

Veggie slices

Oh wat een lekkere groente

If you cut vegetables and fruit into slices the result is often stunning! Have a look above, look at the onion for instance, or the beet. The thinner the slice the more light gets through.

red cabbage

xx

I completely forgot to add this one before. It is an older illustration too, I didn't add a lot of text but I did already add the latin, and some modest fun text.

Fennel

Fennel

Fennel. This was a real challenge because I wanted to draw all the tiny things that stick out. But I finally made it, i think.

Fennel is so nice, it goes with oh so much. It goes with sweet, spicy, savory. I like it raw, too, that really brings out the aniseed-like taste of it. although the bulb is very nice cooked as well. Or sautéd, to go with salmon. Jeez, I get hungry now.

Radish slices

Radijs plakjes

And here are some slices of radish. So fun: there are even 'water melon radishes'. I have never seen them here, and I wonder how they taste.

'n onion

Het uitje

The onion. So modest and quite spunky at the same time, because holy moly, on herring! On ansjovis! Or just on bread, with a hint of salt and maybe some pepper.

Yeah, that onion! I sometimes forget I am cooking it, and it will turn very sweet. I will hear him calling me from the pan, mind you, but well, if I am doing computer work...

Ha, Nice Ex (yeah I have a stupid one too) once came to visit me. As a real nerd, he could not manage to leave the computer (no, not 'either'!). I had to cook for him, which I did. But well, he just couldn't get himself off the computer chair, he kept doing this and that. So finally, I placed his plate in front of the keyboard.

"Hey... Did you add sugar?" he asked, chewing away. I explained the onion had gotten desperate and had decided to caramelise. Men. Sigh.

mushroom

Den Champignon

While I'm at it: here is an old fashioned mushroom drawing, too. Totally not my style but well, I needed it like this for my grandmother's plate. You can find that plate on another page, by the way. Which one? This one! Go find it.

I love mushrooms. I heard you're not supposed to eat them fresh, but well.. You can once in a while find me on the sofa with half a pound of raw ones, dipping away.

I once really forgot the mushrooms in the pan, by the way. Long time ago. After a few hours (I was using the computer, right...) I suddenly thought 'Hey... wait...' and went to check. All the moisture had disappeared. The slices had become very crispy. They were absolutely yummie! I think I actually invented the veggie chips right then and there: they didn't exist at that time yet. I think I should write less, come to think of it.

y'olde turnip

Den Champignon

This is one of my first drawings, the turnip or 'brassica rapa'.

At the time, I didn't really add a lot of text, times have changed. I didn't even add the latin in this drawing yet, tsk...