KNYSNA NEWS - The next time you go vegetable shopping, keep an eye open at the avocado display - and see how many people give them a surreptitious squeeze to see if they are ripe.
This is what intrigued veteran journalist and former Knysna-Plett Herald editor Elaine King and inspired the title of her first book, Don't Poke Me When I am Ripe and Other Vegetable Tales.
King, whose journalistic endeavours have taken her from South Africa to Hong Kong and Istanbul, launched the book in Knysna on 9 October at The Art Cafe on Queen.
How did the name come about?
"Let's be quite frank here; most people who buy avocados with a label saying 'don't squeeze me I am ripe' look around to make sure nobody is watching, and then they give the avos a little squeeze," says King.
'Started book 10 years ago'
"I started this book 10 years ago and became very serious about finishing it a year ago."
King met Piet Frans when she was the editor of the KPH.
"My first 'date' with Piet was to the Knysna prison where he went once a week to teach convicts how to draw - so successfully that when they were paroled, some of them became artists.
"He has since published a series of cartoon books called Nor Igi nor Amos that chronicles two nincompoops. His collection of cartoons and witty observations on the absurdity of life make one laugh."
They became friends and Frans began creating vegetable illustrations with King a few years ago.
'Steep learning curve'
"Just because you are a journalist does not mean that you are automatically an author. It was hard work and a steep learning curve," says King.
"I did a course on how to write a book, then Reach Publishers ran with the final manuscript and Don't Poke Me When I am Ripe and Other Vegetable Tales is now available on Amazon/Kindle in the UK, Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia - and Takealot in South Africa."
The book is aimed at readers "from age 12 to 112".
Why vegetables?
"I think I was deeply influenced by the fresh markets in Hong Kong, where I lived for about 20 years and where my two children were born.
"Then, when I worked in Istanbul as a script-editor for TRT World Television (the year before Covid) I was again in seventh heaven in the fresh markets, exposed to a plethora of splendid vegetables.
"There is never a time in my house where the veggie drawer doesn't have onions and a respectable choice of veg.
"Imagine a world without vegetables. A kitchen without an onion, sausages without mash and peas or Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie. These lifelong food companions are bursting with nutritional value."
'New understanding'
Wendy Sway, an editor at Reach, wrote: "Fun and fresh, this informative book offers us all a new understanding of vegetables, their benefits and even their origins."
Each veggie tells a reader where it originated, how it got its name, where it is grown, who eats it, what its nutritional value is, how it measures up on the scale, some fun facts - and even jokes.
"How is an ear of corn like an army? Both have lots of kernels."
There is also advice on how to store and prepare each vegetable.
"Beans when they are perfectly cooked should squeak against your teeth. Corn is potentially fattening if you overdo it. A humble cucumber is nothing short of a superfood, it even cures hangovers," says King.
For book orders contact King at elainewriting@gmail.com
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