Seeing more

What do you see when you look at this photo?

Why, yes, those are kohlrabi, and a glorious purple they are, too. That color alone is enough to make me smile on a cold (but clear!) autumn morning, but there’s something more that I see when I look at these odd, lumpy vegetables that delights me every time.

When I look at kohlrabi, I see roses — specifically, the stylized roses of Scottish Art Nouveau architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The vegetables look not so much like the roses themselves as like woodcut blocks that might be used to print Mackintosh roses. I don’t imagine the farmers who grew these would be too thrilled if I were to roll printers ink onto a couple of their kohlrabi. Perhaps it’s time to get a new linoleum block carving set, and try my hand at carving a Mackintosh rose. Maybe it will end up looking like a kohlrabi.