![](https://lemm.ee/pictrs/image/a4de7577-c235-4348-942a-9bebd887a778.webp)
![](https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/44bf11eb-4336-40eb-9778-e96fc5223124.png)
I sort of accidentally discovered that when dining at the local cantina.
The restaurant did something neat in serving an appetizer of guacamole on top of pico de gallo. For whatever reason I decided to dump the whole thing in to the bowl of spicy, chicken-black bean soup I was having. The contrast in flavors, and cooked vs fresh, spicy vs cool was an instant game changer. Indeed, I never looked back from there.
I think I’ll refrain from posting a pic here, but mom had a ‘plant-bent’ that she followed up on by eventually becoming a certified ‘master gardener’ via series of courses.
In parallel with that, over the course of many years, mom took the little suburban backyard we had and transformed it in to… holy Willy Wonkas… a sort of ‘lush paradise,’ and with each square foot or so, it consisted of generally non-native, fascinating species. I.e., plants with interesting herbal qualities, incredible flowers, or whatnot.
Earlier, we’d rescued two stray cats, and it was really fun seeing them go back outside and frolic in mom’s garden. Hahaha, it was like an amusement park to them, one in which they became undeniably blissful and non-argumentative. (see, they didn’t like each too much, despite being sister littermates)