Tuesday, July 10, 2012

I ❤ broccoli!!

Oh my goodness, I am obsessed with broccoli at the moment. Obsessed!! I can't stop thinking about it, photographing it and reading up about it.

I love how healthy and lush the broccoli bed looks in the kitchen garden at the moment with it's forest of big, dark green leaves.

I love how the water beads on the leaves of the broccoli plants and sits there for most of the day. I'm sure this is some extra clever way of retaining fluid. Farmer Bren worries that the water is not getting under all those leaves and into the soil, but I think with all that luscious foliage they must be doing OK.

I love how those gorgeous broccoli flowers start off so small nestled right inside the plant and then rise up and out of them as they blossom and grow. I think they look like ballerinas on their tippie toes dancing above all the other vegetables.


I love that the broccoli plant is not terribly frost sensitive. That it can tolerate such extreme cold and look so gorgeous coated in a film of white ice. We have had a little bit of frost damage, but after several days of hard frosts in a row we really cannot complain.

And of course I love eating those flowers. They are so full of Vitamin C and dietary fiber and so delicious too. I feel like such a great Mum when my kids eat it.

I remember when Miss Pepper was put on an eczema friendly diet a few years ago that excluded broccoli. Oh how she cried. And oh how hard it was to imagine that something like broccoli could cause her pain. I'm super glad she outgrew that one.


Our family favourite ways to eat broccoli are steamed, stir fried, in salads, in lasagnas and in omelettes. I like the idea of making tempura broccoli and adding them to rice paper rolls and soups, but haven't yet. I also hear that the stems are at their tastiest when peeled but keep forgetting to do so. Also I know people eat the florets raw and even the leaves, but I'm not crazy about that.

I keep dreaming of other broccoli concoctions every time I walk past their garden bed.

Are you loving the old broc at the moment too?
What's your favourite way to enjoy the flowery green?
How about a bridal broccoli bouquet?
What does your kitchen garden grow at the mo?
Are you having a lovely week so far?
I hope so.

See ya later, hot potata.
I'm going to have a cup of tea, broccoli!

xx

59 comments:

  1. YUM! I love broccoli. We tell our 3yo that if he eats his broccoli he will get big big muscles! Its definitely on my to-plant list for next year.

    At the moment we are harvesting oh so too much rocket and cos lettuce and waiting for the garlic shoots to go yellow so we can get them out of the ground too.

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  2. Love your pics. I'm growing broccoli for the first time, and haven't got any flowers just yet. Just lots of green leaves - although one of the beds has been invaded and is all stem and no leaf. Very excited about picking broccoli and I really LOVE the tempura idea. I love tempura anything. I think I might try it with the cauli when that's ready too. Isn't it funny how growing your own makes us fall in love with food even more. I love it.

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  3. Lovely vegetable. My youngest son when about four announced at the table that his favourite vegetable was broccoli from his grandfather's garden.

    Raw broccoli is yummy when it's young. I sometimes save some f the stalks and use them like asparagus or chop them into soup. Tempura sounds great too.

    Your photos are beautiful. Love those drops on the leaves.

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  4. Broccoli is probably my favorite vege. I like it raw, picked fresh from the garden, on pizza, steamed and in stir fries. YUM and SO good for you too. I'm a bit jealous of all your broccoli. We only have 3 plants in. Next Autumn I will be planting a lot more. xxoo

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    1. Oh yes, I love broccoli on pizza.
      I forgot all about that one.
      Thanks for the reminder.

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  5. i love your enthusiasm for broccoli! ours spent 5 days under snow without ill effect. we love it with a blue cheese sauce in a savoury tart, and we never waste the long stalks either, we slice em up and put them in thai stir fries. really hungry now.

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  6. YUM! just YUM.

    I tried growing them once but they got devoured by snails before even leaving seedling stage. Will try again though - you've inspired me.

    ps. I'm one of those that like it raw!

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  7. I do love home-grown organic brocoli, freshly picked and cooked in ANY way. Yum. I once made a fab pasta with broccoli and cream and garlic, with half the sauce whizzed and the rest of it with loads of florets. It may have had toasted walnuts in it, too... And the pasta was wholemeal. I loved it, but I was the only one in the family to like it, so it's never made another appearance. 'Tis a shame.

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  8. I actually find, by the time i have chopped the stalk off the broccoli, the children have all eaten it raw, YUM!! I just think cooking is another steamer to clean or hot plate being used up, when we could just eat it all natural. Love Posie

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  9. Your broccoli looks so delish! Our leaves have been eaten by those greedy cabbage moths. On the weekend I made broccoli pesto, straight from the garden to the blender, sooo goood! We used it as a pizza base because I can't bear to use my passata and the kids LOVED it! So sweet and tasty!

    You've inspired me inspired me to plant a whole bed next winter.

    xx

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    1. Broccoli pesto!!!!!
      I am so making some tomorrow. xx

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    2. I recommend using it in pesto. We did a fab Broccoli and Macademia pesto the other day. Lightly toasted Macademias, Steamed Brocoli, Garlic, Lemon Juice, Olive Oil - whizzed together in the food processor.
      Flick

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  10. Have you ever roasted it? Takes it to a whole 'nother level, entirely delicious.

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  11. We love, love, love brocoli in this house and eat it steamed, stir fried and as au gratin. We eat it in bolognese sauce, add it to soups and stews. We can't grow vegetables because the sun doesn't reach our backyard in winter and for only a few hours in summer. I am envious of your lovely fresh produce. Enjoy!
    Anne xx

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  12. I dont eat much broccoli but I love broccolini and cook it in stir fries. I wish my kids loved it as much as yours do.

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  13. Brocoli is my all time favorite vegetable and one of the few that each one of my children eat so we have it often. We have some gorgeous broccoli plants in our veggie garden this year, but unfortunately the aphids got there before us! :(

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  14. I LOVE broccoli! My nan eats the florets raw. I love it with pasta or with lemon chicken and cashew nuts (sorry, I know chicken's not your thing, Kate).

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  15. I am a fan of broccoli as well, so yummy and versitle. Do you own the book, Super natural cooking by Heide Swanson? she has so many gorgeous recipes with broccoli.the recipes are so yummy and healthy, you'll never get sick of broccoli.

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  16. It has to be one of my most favourite veggies! I loveit steamed with mint sauce, odd I know but I could eat it like that by the bucket load! We didn't havluckier of luck growing it, the bugs were all over & it was nearly impossible to get them all off before cooking. We tried starting them off covered by half milk containers, made organic sprays, but still they would take over..

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  17. Love this post and your photos Kate. I also love the bridal bouquet idea! I have a bed of the Romanesco variety and it is doing so well! Last week I made delicious broccoli pakoras (recipe thanks to the ABC Organic Gardener mag). Great week so far at our end...you have to love the freedom of school holidays :)

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  18. i love broccoli it is my favourite veg of all time. doesn't it taste so much better when its home grown though?
    i know what you mean by feeling like the best mum when your children eat broccoli, its a great feeling watching them eat good healthy food and loving it.

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  19. For E's 4th birthday, she requested raw broccoli for the party!!
    It has grown on me eventually, wasn't too keen for a while there!X

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  20. Oh yes, you must eat the stems and the leaves. Great for soup. Ours is growing faster than we can eat it at present and it's too cold for the white moth :-)
    Blessings Gail

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  21. Broccoli filled cannelloni with cream cheese, parmesan and breadcrumbs - topped with tomato passata - is pretty amazing.

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    Replies
    1. That sounds really good and something that's easily adaptable for just one person, me. Thanks for the idea.

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  22. My son will eaton greens, and yet... brocolli soup is his absolute fave. I therefore make it regularly! Chicken stock, boil your broc, add a pinch of nutmeg, whizz with handheld blender, add a little bit of cream, stir... yum! x

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  23. And look at that - I misspelt broccoli. It's one of my 'words I can never spell'!! x

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  24. Look at this for a broc recipe ... looks great

    http://www.teaandcookiesblog.com/2012/07/broccoli-sauc.html

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  25. I second roasting the old brocc for a new level of flavour. I've got a couple of broccoli plants in the bed at the moment, including a cool romanesco variety that is light green and has these sensational, fractal like spirals.

    Your photos are gorgeous, love the frosty one.

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  26. Broccoli is a favourite in my household too. And every so often I make a broccoli pesto, delish! My. Two girls aged 2 and 3 & half were fighting over pieces of frozen broccoli just a few weeks ago!
    xXx Helen

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  27. a dear friend of mine swears blind by raw brocolli and houmous sandwiches...

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  28. I have never seen broccoli growing before so thanks for sharing those photos. I made broccoli and cheese soup a while ago from a recipe on the Veggie Mama blog. It was delicious!!!

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  29. Yes its one of the best greens, always a piece on the dinner plate to add colour and goodness, just steamed.
    As for growing it, damn bugs chow the plants overnight!
    I love the pics

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  30. Your broccoli does look lush. Mine is always gobbled up by cabbage moth. I think I am on top of the little blighhters and, bam, they've reproduced in mass quantities to trick me. I tried bok choy this year - same family, I think - and even though the moth has got into them, they've done much better. And its delicious steamed. I'll be letting what's left go to seed now to save seed for next year.

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  31. Oh you have given me broccoli envy Kate! Nothing better than the fresh stuff.

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  32. love broccoli.... eat it steamed for lunch almost every day with a big lump of butter! (with pumpkin & cauli) Figure the goodness of the broccoli outways the not-so-goodness of the big lump of butter :-)

    When my son was little (he's now 20!) he was obsessed with dinosaurs. Our entertaining dinner table consisted of him 'being' a big growly roaring dinosaur, smashing into big boulders (spuds), and eating tasty 'trees' (broccoli). Vegies were never so exciting!

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  33. This is my absolute favorite way to eat broccoli! Roasted is just the best. I usually make it without the cheese, to make it healthier. This recipe has made friends of mine who don't like broccoli like it!
    http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2008/11/the_best_brocco.html

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  34. Oh my! I've been "unplugged" for a week or so, need to catch up on all of your gorgeous posts!
    Your Broc. looks amazing! We have trouble growing it here it usually gets devoured by aphids. However we get plenty at the farmers market and have been eating lots of rice and broc. bake.

    In the garden? The beets are just about ready. Raw in salad, roasted w/other veg., and perhaps a few to pickle!

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  35. oh my! i've never seen it growing! and I just ate a broccoli salad.. :-) I have to try growing it now, thanks for the inspiration! such great photos!

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  36. I like broccoli too and we have some growing but I LOVE LOVE LOVE your wood pile.

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  37. I made the most gorgeous soup the other day - broccoli and celeriac. I used one head of broccoli, one medium celeriac, three medium potatoes and three cloves of garlic. I chopped the vegies roughly and put them in the pressure cooker with about 1.5L of homemade stock. Once the pressure cooker came up to pressure I let it cook for four minutes (but it would have been good at three, I think). I blended the soup with a few tablespoons of natural yoghurt. It was divine! My 15-month-old drank a huge bowlful.

    The stem is my favourite part of the broccoli, and I love the small young leaves too. I've never managed to grow it because if I plant it in autumn the white cabbage butterfly caterpillars get it, and if I plant it any later it won't grow!

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    1. Yum that's such a great idea...thanks for the inspiration

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  38. All these comments about broccoli? Makes me smile, gorgeous photos!

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  39. I've never dreamt about broccoli
    But I do love it...will plant some next year...and then dream about it!

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  40. mmmmm, yum! Love brocolli too! I just planted out our first vegie garden at our new house yesterday and then today thought I might just start a weekly garden journal on the blog... would love for you to link in with me Kate! xxx

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  41. Yum, your photo's look so lush! Ours are just flowering too, very excited. I highly recommend eating the leaves too... so tasty in stews and slow cooked goodness :)

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  42. I should have grown some this winter but I didn't. I love broccoli. I love it in stir fries or steamed and my kids seem to eat their 'trees' which makes me happy. I should make more broccoli soup though.

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  43. These photos are just divine. I love broccoli too - eating and looking at it :)
    I have a 'pin' you might like... http://pinterest.com/pin/32651166019189586/
    Kx

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  44. with your great broccoli pics, maybe you should enter this Kate http://www.abc.net.au/science/games/competitions/2012/07/default.htm?WT.svl=healthscience1

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  45. I love brocolli, or little trees as I remember them to be as a kiddy. I have a few small plants growing in my kitchen garden at the moment but they are not terribly large yet so I will patiently wait.
    My sister-in-law gave me a great tip recently, and that is to put 1/2 egg shells around the base of brocolli plants and this creates a home for the grubs instead of your brocolli. I think it works as my broc is healthy and holeless and the eggshells have critters inside them.

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  46. I think broccoli is actually my favourite veg to be honest. Yummo. Love the look of those healthy plants you got there!

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  47. Yay! Another brocc fan! My kids were known as the Broccolli Babies when they were little cos they ate it almost every day. Broccoli was 'green trees' and cauliflower was 'white trees'! Their favourite brocc style is steamed then piled in a bowl with melted cheese and black pepper! xxx

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  48. You should try white pizza with tomatoes, broccoli, and fun cheeses!! Yumm!

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  49. I can see how much you love your broccoli you've taken some beautiful photos Kate. I love my broccoli too and have taken lots of pictures, I'm quite proud of the few I've managed to grow. Love eating it when it's still nice and crispy in stir fry with noodles and a satay sauce, mmm. x

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