Honestly, who really likes this vegetable?

I think it should be an AVOID for all types ...

How I tried to love thee
Broccoli oh! broccoli...

accidental chef

I love broccoli - raw, cooked - any which way I love my 'trees'    

As does my housemate and a lot of my family!!!

Yes, it's a problem for me too. Only when steamed for a very short time, before it loses its lustrous shade of green, then - dipped in tahini prepared with lots of lemon juice (& chopped parsley & garlic - optional) or sauteed in olive oil with garlic then sprinkled with lemon juice, or just sprinkled with those three. Then it's all right an more.

accidental chef I think you have treated it the wrong way
- I thought as well that I didn´t like it- but the I had it cooked by real good chefs and BINGO -  I loved it - so does my kid !
Trick is - B has to be VERY fresh- firm- crisp green looking before you cook it 75 % of the B we can get in ther supermarkets are actually abit too old.......

- I prefer it either raw or lightly steamed- not mushy or it taste like........

accidental chef, I agree with yael and Henriette.  It's how you prepare it.  The only broc I eat raw is that from my own garden.  The store bought just isn't fresh enough for raw eating to me.  I steam or sautee it lightly.  It should be the color of a bright lime.  Still crisp, not mushy. If adding to other ingredients, put it in near the end. Frozen broccoli is a last choice, and only for adding to other veggies in the blender, to me.  Green is Good!

Broccoli...broccoli...how do I love thee.

Lightly steamed...just enough to take the edge off and give it that brillant green (my favourite colour) colouring with...ghee...nutritional yeast...lecithin granules...olive oil...spices.  As a side dish with steak, roast, lamb, chicken, turkey, hamburg of any type, eggs (love it this way with easy overs and spinach and onions) nuts and whatever else in the fridge at the time.  Just love broccoli.  Can't you tell.    I have the same opinion for kale, swiss chard and collard greens.

Debra

Baby broccoli is quite sweet tasting and tender and the entire stalk can be eaten raw.  Much like eating raw carrots, but tastier.

Quoted from Mare_eo

accidental chef, I agree with yael and Henriette.  It's how you prepare it.  The only broc I eat raw is that from my own garden.  The store bought just isn't fresh enough for raw eating to me.  I steam or sautee it lightly.  It should be the color of a bright lime.  Still crisp, not mushy. If adding to other ingredients, put it in near the end. Frozen broccoli is a last choice, and only for adding to other veggies in the blender, to me.  Green is Good!

Oh... and broccoli fresh from the garden.... there is nothing better! It has a little zing! to it when you bite into it. The best broc to eat raw in my opnion. And tender!!! You do not have to peel the stalks of garden fresh broccoli...  and it steams to a delightful bright green in just seconds.

Big Yum!!

Quoted from Kristin

Oh... and broccoli fresh from the garden.... there is nothing better! It has a little zing! to it when you bite into it. The best broc to eat raw in my opnion. And tender!!! You do not have to peel the stalks of garden fresh broccoli...  and it steams to a delightful bright green in just seconds.

Big Yum!!

A little garden!! The really healthy way to go through life. How I would wish... 

And I could wish my days to be bound each to each by natural piety - Wordsworth.

Yup, no doubt the best way to eat it is fresh slightly steamed.  I just cut the lower stem off, put it in a steamer, get the water to boil and then remove it from the heat. Let it sit 5 or so minutes and YUM!!! I am like debra+, I will eat it with or in anything if it is fresh and cooked right. The only frozen broccoli I eat is Trader Joes. I let it thaw out and use it in eggs.  Or for a quick reheated meal.  One of my very favorite veggies.  Also one of my most detested if it is not fresh (bitter tasting) and especially if it is not organic    Or cooked to a mush   so sad to reduce such a special item to a plate of mush!!
Sandy O

I love it, too.  I never heard of it till I was a young adult & then I heard that the senior prez Bush had to eat it as a child & he's quite older than me. Why hadn't I heard of it.  I lived in Illinois, not Podunk.
I like most veggies, but cooked.  I wish I liked raw better. Maybe they take too long to eat & I like to eat a LOT of veggies.
Cheers!

I love broccoli...  I eat it fresh every day.

Quoted from accidental chef

Honestly, who really likes this vegetable?

ahhhhhh i loooovvee broccoli

I think it should be an AVOID for all types ...

nooooooooo please!!

How I tried to love thee
Broccoli oh! broccoli...

accidental chef

I've always liked broccoli, when it's prepared right I love it.  I lightly steam up a whole potfull every week and toss it into every meal that doesn't have enough color in it.  I like to drizzle it with a high quality (expensive) olive oil and some ground roasted garlic/sea salt...I'll sometimes add some red pepper flakes.  It's a very convenient type of greens for me to fit into meals.

On the show "Honey we're killing the kids" it's surprising how many kids on it find broccoli to be the first vegetable they try and actually like.

I prefer this one lightly steamed (5 minutes) with florets and also the stems peeled and chopped.  But, have found that it has a different texture if the florets are boiled briefly or the broccoli is roasted.  All sorts of ways to enjoy it.  I really do not like it raw at all (dipping in a whole bunch of ranch dressing is no longer an option!).  

I don't like it:
raw
overcooked
undercooked
warmed over

I love it:
lightly steamed until tender, but still green

Quoted from Kristin

Oh... and broccoli fresh from the garden.... there is nothing better!

yes!!  as long as you get all the little green worms out.     I love my broccoli too! steamed w/ ghee and some Him. salt.  yummmy!!!  My brother only likes raw. My daughter can't eat either. *Really* bothers her stomach....  ???   what a pity.

Last year I grew broccoli in the garden- under nets though to keep theese worms out.....
I couldn´t believe how much better it tasted- but cabbage growing is a bit of hassle I find......needs lots of manure- water- nets or a kindergardengroup of kids to pick off worms.....

This year I was so busy in spring with exams I didn´t get around to any cabbage sowing . my mum did a batch of Kale- for chickens/rabbits (and us humans)- but they got into the ground far too late- since it was DRY and hot all summer so now when weather is changing to REAL autumn with sleet and storms- I think I can feed the rabbit with tiny palnts ! - I know next year that they need to be transplanted early if this kind of dry hot summers continue.

Global warming ???

What, 17 replies praising broccoli ???!!!  ...

Well, I did steam it...and it was bright green, not mushy...but it's just the taste . My husband saw me washing it yesterday and in mock-fear said he's type B and allergic..to which I said, no dear broccoli is beneficial for both of us (with a brave face)..but at the end of it all I was the only one, with great difficulty, eating it for lunch as well as dinner!

Broccoli...
They say you are Beni  
Raw, steamed, crunchy and nice
...
...
I have to agree otherwise

But!

I'll have you in KIV
Hoping to love thee, love thee

accidental chef

If you really don't like it just now leave it to one side and focus on the other beneficial green things...

My son used to work at Yeldhall Manor - a rehabilitation centre for drug and alcohol adicts.  They were given all Marks & Spencers left over veg.  We had broccalli when he came for lunch one day and he said 'I didn't realise it was green' - it was always yellow when they had it!

accidental chef for your husband what about cauliflower beneficial( avoid for you )
or red or white cabbage
or the pointed spring/summercabbages- they are my favourites.

Quoted from rustyc

My son used to work at Yeldhall Manor - a rehabilitation centre for drug and alcohol adicts.  They were given all Marks & Spencers left over veg.  We had broccalli when he came for lunch one day and he said 'I didn't realise it was green' - it was always yellow when they had it!

Sad - but true
often the shops sell it when they are more yellowish green than dark green.

Quoted from Henriette_Bsec

accidental chef for your husband what about cauliflower beneficial( avoid for you )
or red or white cabbage
or the pointed spring/summercabbages- they are my favourites.

Oh he loves cauli but hates cabbage! He gets all his beneficial veg & fruits and dairy at home. He was pretty heartbroken that he had to give up tomatoes ...that sort of faced off my having to give up yoghurt!

accidental chef

Quoted from rustyc

My son used to work at Yeldhall Manor - a rehabilitation centre for drug and alcohol adicts.  They were given all Marks & Spencers left over veg.  We had broccalli when he came for lunch one day and he said 'I didn't realise it was green' - it was always yellow when they had it!

Quoted from koahiatamadl

If you really don't like it just now leave it to one side and focus on the other beneficial green things...

Hmm, ok!

accidental chef

Oh yes to be a B.  Look at all those yummy veggies you can still have.  And the red meat.   And...ice cream.  sigh.

Debra

- yep I want to be a combo of B and O - well I am already (Bo)

My husband gave me a clue that helps immensely in picking out the freshest broccoli bundles from the bin at the produce section of the grocery store:  

Look for a purple color in among the top of the flowering part.  

If the purple cast is missing, & it is looks like it has "already gone to seed", he won't eat it.  

For those of you who grow it, WOW!  I would love to be able to grow broccoli, but I have never seen it growing here in the Chihuahuan Desert.  Perhaps as a winter crop here?  Would it grow in a greenhouse?  Do you plant seeds in the garden or start them inside then transplant?  Fascinating!

Grilled or roasted broccoli is my all time favorite way to eat it, though I do eat it sauteed in ghee over high heat in a cast iron pan quite frequently. If I couldn't eat broccoli I would be very sad. Lightly steamed with just a hint of lemon juice and salt is also good. Broccoli slaw is another way to eat the stems.

Quoted from marianne

My husband gave me a clue that helps immensely in picking out the freshest broccoli bundles from the bin at the produce section of the grocery store:  
Look for a purple color in among the top of the flowering part.

yes, the darker the flowering 'tree' part the better. also, if you can find broccoli sprouts, they have waaaaaaaaay more nutrition than the big broccoli.  I have to 'fight' w/ the DH to cut ours then.  little sneaky sneaky works every time.    he's better about it now, but i'd eat it like that all the time if I could.
I too make the broccoli slaw w/ the stems, like Drea does. I like that part of the broccoli better slaw like than steamed. and since cabbage is an avoid for you O nonnies, brocc is a good way of having your slaw!!
rustyc, your poor son, eating yellow broccoli. to me that is practically spoiled.       good that he has a 'green broccoli' mom eh?  

Quoted from marianne

For those of you who grow it, WOW!  I would love to be able to grow broccoli, but I have never seen it growing here in the Chihuahuan Desert.  Perhaps as a winter crop here?  Would it grow in a greenhouse?  Do you plant seeds in the garden or start them inside then transplant?  Fascinating!

Well... I grow it here in the Colorado desert...    

It needs water... and we don't have alot of the cabbage butterfly's laying their eggs so the larvae are easy to keep at bay through hand-picking them off the plants. But you can get several weeks of harvest from each plant by letting the central stalk mature to a nice size; and harvesting just the head will then allow side shoots to grow.

You can do either... plant by seed or transplant seedlings... depending on the length of your growing season. Broccoli likes it cool so it may be best as a winter season crop for you.

Perhaps you're a super-taster

I think my husband is, and he always tells me I must have only 3 tastbuds because I like spicy and bitter flavors a lot more than he does.  He absolutely detests celery.

Marianne, I start mine as seeds and transplant them into the garden in late April. Our last average frost date here (north central Illinois) is May 15.  Broccoli likes the cooler weather and will go to seed quickly once it gets hot.  Ditto what Kristin said about harvesting the central stalk and then letting the smaller side shoots grow.  I have a covering that is made out of screen (like on your windows) that I put over my plants so they get sun, water, air, but the moths cannot lay their eggs on the plants....therefore no larve to pick off! The frame of the covering also makes it easy for me to cover them in case of a frost.  No greenhouse but I'm dreaming of one someday!  My seed flats are kept under regular shoplights on a table in our family room.  Nothing fancy but it works fine. Fresh is best!

I enjoy broccoli prepared in various forms--both raw and cooked.  Although I have been eating alot of uncooked broccoli as of lately, I think it taste delicious when lightly steamed or water sauteed until the color retains the bright green hue and it is still crunchy when biten into.

I adore raw organic broccoli stalks.  They are wonderful, tender, and have a delicate flavor.  They make a nice alternative to carrot and celery sticks.

Alia

Since you asked . . . I love it too!  Always have, even when I was little and didn't care for most veggies.  Cooked all kinds of ways.  Generally 4-5 times a week.  I love it when it is in season here so I can get it at the farmers' market with leaves still attached.  Broccoli leaves are one of my favorite greens!

I think this thread is just about spent, but nobody has mentioned broccoli soup.  I kind of hate broccoli too, but when you do the exact opposite of what everybody here has said and boil it until it's a nice big pile of mush, blend it with chicken broth, a raw clove of garlic, olive oil and sea salt.  Oh baby...   especially now that we're getting into the winter.  Soup is my hero.

Quoted from erictm998

I think this thread is just about spent, but nobody has mentioned broccoli soup.  I kind of hate broccoli too, but when you do the exact opposite of what everybody here has said and boil it until it's a nice big pile of mush, blend it with chicken broth, a raw clove of garlic, olive oil and sea salt.  Oh baby...   especially now that we're getting into the winter.  Soup is my hero.

Oh yes erictm998-broccoli soup...make a big batch and reheat with eggs dropped in until they are poached and the yolk is still soft.  YUMMILICIOUS.  Great as a quick morning meal when you are losing time.  Hard boiled eggs instead if you are really on the run.  (Or any other compliant protein)  

Debra

Thanks, Kristin and Mary!  Very Helpful Good Ideas....I had no notion that the insect population might find them even more delectable than we would!

Broccoli Slaw is really good, but I've not tried making it without vinegar, How do you make it?

Quoted from marianne

Thanks, Kristin and Mary!  Very Helpful Good Ideas....I had no notion that the insect population might find them even more delectable than we would!

Broccoli Slaw is really good, but I've not tried making it without vinegar, How do you make it?

You could use lemon juice and olive oil.    Or the homemade mayonnaise in the typebase.

Debra

THere is also Purple Broccoli and the Romanesco {with the Fractal head} and the subtly different B. raab {Rapini, Rapa} that doesn't make a pronounced head, n=but bunches of  thin stems. And the paler green "Broccoflower"...

Which leads to the other good part of  everyday Brocc. Don't forget to use the stem - for people that don't like the florets the stem is much milder. Peal of the woody skin and slice into chips for a Ranch dip, or make a veggie chowder with a little cheese at the end and served with some sourdough bread to boot.

Romanesco is great- taste like cross between broccoli and cauliflower and looks amazing

broccoli o' broccoli
i knew i would love thee
steamed and pureed
you looked ever so lovely!
sauted shallots, ginger & garlic
in golden ghee oh! so fragrant!
stirred you in with a pinch of salt
gentle simmer and you were done
this time i knew you were truly mine
broccoli oh broccoli
i truly truly love thee

erictm998, thanks for the soup tip, and thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts and tips on choosing good brocccoli! This batch had a faint tinge of purple...

accidental chef

Quoted from accidental chef

broccoli o' broccoli
i knew i would love thee
steamed and pureed
you looked ever so lovely!
sauted shallots, ginger & garlic
in golden ghee oh! so fragrant!
stirred you in with a pinch of salt
gentle simmer and you were done
this time i knew you were truly mine
broccoli oh broccoli
i truly truly love thee

erictm998, thanks for the soup tip, and thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts and tips on choosing good brocccoli! This batch had a faint tinge of purple...

accidental chef

Thanks for making my day accidental chef

I love Brocolli too. I eat it every day in every way.
Steamed and stir-fried are my favorites!

Sometimes broccoli can have a purplish tinto to it ... what does this mean ??

I like it steamed with EV Olive oil, seasalt, some mashed avocado and with lots of garlic !
Please try it it this way ... it's truly "amazing" !!!

While it's true that avocado is an avoid for me (that's the way I've always eaten it before I knew about BTD) ... I usually avoid the avocado except on the rare occassion and add curry to it and it's equally "d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s" !!!!