Here it is- the end of the season for my cruciferous vegetables. This final cutting of broccoli signals the end of the winter crop as the summer season heats up. It makes me a little sad. I love the winter vegetables.
A really nice and tight head of broccoli- from my garden in May!
I’m not sure why, but the entire cruciferous family really gets me going. And it’s not just because these are the ‘gassy’ veggies. I think it’s because of the flavor.
This is a bland bunch of vegetables you say? Hell no! This great family includes some really good stuff!
- horseradish (on prime rib?!?!?)
- kale
- cabbage (Soup!)
- brussels sprout
- broccoli
- romanesco (Looks cool!)
- cauliflower (SOUP! with Tabasco!)
- bok choy (My wife can stir-fry the dickens out of this)
- chinese cabbage (Or Napa, depending on your slant)
- turnip root
- rutabaga
- mustard (You had me at ‘mustard’)
- arugula
- wasabi (Sniff!)
Tools of the trade at harvest. A large collander, and a knife.
On my final harvest, I got 4 good-sized heads of broccoli, just before they flowered. I was hoping to make some soup today, but it just didn’t happen. This is now my lunch plan for tomorrow.
Click on this picture to get a cool image to use for your desktop background!
I encourage everyone to plant a winter garden. Plant some cruciferous veggies- do it Old World style. It doesn’t matter what part of the world your people are from, your traditional dishes are full of cruciferous vegetables because they are ‘Super-Veggies.’
And don’t forget…George H. Bush refused to eat broccoli when he was President. Which means George W. probably never ate broccoli either. Can you think of any better reason to have it with every meal?
Here is a bonus picture of a garden visitor I had while picking the broccoli. There were actually two of them, I shot this one. With the camera.
I like your blog and humor a lot, but the cheap shot at G.W. Bush is annoying. I find myself steering away from that kind of writing that assumes everyone else agrees with the author’s political viewpoints. I love to garden, my 2 best friends are from Woodland, and I’ll keep coming back for awhile to check out your techniques and enjoy a good laugh. Just my opinion, but from a writing standpoint, your blog would be stronger in the long run if you left junk like the Bush comment out.
Vaughn- not a problem at all. I am a big fan of broccoli, and George H. (who was my Commander In Chief for a while) came out against it. I believe that George W.’s foreign policy decisions have ended up costing this country trillions of dollars. That’s two strikes!
I understand that not everyone agrees with my negative impression of their legacy, and that’s okay. But I don’t think my my feelings should come as a surprise to anyone.
Meh. I too love broccoli, as do my children. What’s not to like, unless it’s cooked to a mushy mess? Broccoli stir fried with a little soy sauce and sauteed almond slivers is to die for.
I think someone needs to get their panties UNbunched from their crack if they’re going to judge your personal blog’s writing quality by a GB comment…..it’s your blog. Write about what you want. And the policies going all the way back to Reagan *have* damaged this country in a big way (including Clinton’s).
I’m just disappointed nobody commented on the duckling. I thought that was the best part.