Harvesting Beautiful Broccoli

Oh broccoli, you know I love you.  It might be the way I look at you, or the way I touch every single plant before I leave the garden for the day, or maybe it’s the broccoli stories I tell you so know you can grow big and strong.   I hope you know how much happiness you cause us.  Every single year you start out as a little seed and then you grow slowly.. and then BOOM you’re a giant plant producing broccoli heads larger than my entire hand.

Remember when you were just little guys growing in our loft under a light?

And now look at you, you’re all grown up!

Let’s look back on the broccoli…

I remember your first day where you were transplanted outside.  It was a chilly and wet day, but you were brave!

You lived under the greenhouse, but we’d open it often to give you a little hello.  You were growing slowly.

Each week it seemed like you were getting bigger and bigger.  But it was still cold out, so you were still under the green house.  I bet it was scary at night for you.

And then when the weather slowly started to change, we knew you could do it, so we took the green house off you.  You smiled, it was a brave new world in front of you!

You saw everything new around you, there were other plants, a big open roof, airplanes flying by and 2 people staring at you lovingly.

A few weeks later after every single day looking to see what was going on at the bottom of your plant, I spotted it.  You guys were growing heads!

And for the next few weeks your heads continued to grow slowly…

Every single plant had a head growing now…

And bigger and bigger you grew..

Until suddenly you were giant! You grew so big, so strong, so perfect.

Every single one of you (and your brothers not pictured to the side) grew beautifully.

We would stand back at admire every single one of you. I would sing you songs, you would cringe, it’s ok.

So as you each grew ready, we picked you.  We danced with you, we hugged, we told you we loved you!

Some days there were so many of you the basket couldn’t even hold you.  So instead I carried you in my arms.

It was beautiful days we spent together.

You met some other friends like the onions and radishes.

And as you came back down to the loft where you were born at, we continued to admire you.

You pretty perfect broccoli guys.

Your stems and leaves were composted to be put back into the garden.  You guys just keep giving.

Your florets were perfect.

How do you do it broccoli, how do you win our hearts every year?

I hold you in my hands and give you a little kiss on your head.  And then I eat you.  But that’s because I love you.  You know this.

And as we continued to eat you fresh, steamed, in casseroles, in stir fries, in soups (so many recipes coming soon!)… we continue to think you’re perfect.  You just are.

Thanks for the memories broccoli.  You guys rule.