Blanched Broccoli: Proof Kids Like It (and PSC 2: Day 1)

Summer 2008

Don't like mushy broccoli. Don't like raw broccoli. My friend introduced me to blanched broccoli a few years ago. Love the blanched broccoli. Warm. Cold. In a recipe. With a dip. Alone. Yum. (Okay, so it's not going to make your eyes roll into the back of your head, but for a veggie, it's good.)

Blanching reduces the bitterness, brings out a beautiful color and is a easier to eat (but still crunchy).

And my kids love it. Their friends love it. It disappears at pot lucks. The video above is of my kids enjoying it. We taped it because no one would believe it. They still like it. I made a bunch the day before yesterday. I made extra to use in a recipe for last night. It was ALL gone. I asked my kids where it went. They said they finished it. And these are the same kids always begging me for candy.

Alas, blanched broccoli:

1. boil a pot of water

2. cut the florets of broccoli off (whatever size you want)

3. optional: my daughter loves the stems...slice the thick, tough "bark" of stem off (discard) which leaves the tender inner part

4. put florets and stem in boiling water for 2 minutes.

5. drain*

*I remove the broccoli with a slotted spoon and keep the water for making pasta/rice.

My Primal Stride Challenge 2 Report: Day 1

Drank my Shrek Shake with spinach

Did my 250 crunches

*50 typical crunches (and stretch)

*50 left side crunches (elbow-to-knee things) ...and stretch

*50 right side crunches ...and stretch

*100 lower ab crunches (flat on back, legs perpendicular to floor, tiny lifts as if a rope is tied to ankles and lifting them to ceiling...small move but you really feel it after 100)

AND stretch: the cobra move: roll onto belly, prop up on ELBOWS (it hurts me to prop onto hands), lift chin up, pull shoulders down. You don't have to stretch as far as the photo. Just feel it.