Broccoli--

Ya Gotta Love It

Sure I was young and naïve at the time.  But it hit me hard.  Like the day I discovered all my friends liked peanut butter and jelly.  (I hated it).   But here it was again.  Two of the men I admired most laughing at my favorite vegetable.  There they were, huddled in the living room, yucking it up over a simple couplet in Atlantic Monthly magazine:

The store is out of broccoli.

Luckily.

Very funny.  How could it be?  Broccoli was the vegetable side-dish of choice back then in my 20-something years.  To be sure it was never invited to the table unless properly dressed (or more aptly, disguised) under a thick coat of cheese sauce.

In retrospect, I think I know why.  It was always overcooked.  Nothing insults a vegetable like overcooking.  And when I think about it, we had not discovered the beauty and simplicity of the

simple stir-fry, steam method. Like in this recipe:  Sautéed Garlic Broccoli.

That simple method has turned heads and hearts – about broccoli anyway.

Too bad I lost track of Jack and Greg.  They would have loved it.  You never know who will.