Veggie Patch Broccoli

Saturday morning my friends and I had a blast at the All-local Farmers Market. The market is something I do pretty regularly but usually I will meet up with a friend there or just go by myself before the crowds hit. This weekend, though, we all slept and/or met up at my friend Amanda's house (within good walking distance) to walk down together. Well, it was raining - so we walked to our married friends' house and they drove us all. It was a fun morning of the 7 of us spending good time together, eating quiche (I had Asparagus & White Truffle Oil Quiche. sooooo good), doing some grocery shopping and hanging out and laughing. I realized that "farmers markets" symbolize to me responsibility, sustainability, intentionality, and most importantly, community. I see all of them happening at the market but I am so removed from it, like an outsider looking in, coming to partake and get my feet wet but not give much or commit too much. Well this weekend was a good step from one side to the other in bringing my friends. I love the idea that food is meant to be a community effort - none to go hungry and none to grow obese, everything shared or at least done together.
One of my last purchases of the morning was from a fairly new vendor, Veggie Patch Farms. I bought a huge head of broccoli for $3 and I am planning on eating it everyday this week. Yesterday I blanched the majority of it (I recently learned that "blanching" is not well known. See tutorial at end of blog) for quick and tasty sauteeing, or adding to pasta, etc.

Yesterday I blanched the broccoli to cook it and then lightly sauteed it in minced garlic and butter - SO good, so fresh, so fiber-y. I like to keep the stems on, a practice also done by Villa Tronco, because I love the crunch and it is full of fiber, vitamins and minerals. Just trim the end of the stalk and then cut the head of broccoli into halves, thirds or fourths, depending on your preference.

How & Why to Blanch:
"Blanching" involves boiling for a short amount of time to cook a product and then shocking it in an ice bath to immediately keep it from cooking. It is used a lot in restaurants because you need to prepare food ahead of time and not overcook it. For instance, broccoli would be blanched to have it cooked and then shocked, and kept until time to send it out. At the time of order, you could take the lightly cooked broccoli out of the fridge, saute it to give it the flavors and a quick heating, but you won't have to sit there and try to make your saute cook your broccoli for you (and then it gets limp, and loses nutrients, and is overcooked, and takes FOREVER).

Bring a pot of water to boil (season it accordingly), boil your vegetable of choice for a short time (times vary on vegetable - carrots and broccoli, ~2 to 3 minutes depending on how you like it. Peas or something small? probably 1-2 minutes). With a slotted spoon, transfer your veg to a bowl of ice water. Make sure you are stirring the ice water with the veggies in it to prevent any hot spots from forming or the vegetable will keep cooking.