Harvesting Broccoli & Recipes ~ Friday Foods

Harvesting Broccoli is an easy process, but it is important to harvest the broccoli crowns while they are tight heads and not yet flowered.  And I can only think of one person I know who doesn't like Broccoli and that is President George W. Bush.

Once they flower, it would be best they just go to seed for your next years crop. However, you can eat the broccoli leaves and they taste like broccoli too!

First, take off the largest head in the middle of the broccoli plant, this is the "Broccoli Crown".
 Use a sharp knife and cut at the end of the stem, taking some of the leaves with the broccoli head.

Look inside the cutting area and you can see the tiny secondary heads forming.

Leave the smaller heads to develop and cut to harvest the same way as the larger broccoli head.It's great to harvest your hard work!

 Wash well and cut the broccoli head away from the leaves. Cut the broccoli as you wish for how you are going to cook the fleurettes.

For the leaves, remove the stem as far up as you like. 

I like to go up to the top as it makes it easier to cut up for stir-fry cooking. Stems are great for the compost pile!

This time we are going to par boil and freeze the greens for later this Summer.  I slice the leaves and chop them for easier cooking. Then par boil for a few minutes, then I put them into a ziploc type bag and squeeze out as much of the air from the bag as possible. Then I pop them into the freezer. 

You may want to find your own freezing method, this one works fine for us; in my opinion.
We use organic methods in our garden and companion plant for more vigorous plants.

Our Favorite Stir-Fry Broccoli Recipe is from 
The Food Network. 

Our Favorite Broccoli Rice Casserole Recipe is from AllRecipe.Com


Enjoy Your Broccoli!


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