I usually write about veterans affairs with a couple G. W. Bush rage writings thrown in. But a conversation with a co-worker this evening about broccoli, French and French food; and since Dana Priest has taken the wind out of my sails regarding veterans and Bush; and since this was all followed by my nightly view of PBS’s News Hour, caused me to consider France, the United States, Economics, world health and broccoli.
I’m watching ‘The News Hour’ and they’ve got the head of Whole Foods, or one of his vegan lieutenants, talking about how the salmon they sell are better because they are free swimming out in the ocean and are more nutritionally sound, healthier and have their ‘full life force’ with them when caught. To which the interviewer asked "You had me right up to the point of ‘life force’.
So what about the life force of Broccoli? What’s all this stuff with florets? What happened to their strong thrusting stocks? They have a more agreeable texture and a sweeter taste than the florets. Why is it that only 1 in 100,000 Americans (if you’re lucky) have learned how to prepare and appreciate the stocks?
Trimmed, peeled and quartered length ways, cut on the bias or julienned they can be gently steamed or quickly sautéed with garlic, ginger and a squeeze of fresh lemon. Properly prepared, children find the texture of the stocks more than an acceptable alternative to the nasty florets.
One way to educated people is through street economics and that has been done to some degree: Whole broccoli $1.00 / florets $1.50. What happened to the stocks! Couldn’t we have: Whole broccoli $1.00 / florets $1.50 / stocks $ 0.50. This would be good nutrition at a bargain price. Don’t tell me Whole Foods throws out the stocks! Noooooooooo!
But if you have a social conscience, at least for a while it has to be: Whole broccoli $1.00 / florets $1.50 / stocks $ 2.00. After a while, because of it’s snob appeal, demand for stocks would out pace florets. In a pinch, any upper-middle class family worth it’s foie gras would be buying whole broccoli, lobbing off the florets to get to those yummy stocks. Rich conservatives would like it to show off and because broccoli in French is brocoli and pronounced nearly the same there's no problem.
Even Bush ’41, who let it be known he detested the vegetable would go for it; though he’d probably like it with a dab of mayo or hollandaise and fresh ground pepper. Oh that’s right, Barbra will be at the table; scratch the mayo.
In time, the price could stabilize because of the demand for all parts of the broccoli, The farmer would get an increased price for his product because all of the product was being sought by the consumer..
There’s a lot of good eating once we come to terms with broccoli’s life force.