Miracle food: Broccoli?

31 Days of Blog: Day 9.On location in New York.

Last night we arrived at my sister's late (midnight), and I had trouble sleeping so I perused the July issue of SELF magazine. I was very surprised to learn, in two different articles, that broccoli can help shield your eyes from the damage caused by the sun, and that it can also reverse the damage to body tissue and organs caused by age. The luteins in broccoli give it the antioxidant power to protect you from the sun. The sulforaphane in broccoli reverses the aging process (well, perhaps I overstate).

• Now, I have always known that it is high in calcium. One serving of broccoli doesn't quite equal the calcium in one glass of milk, but it's a great boost to the calcium in your daily diet. For your own reference, calcium not only builds strong bones and staves off osteoporosis, it also helps keep blood pressure lower, and is connected with a healthy, cancer-free colon.
  
• Broccoli is also one of those "dark, leafy greens" always extolled for being rich in beta-carotene. Beta-carotene (Vitamin A) and Vitamin C (also abundant in these green "trees") have been linked to the reduction of cataracts and heart disease.
  
• Broccoli is also contains folic acid, especially important in pregnant women. I remember craving it when I was pregnant with my third son, Jude, and the doctor definitely encouraged my indulging my craving. It has been linked to helping create healthy fetuses, it also seems to prevent cervical cancer and can reduce osteoporosis. In both men and women, it helps combat heart disease. It also releases serotonin, which makes it act as a mild antidepressant.
  
• The fiber in broccoli is half soluble and half insoluble, both of which a body needs.
  
• Broccoli is also a member of the cabbage, or crucifer, family. Crucifers are thought to reduce the risk of bladder cancer.
  
• In addition, broccoli provides kaempferol, also found in green tea and onions, which has been found to lower a woman's risk of ovarian cancer.

This is no light list. I think I'll up my intake of this veggie!

Broccoli is basically a cool-weather vegetable, though through refrigeration and trucking it is available year-round, its flavor is best from late fall through early spring.

Often broccoli (both raw and cooked) suffers from the smell of sulfur. Often times, you can avoid this by eating the broccoli before it begins to wilt in your refrigerator. When cooking, avoid this smell of sulfur by just steaming the broccoli until bright green, then running it under cold water or immersing it in an ice-water bath to stop the cooking process. Cooked broccoli tastes best when cooked al dente; it looks most appetizing (bright green) that way too. Raw broccoli, while tasty, repeats on you more than cooked broccoli does.

When my boys were young, my husband always called broccoli "trees" to make them laugh, and try one more bite. We usually served broccoli with something for the kids to dip it in: ranch dressing, cheese sauce, ketchup, marinara sauce, you name it, if those boys could dip it, they would usually eat it, eventually. I love white pizza with broccoli and pasta with broccoli and chicken; my husband doesn't think broccoli belongs on pizza or in pasta, so those don't often get prepared at Chez Habib. We do, however, pile it on stuffed baked potatoes, usually with generous helpings of cheddar cheese and sour cream.

The most commented on salad I've ever served is Broccoli-Bacon Salad. It's something my mom would've served in the '60s and '70s. No one in health-conscious 2008 would have developed this recipe, but it is the #1 hit at every party I've ever served it. My recipe comes from a collaborative cookbook put together by the PTO at my boys' school when my oldest (now a sophomore in high school) was in 1st grade. My friend, Nancy, submitted the recipe, her daughter was in my son's class at the time. Our paths don't cross as often anymore, but I love thinking of her each time I make this salad.

Broccoli-Bacon salad

1 head broccoli
10 slices bacon
1/4 c pecans
1/2 c cheddar cheese, finely shredded
1/2 c raisins
1/2 c sugar
1 c mayonnaise
2 T white vinegar

Cook bacon until crisp; cool, then crumble. Place raisins in 2 c very hot water to plump. Cut broccoli heat into very small bite-size pieces. Mix broccoli with nuts, cheese, and raisins. Combine sugar, mayo, and vinegar to make dressing. Store in refrigerator. Just before serving, dress and toss.