Broccoli Salad ...p31

Broccoli has suffered long enough from a maligned reputation, thanks in part to President George Herbert Walker Bush who banned it from service on Air Force One way back in 1990.  In my attempt to bring honor back to this misunderstood veggie, I googled "broccoli" for some reasons why it should be on your dinner plate this week.

I was shocked to find out all I did.

DETOXIFIES  Nutritionally, broccoli is like that threefold cord not easily broken mentioned in the Bible - Eccl. 4:12, in its job of detoxifying our bodies.  According to WHFoods,

Broccoli has a strong, positive impact on our body's detoxification system, and researchers have recently identified one of the key reasons for this detox benefit. Glucoraphanin, gluconasturtiian, and glucobrassicin are 3 glucosinolate phytonutrients found in a special combination in broccoli. This dynamic trio is able to support all steps in body's detox process, including activation, neutralization, and elimination of unwanted contaminants.

IMPROVES USE OF VITAMIN D  Most people over age 50 find the need to supplement their Vitamin D intake.  Well, please eat your broccoli then because broccoli just loves to assist in the metabolic balance of Vitamin D with Vitamins K and A that it contains in abundance.  

ACTS AS ANTI-INFLAMMATORY  A flavonoid (Kaempferol) in broccoli has anti-inflammatory qualities.

LOWERS CHOLESTEROL  Broccoli, when lightly steamed, binds with the bile acids in your digestive tract to excrete cholesterol.

FIGHTS CANCER  But please don't cook your broccoli to mush because that destroys sulforaphane - an extremely potent cancer-fighting agent and immune system booster.  ScienceDaily.com

1 1/2 cups served 2-3 times a week is the minimum recommended serving, but to get the most out of its cancer-fighting properties, 2 cups 4-5 times per week is optimum.

Statistics however show that the average American eats 4 1/2 pounds per year.  Is that enough?

If one pound of chopped broccoli = 4 1/2 cups,
 or  1 lb:4.5 cups,   then
    52 lbs:234 cups (1.5 cups x 3 svgs. x 52 weeks) recommended servings

If my math is right, we are sorely deficient in our broccoli intake, to the tune of 47.5 lbs short per year.

NATURAL SUNSCREEN  Broccoli doesn't have to be served as "trees".  Popular now are the broccoli sprouts - added to your sandwich or salad just like alfalfa or bean sprouts.  The latest bad news to bounce around is that our sunscreen lotions that we slather on routinely are suspected of causing the very skin cancer it is designed to protect against.  Well, eat those broccoli sprouts - they contain an extract that boosts your natural ability to defend yourself against UV rays.  That extract is the same sulforaphane mentioned above and when rubbed on skin is proving to substantially protect it from UV rays without the carcinogenic effects!

And broccoli doesn't have to be boring.  Use it as the basis for salads, soups, a side dish, casserole, dessert (yes, dessert!), or drinks....

If you're not quite that adventurous that you'd make a dessert or drink using broccoli, try this salad recipe.  Loaded with healthy additions like raisins and cheese, it satisfies with a nice crunch and just a touch of sweetness. It's also very pretty in a clear salad dish.

Hardy Appetit!

Three Bean Salad ...p31

Memories of dinners at Grandma Alma's and Aunt Bernice's flooded in as I made this cold, colorful salad.  And as a kid, I remember not liking it.  My, how we change.  Now I find it so refreshing, I can't imagine turning my nose up to it.  Though if your kids do, it may be in their GENES.

Truly, they may have two bitter alleles opposed to just one.  CHECK IT OUT !

Might make a nice science experiment in your multiple-kid households, especially for my home-schooled friends.  Who's got the extra bitter allele? 

Hardy Appetit!

Orange-Cauliflower Salad ...p32

I nicknamed this the OC Salad on my shopping list and wondered whatever happened to the program the OC.  Has it dropped off the map like the entire state of California is always threatened to do at some point?   

This colorful, citrus salad bursts with flavor and, while I hesitated to put "milk" on salad, I soon realized it was no different from Ranch, Creamy Caesar, and any milk-based dressing, thus I did as I was told.  Not only will this salad add fruit and greens to your meal, it will round out the visual appeal as well. 

And thanks, Debbie, for adding this to our book.  It would be wonderful to share more recipes from Aunt Lynn and "Punk" Tad....

Hardy Appetit!

Caesar Salad ...p30

The critic herself entered this recipe into Cooking Up Family History.  I remember considering this a treat as salads did not often deviate from the standard iceberg, carrot, celery, and green pepper in our household.  Nana doesn't remember visiting Caesar's restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico, when we were neighbors living in Tustin, CA, though Caesar Cardini allegedly invented the salad there back in the 1920's.  Read Julia Childs' account here.  My hubby and I ate there on Avenido Revolucion enjoying the tableside preparation of this salad, after downing multiple shots of tequila at the equally famous Long Bar where the drinking age was a mere 18.  Tijuana was a wild place then, even wilder now I hear.  

Nana's recipe varies from Caesar's in that the romaine is torn up in preparation, rather than left whole.  


Hardy Appetit!