Spoutwood Farm CSA Harvest Guide: Week 19: October 16th, 2008

Welcome to the nineteenth week of the 2008 Community Supported Agriculture season, here at Spoutwood Farm! Hard to believe we’ve only got three weeks, after today, until this season comes to a close… But we have lots of delicious vegetables to share with you before then. This week, we’ve been enjoying a spell of “Indian Summer,” defined as a period of warm weather following the first frost. Yesterday was near eighty, a dramatic increase over last week’s cool temperatures! But today is cooler, and the next several days are expected to be cooler yet. It is, after all, the second half of October, so it’s no surprise that it’ll feel like it.

Gazing out across the grounds and gardens of Spoutwood, it’s easy to see that the season is drawing to a close. Black walnuts litter the ground, mingled with red, yellow, and orange leaves. While some trees have barely started to turn, others are nearly bare, while maples and beeches glow in various shades of gold and yellow. Many flowers have gone to seed, those that retain their seed-heads through the Winter providing valuable food for chickadees, tufted titmice, and other over-wintering birds.

In the gardens, the brown of freshly-tilled earth and the green of cover crops – winter rye and purple vetch – begins to dominate over those beds still producing vegetables. Just as this has been the best-producing garden we’ve had in a long while, if ever, so we are better prepared for the Winter, and the Spring to come, with cover crops to nourish the soil and suppress weed growth.

But even as the garden slouches comfortably toward its Winter sleep, its remaining productive beds continue to bring forth a bounty of produce: Swiss chard and collards, broccoli and cauliflower, squash and sweet potatoes, Chinese cabbage, and the last of the Summer’s peppers, available in profusion this week. We are in no danger of running short of vegetables for your eating pleasure!

Beets: Also known as “beetroot” (especially in the U.K.), both parts of this luscious, nutritious plant are edible: the roots and the leaves as well. Today, we actually harvested a beet-chard cross: the two are, as Rob put it, “sisters – not even just cousins.” Try parboiling the root to al dente, then sautéing with the greens in butter or olive oil, seasoned with a little Celtic sea salt and fresh-ground pepper.

Peppers, Green: A plethora of peppers today, both bell and chili. Typically eaten raw or perhaps stuffed and baked, green (bell) peppers are also delicious drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and then grilled until soft.

Peppers, Anaheim: A mild chili pepper, Anaheims are excellent in salsa and in fact in any kind of cooking with peppers: they provide a slightly zestier flavor over bell peppers without the fiery heat of our now-defunct Red Lanterns. Try stuffing these for a mild version of jalapeño “poppers.”

Kohlrabi: Dubbed “the Sputnik plant” by one of our previous apprentices for the antenna-like look of its leaves springing from the rounded body of the vegetable, kohlrabi is another wonderful veggie in the cruciferous (cabbage) family. Kohlrabi may be added raw to salads (or become the basis of a slaw), steamed, stir-fried, or added to soups. It can also be boiled and mashed with potatoes, or even fried. Versatile and delicious, if a bit odd to the eye! Large shares only this week.

Broccoli: Everyone knows broccoli, a kitchen and salad-bar staple. If you’re like me (Tom), you like it lightly steamed or raw, rather than cooked to death as in my childhood and in many restaurants. Try with grated cheese, or a squeeze of lemon. Some shareholders will get broccoli this week, others will get…

Cauliflower: Another member of the brassica family, cauliflower is blanched (kept white) by leaves that curl around the head, protecting it from the sun. Use raw in salads or with dips, or cook with broccoli and carrots and top with fresh-grated cheese for a colorful and healthy side. I like my cauliflower, like my broccoli, cooked no more than al dente.

Swiss Chard: This delicious, attractive, and nutritious large-leafed plant is one of our leafy greens (or as they used to call them, “pot-herbs”) for the week. May have white (Fordhook Giant) or colored (Bright Lights) stems. More delicate (and faster-cooking) than kale, use as you would spinach or another green. May be blanched or sautéed lightly and layered with parmesan, romano, or asiago cheese and baked en casserole for a lovely gratin. Also delicious in quiche, with or without the addition of spring onions or mushrooms.

Arugula: Roquette to the French and “rocket salad” to the British, arugula is a bitey green with what some call a nutty flavor. The entire plant is edible, including stalks and flowers. Some enjoy as a salad on its own with a light vinaigrette, others add to salad mixes or stir-fries. Rob swears by arugula and peanut butter sandwiches!

Mustard Greens: A Southern favorite, these bitey, tangy greens are a “pot-herb” that can be eaten alone or in combination with other leafy greens (of which we have several this week). Typically cooked (boiled or steamed, perhaps stir-fried), they can also be added sparingly to salads.

Bok Choi: Also known as pak choi, “white vegetable” to the Chinese, bok choi is an Asian green related to Chinese cabbage. Excellent as the basis of stir-fries, or added to soups, bok choi is high in vitamins A and C and calcium, and low in calories.

Lettuce: The triumphal return of Spoutwood lettuce! The classic foundation for salads or a green and crispy addition to sandwiches, lettuce can also be used to make wraps – raw or cooked – or even lacto-fermented. Some of the edges may be brown; this is due to a slight case of frost-nip, just pull those parts off and use the rest.

Onions: Red and yellow onions: we don’t have to tell you how to use these.

Flowers: Included in this weeks’ flower bouquet are: zinnias, tansy, African basil, globe amaranth, plume celosia, New England asters, seed-heads of Jerusalem artichokes, and some goldenrod.

Bread: For those who purchased bread shares, today’s selection from Atwaters is Country White.

Braised Broccoli with Olives

4 small heads broccoli or 1 1/2 or more pounds broccoli sprouts
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion
1 tablespoon chopped marjoram or oregano
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons olive paste or finely chopped Gaeta olives
grated zest of 1/2 lemon

1. Separate the stalks from the broccoli crowns. Thickly peel and trim the stalks and chop them into 1/2-inch pieces. Peel the base of the broccoli crowns, then separate them into florets.

2. Bring 2 quarts water to a boil; add salt, then the broccoli. Cook for 5 minutes (even if the water barely returns to the boil), then scoop into a colander to drain, reserving a cup of the water. Chop into small pieces just smaller than bite-sized.

3. Warm the olive oil in a wide skillet, then add the onion, marjoram, and garlic. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring now and then, until the onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the olive paste; add the broccoli and stir to coat well. Taste for salt, season with pepper, and add the lemon zest. Add the reserved broccoli water and simmer gently until the broccoli is very tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Pureed Broccoli and Roasted Garlic Canapes

4 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil (preferably extra-virgin)
1/8 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
16 1/2-inch-thick baguette slices

2 cups broccoli florets plus 1/2 cup peeled thinly sliced stalks (from about 8 ounces broccoli)
1 cup canned cannellini (white kidney beans), rinsed, drained
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine garlic, oil and crushed red pepper in small custard cup. Cover tightly with foil. Bake until garlic is tender, about 35 minutes. Cool slightly. Arrange baguette slices in single layer on baking sheet. Bake until lightly toasted, about 15 minutes.

Steam broccoli florets and stalks until very tender, about 8 minutes. Rinse with cold water. Drain. Transfer to processor. Add cannellini, lemon juice and oil-and-garlic mixture. Process until smooth. Season broccoli puree with salt and pepper. (Toasts and broccoli puree can be made up to 6 hours ahead. Store toasts airtight at room temperature. Cover and chill puree.)

Roasted Broccoli with Asiago

1 1/2 pounds (about 1 large bunch) broccoli, stalks trimmed to 2 inches below crowns
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup grated Asiago cheese

Farm Happenings

BAGS: Requested, Recycling of Same (including paper bags)

As most of you will know, there are various share items which must be bagged even within your usual share bag. And frankly, we’re low on appropriate bags. Thus, we’re asking our shareholders to please return the paper bags the potatoes come in as well as any plastic bags that you might have at home. We are looking for both standard grocery-sized bags, and smaller plastic bags such as those used for produce in supermarkets, to keep newspapers dry, etc. If at all possible, please help us by bringing them in pre-sorted as to size.

Also, please be aware (if you aren’t already) that your plastic share bags can be re-used the following week! Better yet, invest in a cloth “market bag” that can be used over and over again. We are in the process of investigating Spoutwood-themed practical items to offer for sale, including Market Bags -- stay tuned to this space! In the meantime, if you bring back your plastic ones, you’ll help us and Mother Earth alike. Many thanks, from us and the Home Planet.

Need your rubber bands? Fine… but if you don’t, we would be pleased if you could bring those (or any excess beyond your needs) back with you when you come. We’d be happy to reuse them to bundle your produce in the weeks to come.

If your small paper bags (used for potatoes, etc.) are in reasonably good shape, we’d be grateful if you’d bring those back, too, so we can reuse them. Help us save money and resources! Thanks.

Vegetable of the Week

Broccoli

This autumn broccoli is beautiful and there’s more to come!

History: The word broccoli comes from the Italian broccolo, the diminutive of brocco, meaning shoot, stalk. Broccoli is a cultivar of wild cabbage, remaining exactly the same species. Wild cabbage originated along the northern and western coasts of the Mediterranean, where it was apparently domesticated thousands of years ago. That domesticated cabbage was eventually bred into widely varying forms, including broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, kohlrabi, and brussels sprouts, all of which remain the same species.

Roman references to a cabbage-family vegetable that may have been broccoli are less than perfectly clear: the Roman natural history writer, Pliny the Elder, wrote about a vegetable that fit the description of broccoli. This would imply that the Romans grew their own broccoli for culinary uses during the 1st century. Some vegetable scholars recognize broccoli in the cookbook of Apicius.

Broccoli was an Italian vegetable long before it was eaten elsewhere. At that time it was a sprouting type, not the single large head that is seen today. It is first mentioned in France in 1560, but in 1724 broccoli was still so unfamiliar in England that Philip Miller's Gardener's Dictionary (1724 edition) referred to it as a stranger in England and explained it as "sprout colli-flower" or "Italian asparagus." In the American colonies, Thomas Jefferson was also an experimenting gardener with a wide circle of European correspondents, from whom he got packets of seeds for rare vegetables. He noted the planting of broccoli at Monticello along with radishes, lettuce, and cauliflower on May 27, 1767. Nevertheless, broccoli remained exotic in American gardens. In 1775, John Randolph, in A Treatise on Gardening by a Citizen of Virginia, felt he had to explain about broccoli: "The stems will eat like Asparagus, and the heads like cauliflower."

Italians brought broccoli to North America by 1806^], but it did not become popular until the 1920s. Commercial cultivation of broccoli in the United States can be traced to the D'Arrigo brothers, Stephano and Andrea, Italian immigrants from Messina, whose company made some tentative plantings in San Jose, California, in 1922. A few crates were initially shipped to Boston, where there was a thriving Italian immigrant culture in the North End. The broccoli business boomed, with the D'Arrigo's brand name "Andy Boy" named after Stephano's two-year-old son, Andrew, and backed with advertisements on the radio.

Nutrition: High in vitamin C and soluble fiber and contains multiple nutrients with potent anti-cancer properties including diindolylmethane and selenium. The 3,3'-Diindolylmethane found in broccoli is a potent modulator of the innate immune response system with anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-cancer activity. Broccoli also contains the compound glucoraphanin, which can be processed into an anticancer compound sulforaphane, though the benefits of broccoli are greatly reduced if the vegetable is boiled more than ten minutes. A high intake of broccoli has been found to reduce the risk of aggressive prostate cancer. Broccoli leaf is also edible and contains far more betacarotene than the florets.Beetroots are rich in the nutrient betaine. Betaine supplements, manufactured as a by-product of sugar beet processing, are prescribed to lower potentially toxic levels of homocysteine (Hcy), a homologue of the naturally occurring amino acid cysteine, which can be harmful to blood vessels thereby contributing to the development of heart disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease. Also high in vitamin K.

^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beet
- cite_note-umaryland-2}

Preparation and Storage:

Wrap unwashed Broccoli in plastic wrap or tuck into a plastic bag and store in the vegetable drawer or crisper section of your refrigerator until ready to use. It will keep for five to seven days, but is best used right away.





	Spoutwood Farm CSA Harvest Guide: Week 19: October 16th, 2008 To return to the 2008 Harvest Guide page, click here Farm News Today's Harvest Vegetable of the Week Recipes of the Week Farm Happenings Farm News Greetings, Spoutwood Farm friends! Welcome to the nineteenth week of the 2008 Community Supported Agriculture season, here at Spoutwood Farm! Hard to believe we’ve only got three weeks, after today, until this season comes to a close… But we have lots of delicious vegetables to share with you before then. This week, we’ve been enjoying a spell of “Indian Summer,” defined as a period of warm weather following the first frost. Yesterday was near eighty, a dramatic increase over last week’s cool temperatures! But today is cooler, and the next several days are expected to be cooler yet. It is, after all, the second half of October, so it’s no surprise that it’ll feel like it. Gazing out across the grounds and gardens of Spoutwood, it’s easy to see that the season is drawing to a close. Black walnuts litter the ground, mingled with red, yellow, and orange leaves. While some trees have barely started to turn, others are nearly bare, while maples and beeches glow in various shades of gold and yellow. Many flowers have gone to seed, those that retain their seed-heads through the Winter providing valuable food for chickadees, tufted titmice, and other over-wintering birds. In the gardens, the brown of freshly-tilled earth and the green of cover crops – winter rye and purple vetch – begins to dominate over those beds still producing vegetables. Just as this has been the best-producing garden we’ve had in a long while, if ever, so we are better prepared for the Winter, and the Spring to come, with cover crops to nourish the soil and suppress weed growth. But even as the garden slouches comfortably toward its Winter sleep, its remaining productive beds continue to bring forth a bounty of produce: Swiss chard and collards, broccoli and cauliflower, squash and sweet potatoes, Chinese cabbage, and the last of the Summer’s peppers, available in profusion this week. We are in no danger of running short of vegetables for your eating pleasure! Speaking of eating pleasure, please feel free to drop us a line if you discover a new recipe, have any cooking tips, or would like to share your favorite way to eat the veggies from our harvest - email us and we’ll share with everyone else! That address is: csa@spoutwood.com. As the old commercial used to say, “please make a note of it.” Thanks! Today's Harvest Beets: Also known as “beetroot” (especially in the U.K.), both parts of this luscious, nutritious plant are edible: the roots and the leaves as well. Today, we actually harvested a beet-chard cross: the two are, as Rob put it, “sisters – not even just cousins.” Try parboiling the root to al dente, then sautéing with the greens in butter or olive oil, seasoned with a little Celtic sea salt and fresh-ground pepper. Peppers, Green: A plethora of peppers today, both bell and chili. Typically eaten raw or perhaps stuffed and baked, green (bell) peppers are also delicious drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and then grilled until soft. Peppers, Anaheim: A mild chili pepper, Anaheims are excellent in salsa and in fact in any kind of cooking with peppers: they provide a slightly zestier flavor over bell peppers without the fiery heat of our now-defunct Red Lanterns. Try stuffing these for a mild version of jalapeño “poppers.” Kohlrabi: Dubbed “the Sputnik plant” by one of our previous apprentices for the antenna-like look of its leaves springing from the rounded body of the vegetable, kohlrabi is another wonderful veggie in the cruciferous (cabbage) family. Kohlrabi may be added raw to salads (or become the basis of a slaw), steamed, stir-fried, or added to soups. It can also be boiled and mashed with potatoes, or even fried. Versatile and delicious, if a bit odd to the eye! Large shares only this week. Broccoli: Everyone knows broccoli, a kitchen and salad-bar staple. If you’re like me (Tom), you like it lightly steamed or raw, rather than cooked to death as in my childhood and in many restaurants. Try with grated cheese, or a squeeze of lemon. Some shareholders will get broccoli this week, others will get… Cauliflower: Another member of the brassica family, cauliflower is blanched (kept white) by leaves that curl around the head, protecting it from the sun. Use raw in salads or with dips, or cook with broccoli and carrots and top with fresh-grated cheese for a colorful and healthy side. I like my cauliflower, like my broccoli, cooked no more than al dente. Swiss Chard: This delicious, attractive, and nutritious large-leafed plant is one of our leafy greens (or as they used to call them, “pot-herbs”) for the week. May have white (Fordhook Giant) or colored (Bright Lights) stems. More delicate (and faster-cooking) than kale, use as you would spinach or another green. May be blanched or sautéed lightly and layered with parmesan, romano, or asiago cheese and baked en casserole for a lovely gratin. Also delicious in quiche, with or without the addition of spring onions or mushrooms. Arugula: Roquette to the French and “rocket salad” to the British, arugula is a bitey green with what some call a nutty flavor. The entire plant is edible, including stalks and flowers. Some enjoy as a salad on its own with a light vinaigrette, others add to salad mixes or stir-fries. Rob swears by arugula and peanut butter sandwiches! Mustard Greens: A Southern favorite, these bitey, tangy greens are a “pot-herb” that can be eaten alone or in combination with other leafy greens (of which we have several this week). Typically cooked (boiled or steamed, perhaps stir-fried), they can also be added sparingly to salads. Bok Choi: Also known as pak choi, “white vegetable” to the Chinese, bok choi is an Asian green related to Chinese cabbage. Excellent as the basis of stir-fries, or added to soups, bok choi is high in vitamins A and C and calcium, and low in calories. Lettuce: The triumphal return of Spoutwood lettuce! The classic foundation for salads or a green and crispy addition to sandwiches, lettuce can also be used to make wraps – raw or cooked – or even lacto-fermented. Some of the edges may be brown; this is due to a slight case of frost-nip, just pull those parts off and use the rest. Onions: Red and yellow onions: we don’t have to tell you how to use these. Thyme: Several varieties of thyme to grace your palate this week! Oregano: Use fresh or dried in many Italian and Greek dishes. Flowers: Included in this weeks’ flower bouquet are: zinnias, tansy, African basil, globe amaranth, plume celosia, New England asters, seed-heads of Jerusalem artichokes, and some goldenrod. Bread: For those who purchased bread shares, today’s selection from Atwaters is Country White. Recipes of the Week Braised Broccoli with Olives 4 small heads broccoli or 1 1/2 or more pounds broccoli sprouts sea salt and freshly ground pepper 1/4 cup olive oil 1 onion 1 tablespoon chopped marjoram or oregano 3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped 2 tablespoons olive paste or finely chopped Gaeta olives grated zest of 1/2 lemon 1. Separate the stalks from the broccoli crowns. Thickly peel and trim the stalks and chop them into 1/2-inch pieces. Peel the base of the broccoli crowns, then separate them into florets. 2. Bring 2 quarts water to a boil; add salt, then the broccoli. Cook for 5 minutes (even if the water barely returns to the boil), then scoop into a colander to drain, reserving a cup of the water. Chop into small pieces just smaller than bite-sized. 3. Warm the olive oil in a wide skillet, then add the onion, marjoram, and garlic. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring now and then, until the onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the olive paste; add the broccoli and stir to coat well. Taste for salt, season with pepper, and add the lemon zest. Add the reserved broccoli water and simmer gently until the broccoli is very tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Pureed Broccoli and Roasted Garlic Canapes 4 garlic cloves, peeled 2 tablespoons olive oil (preferably extra-virgin) 1/8 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper 16 1/2-inch-thick baguette slices 2 cups broccoli florets plus 1/2 cup peeled thinly sliced stalks (from about 8 ounces broccoli) 1 cup canned cannellini (white kidney beans), rinsed, drained 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine garlic, oil and crushed red pepper in small custard cup. Cover tightly with foil. Bake until garlic is tender, about 35 minutes. Cool slightly. Arrange baguette slices in single layer on baking sheet. Bake until lightly toasted, about 15 minutes. Steam broccoli florets and stalks until very tender, about 8 minutes. Rinse with cold water. Drain. Transfer to processor. Add cannellini, lemon juice and oil-and-garlic mixture. Process until smooth. Season broccoli puree with salt and pepper. (Toasts and broccoli puree can be made up to 6 hours ahead. Store toasts airtight at room temperature. Cover and chill puree.) Spread broccoli puree atop toasts. Transfer canapés to platter and serve. Roasted Broccoli with Asiago 1 1/2 pounds (about 1 large bunch) broccoli, stalks trimmed to 2 inches below crowns 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 cup grated Asiago cheese Preheat oven to 450°F. Cut each crown of broccoli lengthwise into 4 spears. Place broccoli in large bowl; toss with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Transfer broccoli to large rimmed baking sheet. Add grated Asiago cheese to same bowl. Roast broccoli until crisp-tender and stalks begin to brown, about 25 minutes. Return broccoli to bowl with cheese. Using tongs, toss to coat. Farm Happenings *BAGS: Requested, Recycling of Same (including paper bags)* As most of you will know, there are various share items which must be bagged even within your usual share bag. And frankly, we’re low on appropriate bags. Thus, we’re asking our shareholders to please return the paper bags the potatoes come in as well as any plastic bags that you might have at home. We are looking for both standard grocery-sized bags, and smaller plastic bags such as those used for produce in supermarkets, to keep newspapers dry, etc. If at all possible, please help us by bringing them in pre-sorted as to size. Also, please be aware (if you aren’t already) that your plastic share bags can be re-used the following week! Better yet, *invest in a cloth “market bag” that can be used over and over again. We are in the process of investigating Spoutwood-themed practical items to offer for sale, including Market Bags -- stay tuned to this space! In the meantime, if you bring back your plastic ones, you’ll help us and Mother Earth alike. Many thanks, from us and the Home Planet. Need your rubber bands? Fine… but if you don’t, we would be pleased if you could bring those (or any excess beyond your needs) back with you when you come. We’d be happy to reuse them to bundle your produce in the weeks to come. If your small paper bags (used for potatoes, etc.) are in reasonably good shape, we’d be grateful if you’d bring those back, too, so we can reuse them. Help us save money and resources! Thanks. Vegetable of the Week* Broccoli This autumn broccoli is beautiful and there’s more to come! *History:* The word broccoli comes from the Italian broccolo, the diminutive of brocco, meaning shoot, stalk. Broccoli is a cultivar of wild cabbage, remaining exactly the same species. Wild cabbage originated along the northern and western coasts of the Mediterranean, where it was apparently domesticated thousands of years ago. That domesticated cabbage was eventually bred into widely varying forms, including broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, kohlrabi, and brussels sprouts, all of which remain the same species. Roman references to a cabbage-family vegetable that may have been broccoli are less than perfectly clear: the Roman natural history writer, Pliny the Elder, wrote about a vegetable that fit the description of broccoli. This would imply that the Romans grew their own broccoli for culinary uses during the 1st century. Some vegetable scholars recognize broccoli in the cookbook of Apicius. Broccoli was an Italian vegetable long before it was eaten elsewhere. At that time it was a sprouting type, not the single large head that is seen today. It is first mentioned in France in 1560, but in 1724 broccoli was still so unfamiliar in England that Philip Miller's Gardener's Dictionary (1724 edition) referred to it as a stranger in England and explained it as "sprout colli-flower" or "Italian asparagus." In the American colonies, Thomas Jefferson was also an experimenting gardener with a wide circle of European correspondents, from whom he got packets of seeds for rare vegetables. He noted the planting of broccoli at Monticello along with radishes, lettuce, and cauliflower on May 27, 1767. Nevertheless, broccoli remained exotic in American gardens. In 1775, John Randolph, in A Treatise on Gardening by a Citizen of Virginia, felt he had to explain about broccoli: "The stems will eat like Asparagus, and the heads like cauliflower." Italians brought broccoli to North America by 1806^], but it did not become popular until the 1920s. Commercial cultivation of broccoli in the United States can be traced to the D'Arrigo brothers, Stephano and Andrea, Italian immigrants from Messina, whose company made some tentative plantings in San Jose, California, in 1922. A few crates were initially shipped to Boston, where there was a thriving Italian immigrant culture in the North End. The broccoli business boomed, with the D'Arrigo's brand name "Andy Boy" named after Stephano's two-year-old son, Andrew, and backed with advertisements on the radio. *Nutrition:* High in vitamin C and soluble fiber and contains multiple nutrients with potent anti-cancer properties including diindolylmethane and selenium. The 3,3'-Diindolylmethane found in broccoli is a potent modulator of the innate immune response system with anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-cancer activity. Broccoli also contains the compound glucoraphanin, which can be processed into an anticancer compound sulforaphane, though the benefits of broccoli are greatly reduced if the vegetable is boiled more than ten minutes. A high intake of broccoli has been found to reduce the risk of aggressive prostate cancer. Broccoli leaf is also edible and contains far more betacarotene than the florets.Beetroots are rich in the nutrient betaine. Betaine supplements, manufactured as a by-product of sugar beet processing, are prescribed to lower potentially toxic levels of homocysteine (Hcy), a homologue of the naturally occurring amino acid cysteine, which can be harmful to blood vessels thereby contributing to the development of heart disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease. Also high in vitamin K. ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beet - cite_note-umaryland-2} Preparation and Storage: Wrap unwashed Broccoli in plastic wrap or tuck into a plastic bag and store in the vegetable drawer or crisper section of your refrigerator until ready to use. It will keep for five to seven days, but is best used right away.

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