If I was a Vegetable…

If I was a vegetable, I would most definitely want to be a Romanesco Broccoli vegetable! These things are so AMAZING!!! Seriously…take a moment and look at this beautiful creation…

It literally memorizes me!! I was in the grocery store the other day and I was so excited the season of Romanesco was here! I saw it from afar…we met eyes and everything around us stopped…it was love at first sight! I picked it up and held it in my hands and didn’t care about anyone who was looking at me like I was a crazy person, I couldn’t take my eyes off of these beautiful spirals! They remind me of something you would take to war! Ok…so maybe it wasn’t that dramatic…but I REALLY love these little suckers!

Not only are these vegetables incredibly good looking, but they are INCREDIBLY nutritious!! Here are some facts about Romanesco & their nutritional traits:

• Romanesco found its way to the international market around 1990. It was cultivated in the area of Rome where it was discovered and perfected by Dutch gardeners.

• Romanesco is in the broccoli family and contains many of it’s amazing attributes! Two nutritional differences Romanesco has from broccoli is it contains more mineral salts and carotene.

• This vegetable contains a compound called Indole-3-Carbinol (I3C) which is incredibly strong at dominating cancer cells and viruses such as HPV.

• The vegetable resembles a cauliflower, but is of a light green color and the inflorescence (the bud) has an approximate self-similar character, with the branched meristems making a logarithmic spiral. These odd characteristics are often a delight of math-minded persons, who dubbed the vegetable terms like “fractal food”.

• It contains a high level of fiber aiding in digestive health.

• Romanesco is actually an edible flower! How fun is that!?

To learn more about “Fractal Food” and the Romanesco vegetable, you can check out this article that is super in depth- http://www.fourmilab.ch/images/Romanesco/.

Here are some resources for recipes to get more of this beautiful and delicious vegetable into your diet!

• http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/10/seriously-italian-broccoli-romanesco-recipes.html
• http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/roasted-romanesco-broccoli-50400000114320/
• http://www.foodista.com/blog/2011/11/06/3-rockin-romanesco-recipes#s.advylztwqbaaa

Additional Resources:

• http://www.vegparadise.com/highestperch44.html

I hope you loved today’s vegetable article! Let me know what you think about Romanesco and when you give it a try!

Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior – yes, the Messiah, the Lord – has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!

~ Luke 2:9-11