But I don't really like broccoli

The one thing I have in common with the former President George H.W. Bush is that I am not a huge broccoli fan. I eat it, sometimes. But not all the time.

My parents have an on-going issue with broccoli. My father is convinced it is good for him and he should eat it regularly - a couple times a week is fine with him. If he goes to a grocery store, he will come home with broccoli. If he goes to a restaurant which has a dish with broccoli in it, he will order it. My mother, on the other hand, would prefer to eat it less frequently - once a week at most.

Bad news for my mother. The latest research shows that broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables contain Sulforaphane, one of the primary phytochemicals, which has been shown for the first time to selectively target and kill cancer cells while leaving normal prostate cells healthy and unaffected. If my father learns this, I am afraid he will want it daily. That would be pretty darn boring as far as I am concerned.

Additionally, "The findings, made by scientists in the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, are another important step forward for the potential use of sulforaphone in cancer prevention and treatment. Clinical prevention trials are already under way for its use in these areas, particularly prostate and breast cancer. "

Luckily there are lots of other cruciferous vegetables out there to eat besides broccoli. A partial list from wikipedia includes: horseradish, collard greens, Chinese Broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, broccoflower, cauliflower, kohlrabi, bok choy, komatsuna, mizuna, broccoli rabe, flowering cabbage, chinese cabbage, napa cabbage, turnip (roots and greens), rutabaga, Siberian Kale, mustard cabbage, arugula, water cress, radish, daikon and wasabi. We have been eating komatsuna and mizuna recently as I can get them from our local farmer's market. We use horseradish as a condiment regularly and cauliflower, kohlrabi, bok choy, kale, radishes, arugula and others cross our table fairly frequently. So I will skip the broccoli and stock up at the farmer's market for the summer.

I have a few ways of cooking all these greens that I like. I usually start with some sesame oil and toss in some chili paste for some zing. My brother in law likes to put vinegar on his which is also pretty good. And since everything is better with butter, that's always another option.

I am a fan of eating right but sometimes I think that if I ate the 'right things' all the time, all I would eat would be the 'right things' and not be able to fit in the other foods that I really like to eat without completely going off my diet. But I can fit in more green vegetables through the summer when they are fresh and tasty. But I'll skip the broccoli when I can.

Yes, my mother reads my blog so I am sure I will hear about this.