Broccoli and Cauliflower

It was so exciting to finally cut off some broccoli and cauliflower from our garden!  Well, I actually had to because it looked like they were ready to bolt - which means the veggies were getting ready to flower.  I could tell as the florets of the broccoli was starting to turn a little yellow:

I originally left couple little ones on the plant but eventually after some "consultation" with a dear friend, she suggested to cut them too.  Supposedly some new baby ones will grow off the side.  Fingers crossed it will happen so we can have more broccoli!

You can see the yellowing a bit clearer here:

Happy gardener :-)

Charlie is being so dramatic. Ha ha!

And here are the 2 cauliflower I cut off.  As you can tell, the one to the right especially is starting to separate a bit meaning it is more than ready to be harvested:

And I also noticed how the area that was exposed to the sun was more yellow in color, compared to the part that was covered by its leaves:

I had to look this one up too.  So there are no issues with this discoloring.  In fact, it contains more phytonutrients (whatever that means - ha ha!).  The word "nutrients" is good enough for me! And supposedly, farmers have to be sure their cauliflower doesn't turn yellow because it is less appealing to us consumers.  How about that!  I definitely learned quite a few things about harvesting broccoli and cauliflower.  And oh, it's a one and done for cauliflower.  Bummer!

The broccoli and cauliflower dishes were both a hit! The only person that didn't eat them was Graham.  He still has something against vegetables! I baked both veggies in the oven at around 375F for about 15-20 min with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  That's it. For the cauliflower, I did finish it off with some parmesan cheese and also a sprinkle of crushed pepper. Super yum!  And I thought the broccoli smelled extra yummy in the oven compared to the ones we've previously bought from the store.  Although I have to say, it's been a while since we've bought any.  We've been buying mostly asparagus.  There are still some broccoli and cauliflower plants in another part of the garden that are not fully grown yet.  Perhaps I will move those the raised bed where these other ones have done well. I have to say, it's been so great being able to harvest from our own garden and learn all these new things about vegetables that we totally take for granted!