Mmm . . . from garden to table. Or more accurately, from our garden to our table.

This is the dish I made with our harvested broccoli recently. The flavor of the broccoli was delicate and mild, more gentle than usual … and totally enhanced by the dressing. Shawn and I have agreed that broccoli will be a repeat in our garden beds next year … hopefully with even more success than this year.

I’m having visions of doubling or tripling the number of raised beds in our backyard so that we can plant even more next year. More fresh spinach (which I was hesitant to even plant this year!), more broccoli, more peppers, more tomatoes. More, more, more. (No more red cabbage though. I have no idea what we will do with nine heads of it as it is). I love that we’ve all pitched in tending to the gardens — Will and Paige helping to pull weeds, Shawn mulching carefully around each plant . . . It’s been a wonderful family effort to grow. And we are just at the beginning of a season of truly homegrown foods. I love that.

We all really liked this (yes, the kids and the vegetable-phobic husband too!) dish. It went beautifully with pork on the first night and steak tonight … oh yea, we did eat the leftovers tonight. His idea. Love that too. This is versatile but it’s also easy (don’t be fooled by the length of the recipe, it really is easy … and I broke it up into three parts that are done consecutively so there is absolutely no confusion).

Try it, you’ll like it.

Broccoli Rice with Lemon Herb Dressing
serves 6-8

Dressing

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 oz extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tbsp fresh minced thyme
1 tsp fresh minced rosemary
1/2 tsp kosher salt
pinch pepper

Whisk all of the ingredients together. Set aside while cooking (so flavors can develop a bit).

Broccoli Mixture

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups fresh chopped broccoli

In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for one minute. Stir in the broccoli and cover. Cook 3-5 minutes until broccoli is tender.

Final Dish

1 recipe dressing
1 recipe broccoli
4 cups cooked white rice
salt

Combine the dressing and broccoli and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Stir in the rice. Salt to taste. Serve.

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