Gathering the Fragments: Broccoli for Breakfast

You know those mornings when you get busy doing odds and ends and all of a sudden it is nearly 11 and you realized you've had nothing but coffee?  No wonder I was hungry, but at 11 who wants to eat breakfast food.  Fortunately I had been cleaning the fridge and knew I had about a cup of  twice re-warmed broccoli that had to be eaten within the day. (Since I have doing the paleo thing  and am buying so much fresh produce, I am acutely aware of how much it costs. I don't want to waste even a bite.) So my only issue was how to process the very over cooked green stuff so it would have some flavor and minimize the mush factor.

I had recently gone to a ladies luncheon type thing and they served a raw broccoli and grape salad. I don't remember exactly what was in it, but I thought it might be worth trying to make it, especially since I also had about a cup of red seedless grapes and green onions in the refrigerator.  In addition to the produce, I had 2 strips of bacon I had cooked late last week that could be heated and crisped.

                                             Broccoli, Grape and Bacon Salad

Not a recipe, but a method:

I started by draining the broccoli in a large sieve. I pressed lightly on it with the back of a wooden spoon.  Some liquid came out, but it was so overcooked that any further pressing would have left me with broccoli baby food. (Not appealing!)

I put the somewhat drained broccoli in a small bowl with the  grapes, and sliced onions and poured about a teaspoon and a half of red wine vinegar over it all. Then I added about a teaspoon of mayonnaise and a teaspoon of whole grain mustard, salt and pepper and the chopped very crisp bacon.  Before I stirred it together I saw a bag of pecan halves and grabbed 4 or 5, broke them in pieces and tossed them in the bowl.  A very quick stir was all it took to coat every thing with the mayo/vinegar.  It was ready to eat, but I was taking a picture of it so I put it in a clean bowl and threw 5 more grapes on the top. (Truth be told, I took 5 grapes out of the salad and rinsed them off, patted them dry, and stuck them on the top just for the picture.  I know, I am lame and forgot to hold any out for a garnish.)

This was good, but not as good as I remember the one I ate before.  I am sure mushy cooked broccoli paled in comparison to the fresh, finely chopped raw broccoli.  But I will admit it was still a pretty good way to use and eat that broccoli.  If I have about the same amount left over again I will do the exact same thing and it will be a pretty tasty, filling meal plus it has a nice serving of vegetables.  The bacon was delicious (that would be because it's BACON!) but I think as a side salad it would be really good without it.

I will make this intentionally using fresh broccoli the next time it is on sale. I thought about snagging some when I went to the grocery store today but it was considerably higher than my usual price point so I didn't get any.  If you are tired of salad greens and want something a little different this might be the thing to try.

Try something unexpected with your leftovers; it might just be the beginning of a whole new way to look at the refrigerator.