Romanesco?!

As I have mentioned before, I am participating in a CSA this summer. That stands for "Community Supported Agriculture" and essentially means that I paid a farm (Driftless Organics, to be specific) this spring so that every other week, from June well into fall, they would box up some veggies for me to enjoy. The vegetables are delicious, it is hard to keep up with them, and the whole effort is a great exercise in remembering that vegetables grow in the ground and depend on the weather. The carrots look arthritic, the tomatoes got blight and died after just one round of picking, and the arugula just keeps coming - every vegetable (and melon) that I've received, however, has tasted absolutely divine.... and then came the romanesco.

In the lovely newsletter that we (my friend Lara and I - we share the veggie boxes and it's STILL hard to keep up!) receive with each box, there is a nice note from the farmers, a helpful glossary of sorts to explain what's in the box, and a few relevant recipes. Here's an excerpt of what the romanesco description says this week: "Broccoli's good, but Romanesco is stunning. I've actually had people say they couldn't eat it because it's too beautiful. This Italian heirloom cooks up and tastes more like cauliflower than broccoli. I like to steam it whole in water with lemon juice or broth & then serve it quartered." Have a look for yourself - beautiful, right?!