Broccolini-It's the skinny one

Broccolini®, known in Europe as asparation and in the United States as baby broccoli, is a trademark of the Mann Produce Company, which developed the hybrid between broccoli and gai lan, also known as Chinese kale. The unique vegetable resembles broccoli or asparagus in physical appearance, with long stalks topped by delicate buds. (picture and text copied from wisegeek.org)

I took a chance on planting a few back in September.I knew it was a cole crop You understood correctly, "cole" not "cold". Others in that family are cabbage, broccoli, brussels  sprouts, cauliflower. I call them the stinky veggies because most give off an odor when cooked. It's my understanding that it's the sulfur in them that's released when cooking.

I started out with one pot but since I had  eight plants I had to find more pots.

 This is just after planting. I eventually added another pot. I left them in a sunny area. When we had cold snaps, I didn't bother covering them since they are cooler weather  crops. I did  fertilize them once using the bottled directions.

You can see they've grown quite a bit.

You can see where the broccolini heads a beginning 
to set. In the meantime I've discovered that the leaves on broccoli and broccolini are edible, You cook them the way you would any other greens.

                        I ATE THE LEAVES

I cut a few leaves from the larger plants. They aren't very large so they aren't tough or bitter. I washed them and tried them on a towel.

Placing a little oil, onion  and garlic in a cast iron pan, I added the chiffonaded leaves, salt and pepper. I sauteed them the way I would spinach, then added a little water, placed a top on it and let it steam a few minutes.  Larger leaves may require more cooking similar to collards.

 

After plating, I tasted the results and it was delicious. I plan to do this again but I'll give my plants a chance to grow before I pick it bald.