Don't forget to eat your vegetables!

A couple of days ago we were finally able to harvest some broccoli! We started a few plants in the earth box way back in the spring and they were looking great. Unfortunately for them, I transplanted them to their permanent home on a morning that turned out to be a very hot day, which turned out to be a very bad idea. They wilted pretty dramatically, and I wasn't sure they were going to pull through at all. In spite of me however, they have been coming along, and we were finally able to pick some this week. We picked them in the early morning, which seemed to fit fresh raspberries more than fresh broccoli, so I put the vegetables in a bowl in the fridge and then pulled them out for dinner tonight -- very responsible of me (so I thought) to include vegetables in the meal along with our delicious burgers. So Mick ate a stalk and handed me the other large stalk, which I began to munch. I was just about to take another bite when to my horror the broccoli, all on its own, without any help from me, began to wriggle! I jerked the broccoli away from my mouth in surprise, and a green worm dropped out of it onto my plate. YUCK! I must admit that I let out a bit of a scream. It was a pretty narrow escape from eating a live worm. Mick examined the broccoli more closely and this is what he came up with...


Yes, all of those out of that stalk of broccoli, which only a few minutes before had been on its way to my mouth. Our guests left gifts for us in the bowl as well:


Certainly not the best advertisement for home-grown food :-/ or for vegetables in general. It might be awhile before Mick eats anything that's not meat, especially since he's now wondering whether there were worms in his broccoli. May all your vegetables be animal-free!