We had broccoli for dinner last night… oh we had other things with it, chicken, mashed potato, cabbage and carrots, and it was really yummy… and I did something which I read about in the paper. There is a letters’ column in the Daily Telegraph and as well as what would you expect from readers writing in, there are the usual comments on politics and other news items, usually from a particular point of view… but never mind that, there is always a selection of letters on a variety of topics such as the frequency of washing hair, birdsong, porridge, funny place names, etc…. the observations of people on the odder things in life.
Quite often there are debates over how to cook something, or use an otherwise cast off item of food… and just recently there has been a debate about broccoli and what to do with the green stalk. There have been all sorts of suggestions, from frying like chips, to eating raw, to feeding to pets, to just throwing it in the compost bin! As my head of broccoli looked so perfect and fresh, and the thick stalk looked so particularly green I decided not to just throw it away. Using my mandolin, very carefully (!!!) I thinly sliced part of the stalk and steamed it with the rest of the vegetables. result? Well, I will never waste broccoli stalk, because it made a really nice and tasty vegetable in its own right. I had cut it thinly so there was a pile of pretty, pale green discs sitting beside my chicken!
Lois Elsden 
I thought you’d got rid of your mandolin as it was so vicious!
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My wife does the same with the stalks as you did but i was thinking that you could slice them and make pretty green earrings out of them. Then you would have birds on your shoulders when you went out for a walk. What a pretty sight that would make. Only joking, don’t get mad!
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They are an enchanting shade of green – so I think your idea is very eco-friendly, especially at this time of year for the birds!!
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I am so tight-fisted I couldn’t throw away something which wasn’t worn out or broken – I now make sure I use it only on very long things, like celery, carrots and broccoli stalks!
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I lost half of a finger on a machine at YMCA two years ago. It’s great for warning kids to stop biting their fingernails and to preach the safe methods of using a mandolin to adults. Will have to come up with a magic trick for it to. No lie!
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Really? Good heavens!
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