Love: that my children think steamed broccoli topped with grated cheese is delicious (Sonia asks for multiple helpings, something her tiny self hardly ever does no matter what the food!)
Hate: the way that my kitchen smells after I steam broccoli. Why can’t broccoli smell like, say, chocolate? Or at least like something more neutral?
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Hating the smell after steaming is nothing compared to the smell, nay stench!, of broccoli gone south. Our collective noses were horrified once we identified the source. That was in December. I confess I have yet to purchase broccoli again. It will happen one day, just not sure when!
I’ve never noticed a broccoli smell but I can’t stand the smell of cooked cauliflower. I wonder if roast broccoli would smell less:
1. Preheat oven and pan to 450F.
2. Toss broc with oil, salt spice, and maybe vinegar.
3. Spread in single layer on heated pan, roast till cooked but crispy, maybe 10 min?
No reason you can’t top this with cheese as well.
Italian: olive oil, red wine vinegar, rosemary/oregano/thyme, salt
Chinese: soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, garlic
So my freshman roommate was a broccoli fanatic. Every night at 11, she would microwave 2 bowls of broccoli and then eat each bite with exactly 3 squirts of spray butter. Every night. As in, in later years at school, “oh, you lived with the broccoli girl?”
And I agree with WilliamB about the roasting broccoli. Be sure it gets a little color, though.
And steaming in a steamer basket very quickly (almost just blanching) seems to make less of a smell than microwaving, in my experience.
Mmm broccoli… too bad I finished it yesterday. Now I want some!
MY FAMILY LOVES CHOPPED BROCCOLI, CAULIFLOWER, RED ONION, AND SOME FORM OF PASTA COOKED AND ADDED WITH A LIGHT VINEGAR DRESSING OR RANCH DRESSING WITH NO BROCCOLI “SMELLINESS” AND IT IS REALLY GOOD!!!
Call me crazy, but I LOVE the smell of broccoli cooking…..and cauliflower too. I don’t know what it is, but I really do love it. And luckily my hubby doesn’t mind it much either.
I adore the taste and smell too. Unfortunately my hubby loathes the smell and taste. but c’est la vie
He doesn’t have to eat it, but I do. I’m addicted. I particularly love it cooked, cold and dipped in mayonnaise that has a large dollop of wasabi mixed in. Yummy!!!
Hmmmm….I’ve never even thought about dipping it in a concoction like that–I’ve been stuck in a box of either plain or with melted cheese over cooked broccoli; my box is a bit boring I know.
But I do love wasabi, and I’d imagine the mayo would cut down on the spicy aspect of that. I may have to try that! 
Heloise tip: When cooking anything stinky like broclie cabbage fish etc place a small bowl of vinger on the counter. After you can use it for kitchen clean up.
I had never noticed the odor of broccoli cooking until I read this yesterday and then coincidentally had broccoli on the menu plan for dinner last night. The smell of microwaved broccoli permeated the entire main floor, and I blame it all on you!