Broccoli is often referred to as a vegetable parents force on their unwilling children. My mom told me that broccoli were "little trees" and if I ate enough I would grow tall and strong. Mom was good with words and a great cook, and she always served broccoli steamed or in a stir-fry. Whatever way she made it tasted great.

This little memoir came back to me the other night when I ordered cream of broccoli soup. It tasted delicious but I knew it contained fattening ingredients ... and what my next recipe assignment would be.

Broccoli comes from the cabbage or brassicaceae family, classified as the Italica Cultivar group of the species Brassica oleracea. Members of this group include cabbage, cauliflower, kale, collard greens and kohlrabi and brussels sprouts. It is usually boiled, steamed and eaten raw. High in vitamin C and fiber, the vegetable also contains an anti-carcinogenic compound, glucoraphanin.

Usually grown in cooler climates, broccoli was cultivated in Italy long before it was eaten in other parts of Europe. Thomas Jefferson, an experimental gardener, planted broccoli along with other vegetables in Monticello in 1767. However, broccoli remained an exotic in American gardens for a long time. It wasn't until 1922 that the timing was right. That year, Stephano and Andrea D'Arrigo, immigrants from Messina, Italy made tentative plantings in San Jose, Calif., and shipped a few crates to the Boston's North End, the city's Italian community. More than 80 years later, broccoli is now a staple nationwide. Here's one more healthy way to prepare it — perfect for our recent chilly nights.

LIGHT AND CREAMY BROCCOLI SOUP