On Eating Broccoli Stalks

     Page One Hundred-One.
     I always thought that the only part of broccoli which was good to eat was the flower. So I would always trim my broccoli to within an inch of its life prior to cooking and then toss most of what I'd purchased in the garbage can. A few years ago, I was corrected.
     I was helping build the Coliseum in Rome one day and was having my traditional lunch of two Big Macs, an extra large order of fries, two hot apple pies for dessert and a diet Coke. I noticed some of my co-workers eating what appeared to be broccoli stalks. I recognized these co-workers in passing as they were all six original members of Pink Floyd: Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Syd Barrett, Henry Mancini, Richard Wright and Nick Mason. They were all sitting together and joking around, even Syd, who appeared to be somewhat stable. I approached them and introduced myself. We hadn't really met prior because we were working on different elements of the building and we'd been placed there by differing contractors. They were welders, I was electrical. But I was so stunned by the sight of these Earthlings eating broccoli stalks that I just had to investigate. They were shocked that I didn't eat the stalk as they thought the stalk was practically the sweetest and most flavorful part of the entire plant. They offered me a sample and I had to agree. I asked them how to prepare stalks properly. Henry Mancini spoke right up:  
     "The only real trick is to peel it prior to cooking as the skin is yucky. Use a potato peeler for this project. But once you get the tough skin out of there, just cook as normal. The stalk will take longer than the flower by a couple of minutes. So it's best to cut the stalk off right near the flower and cook it longer. If you leave the flower on the stalk and cook the entire spear together, by the time the stalk is done the flower will be mush. An average stalk might take a total of six or seven minutes or so to boil up, while the flower might be done in four or so, depending upon size. That's it."
     Then Syd Barrett weighed in:
     "Make sure to use plenty of water and also heavily salt it to retain the beautiful green color. So just toss the stalk into the boiling water, set the timer for about three or four minutes then toss in the flowers. Then set the timer for another three minutes or so. Let them all cook together.  Once everything is fork tender, they're done. They'll be great."
     So, that's it. I've been cooking and eating stalks ever since and golly gosh gee are they good or what?