Pip & the love of broccoli

Pip broccoli

To eat or not to eat ….!?
Pip Dodd’s favourite colour is green, of course!

What is your favourite vegetable?

I really love broccoli. Partly because I’m never quite sure whether to pronounce it “brockle-eee” or “brockle-eye”. (You say po-tay-to, I say po-tah-to….) Also because when you grow it yourself, you never know when you’re going to come across a little wriggly green caterpillar hiding in the florets. Hopefully, before you eat it….

What is your earliest garden memory?

Not really a garden memory, but when I was three we lived in a fibro cottage in the wilds of North Rocks. My brother and I would go down to the creek at the bottom of our backyard and collect tadpoles in a jam jar. I think of it every time I see the kids in the community garden collecting slugs from the compost heaps.

When did you join MBCG?

We came along to the fifth birthday party, having just moved to Balmain after years in the Blue Mountains. We’d had a couple of big gardens in the mountains – in Balmain we had almost nothing. Lots of people joined the community garden that day. Maybe we should have a fifth birthday party every year!

Can you share a favourite vegetable recipe?

Broccoli with a garnish of wriggly green caterpillars? No? Do hot chips count as a vegetable? Seriously, I’ve always loved Indian food, and there is such a wealth of vegetarian dishes to choose from. I just need to persuade the chef at Nithik’s Indian restaurant in Rozelle to share his recipes… Maybe at the next garden birthday party!