Shaved Brussels Sprouts

Shaved Brussles Sprouts (page 92)
served with BBQ tofu, mashed potatoes and gravy, and El Hombre's everything-but-the-kitchen-sink salad

These Brussels sprouts were really simple, but tasty. I especially liked how garlicky it turned out, with plenty of thinly sliced garlic cloves. Sometimes simple is the best - this recipe is really only three ingredients (onion, garlic, and Brussels sprouts), plus salt and pepper to taste.

There were jokes aplenty at the dinner table, because of the name of the recipe. We all giggled at the thought of hairy Brussels sprouts (i.e., un-shaved).

El Hombre made an awesome salad to go with our dinner. I think he used just about every single vegetable we had in the house: mixed greens, tomatoes, yellow squash, cucumber, carrot, green onion, roasted eggplant, cilantro, mushrooms... I'm sure there was something else in there that I'm not thinking of right now.

Forty-Clove Chickpeas & Broccoli

Forty-Clove Chickpeas & Broccoli, page 125

This was just what I needed tonight. Simple, comfort-like food. Easy. Tasty. Healthy. Cozy.

As an added bonus, smashing up those garlic cloves by giving them a good hard whack underneath the side of a heavy knife is really good for releasing a little aggression.

I had some baby potatoes from my garden that I thought would be a nice addition here, so I threw those in, too. Also, I used more garlic. The recipe may be called "Forty-Clove" Chickpeas and Broccoli, but it really only calls for ten. I used two whole heads of garlic, but they were big cloves. I didn't count, but I would guess there were maybe fifteen to twenty. They were good, and the house smelled absolutely amazing as they roasted in the hot oven.

The other great thing about this recipe: preparation and clean-up is minimal. Who doesn't love that? I think this dish just might become a staple in this house.

A pan-ful of goodness. Do I really have to share?

Supergreen Bowl

The Supergreen Bowl, page 266

Sigh. I really don't like being over-busy, but this is One of Those Weeks. With Cinco de Mayo and Mother's Day, the girls have three different ballet folklorico performances this week, in addition to practices. Piled on top of that are a few medical appointments, cleaning and laundry from the last camping trip and preparations for the next one, and all the usual schoolwork, errands, grocery shopping, housework, etc. etc. Again, sigh.

A bowl dinner seemed like a good grab-and-go option for tonight. I went with the Supergreen Bowl since I already had some quinoa in the refrigerator, some edamame in the freezer, and I loves me some o' that goddess dressing. The broccoli and greens were easy enough to chop up and steam in the microwave, and before I knew it, these bowls had practically assembled themselves. I tossed them in a soft-sided cooler and hauled everything along with us for the evening. After the girls were done dancing tonight at a community performance for Cinco de Mayo, we headed to a nearby park and enjoyed our bowls while watching the various ducks, geese, and other waterfowl in the creek.

With the quinoa and edamame, these bowls were not only delicious, but packed with plant-powered protein. I used roasted garlic in this batch of Green Goddess Garlic Dressing, and I think it turned out perfectly. I really liked this bowl combination, and will definitely eat it again.

Has anyone else tried any of the suggested bowls from Appetite for Reduction? Do you have a favorite?

Supergreen Bowls, packed and ready to go in the 'fridge

Goddess Nicoise Redux

Poolside Goddess Nicoise, page 25
substituting tofu in place of chickpeas

The Goddess Nicoise Salad has been one of my favorite AFR recipes, by far, so far. I decided to bring it back for Easter to share with the rest of the family, since they weren't around the first time I enjoyed it.

We chose to spend our Easter afternoon lounging poolside in this glorious Austin spring weather. As I whipped around the kitchen beforehand, steaming baby potatoes and green beans and buzzing up some goddess dressing in the blender, I suddenly realized that I had no chickpeas for the salad. Ack! Then, inspiration struck as I considered SweetPea's suggestion from earlier that day that we eat some egg-less (tofu) salad sandwiches (I guess veggie salads don't excite her like they do me): why not use some diced extra firm silken tofu in place of the chickpeas? I think the result was lovely; it was light yet still sophisticated.

This marks the third time I've made a batch of the Green Goddess Garlic Dressing. The first time was with my friend Anne, when we made it with young green garlic, and it was positively divine. The second time, I used the full amount of regular garlic; it was still delicious and pleasing, but it had a much stronger bite from the raw garlic that was too spicy for the girls. This time, I made a double batch of the dressing (to use throughout the rest of the week), and I only put in half the amount of garlic. It is again an excellent dressing, but the raw garlic still gives it a fairly spicy kick that makes it hard for the girls to enjoy as much as El Hombre and I do. I am thinking that the next time I make this dressing (because I will - I love it!), I'll try using lots of roasted garlic instead. I'm imagining that it will give the dressing a deep and rich, yet mellow and sweet garlicky taste, rather than the sharp zing of raw garlic.

I haven't been very diligent during the last week or so about sticking to my personal exercise and eating plan... tomorrow morning I will step on the scale to see what kind of damage I need to deal with. Sigh. I have no real excuses; I just need to realize that it's important to stick to the plan even when I'm feeling busy and overwhelmed with all the little details of life. Maybe even more important during those times. Anyway. Moving on...

Goddess Nicoise with Green Goddess Garlic Dressing

On Friday night I had a chance to slip away and spend the night with my dear friend Anne, who lives down in Bastrop. She lives in a beautiful historic home in the old downtown area, and it's always lots of fun to visit. Anne was a good sport, allowing me to choose a recipe from Appetite for Reduction for us to cook and enjoy for dinner on Friday evening.

Goddess Nicoise, page 25

I settled on the Goddess Nicoise salad, figuring it was an appropriate choice for two goddesses such as ourselves. We had a grand time and drank far too much wine throughout the evening; even so, we managed to pull off a delightful supper.

A briny mashed-chickpea-and-capers mixture here replaces the traditional Salad Nicoise components of tuna and hard-boiled eggs. Our tastes called for a little more dressing, caper brine, and salt than the recipe stated.

We were lucky to have the freshest red leaf lettuce available; Anne had just returned from visiting her cousin's farm that day, and she had brought back some farm-fresh produce with her, including some green garlic that we opted to use in the Green Goddess Garlic Dressing, instead of regular garlic.

The dressing... whoa. Deliciously mesmerizing. Delightfully titillating. Highly recommended.

Pasta con Broccoli

Pasta con Broccoli, page 169

Well, we finally have a dud.

Isa says up front that this is "simple food," but frankly, it was just boring and bland. I even used twice as much minced garlic as what the recipe called for. To be fair, I did leave out the red pepper flakes during the cooking process, for the girls, and didn't add them in until my serving was on my plate. So I suppose it's possible that cooking the red pepper along with the garlic, thyme, and brothy-wine (or is it winey-broth?) would have lent better depth to this dish.

Speaking of the girls, they thought it was okay, so perhaps it's not fair to call this a complete flop. At least it appealed somewhat to the kid-palate.

See that sprig of basil up there? That's what saved this dinner for El Hombre and me. I added it to the dish purely for photogenic purposes at first, but ended up shredding a few leaves and adding it to the pasta on my plate. That helped tremendously.

I probably wouldn't bother making this again, but if I did, I would certainly bang it up by adding about ten times as much garlic and a handful of the shredded fresh basil.

Garlicky Mushrooms & Kale

Garlicky Mushrooms and Kale - page 89
with vegan frittata and mixed romaine salad

Let me be upfront: I am not a fan of mushrooms. But El Hombre is! And I made this tonight to show him some mushroom-y love. He would eat them every day for every meal if I would just cook the darn things. I've tried to like them, I really have. I wish I did. I think it would make my life a little easier, especially as a vegan.

But back to the Garlicky Mushrooms & Kale! El Hombre thought it was great. Kale, garlic, mushrooms... in his eyes, what's not to love? Especially when it's finished off with a hearty drizzle of Sriracha sauce.

In the spirit of being open-minded, I tried a few bites with the mushrooms. And it wasn't bad. The garlic and kale had enough flavor on their own to mask the flavor of the mushrooms for me. But the texture of the mushrooms.... again, not a fan. I ended up giving away my share of the mushrooms to El Hombre, who happily took them off my hands. He's happy, I'm happy, it's a win-win.

We eat cooked greens a lot. I've cooked them like this before, but maybe not with quite so much garlic. But it was delicious, and heck, next time, I'll probably use even more garlic.