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Broccoli Stalks

22 Nov

When you cook broccoli… what do you do with the stems???

I used to be the one who would cut the florets off and I would get rid of the stalk.  But when I started cooking weekly at the Yoga center, the first time I attempted to throw away the stalk, I got a lesson on how to utilize all the resources available in the kitchen, and that includes the broccoli stalks.

broccoli-stalks

But you just can’t go and cook them the same way as the florets… the florets are delicate and with just steaming they’re perfectly cooked, as I mentioned to you previously here.  But the stalks are tougher and need to be treated differently.

First, cut off the end of the stalk.  You’ll see there is a green edge and a more whitish center.  We need to peel off the greenish outer part.  It’s stringy and not palatable at all.  What I do is to pierce with a knife just inside the green part and pull off the green part.  Just like with an asparagus, the green part will peel away where it’s supposed to cut off if you make the cut as deep as needed.  After you’ve peeled the whole stalk, just cut in into small pieces.

 

broccoli-stalk-2        broccoli-stalk-3

Now there are several things you can try out… one option is to boil the stalks together with some potatoes.  After they’re cooked, you can smash them together with the potatoes and you’ll be adding lots of added nutrition to the potatoes.  Because I use little water to partly boil/partly steam the potatoes/stalks, I usually use part of the water left over to mash the potatoes/stalks.  The water has nutrition of the veggies you’re cooking.

boiling-broccoli-w-potatoes

If you’re stir-frying, you can add the stalks at the beginning of the stir-fry, with other harder to cook veggies, like carrots.  By the time the stir fry is done, the stalks will be fully cooked.

The next time you buy broccoli, plan to use the stalks as well as the florets.  You’ll be amazed at how versatile and delicious they are.  It’s another way to stretch your dollar in these tough economic times.

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Steamed Broccoli with Grain Mustard Vinaigrette

4 Nov

The other day I was talking over Skype with my friend from high school, Clari, who now lives in Izmir, Turkey about one of her favorite dishes to make.  She gave me a bunch of Turkish recipes I hope to try for me and you soon.  I would rather eat them while traveling in Turkey first, really, but I will try them here if I do not win the Lotto first.   She mentioned that one of her favorites is Steamed Broccoli with a Yellow Lemon Vinaigrette.  

I was very surprised to hear her story about how her mom does not like the steamed broccoli with lemon combination at all, but her little 5-year old daughter, Kayra, loves it.  The thing is that I love it too…  After our last yoga retreat, I was craving steamed broccoli over olive oil mashed potatoes.  I just needed something to jazz up the broccoli and vinaigrette was just the answer.

So even across the Atlantic, in 2 different continents, two friends love the same dish.  Here’s how I do it…

 

STEAMED BROCCOLI WITH GRAIN MUSTARD VINAIGRETTE

½ a head of broccoli florets
1 tsp grain mustard
Juice of ½ a yellow lemon
About ¼ cup of extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

 

I usually make this with my Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes… so when I finish boiling the potatoes, I place the broccoli florets on top of the potatoes and cover the pot again and turn off the heat.  I let them steam with the steam and heat from the potatoes.

 

 

  1. If you’re making this on its own…  just bring to a boil about ½ inch of salted water in a small saucepan, place the broccoli florets in the pot, cover and turn off  the stove.  The broccoli will cook enough with just that steam that is in the pot.
  2. In about 5-6 minutes, the broccoli will be bright green, cooked, but still have some crunch to it.  I do not like over cooked, limp, opaque green broccoli at all.
  3. While the broccoli is steaming, make the vinaigrette – in a bowl or a jar mix together the mustard, lemon juice, salt, pepper and oil and whisk vigorously until well combined and emulsified.
  4. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the broccoli when you’re ready to eat.  I drizzle the left-over vinaigrette over the mashed potatoes too and it tastes awesome.

 

This vinaigrette works very well with any kind of steamed veggies – cauliflower, green beans, etc.  It’s super versatile as a salad dressing too.  Maybe this way, your kids might like to eat their broccoli too just like Kayra loves it.

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Baked Plantains in their Skin

29 Oct

Have you ever made baked plantains???  It’s the easiest thing to do when you’re hungry and in a hurry…   My grandma used to tell me that a baked plantain and a glass of milk on the side were a full meal. 

You can make this one of two ways: 

1- On the microwave – I do not usually use the microwave for cooking because of all the radiation it emits onto the food, but I do use it on occasion when I am super duper hungry and there’s no time to wait…

2- On the toaster oven – because it’s sacrilegious, with our current electricity costs, to turn on a whole oven for one lonely plantain

This is not even a recipe… because the plantain is the ONLY ingredient… but this is important, the plantain NEEDS to be super ripe, almost black for this to work…

 

 

BAKED PLANTAIN in its SKIN

1 very ripe plantain

 

  1. Cut both ends of the plantain and make a slit on the plantain skin from top to bottom.

If doing this in the microwave oven…

  1. Place plantain on a paper towel and microwave on HIGH for 3-4 minutes, depending on how large is your oven. 
  2. After time has elapsed, check the plantain for doneness.  If you want, you can turn the plantain on its other side and microwave again on HIGH for an extra 2-3 minutes. 
  3. Wait a few minutes for the radiation and heat to dissipate.  Take out of the plantain, remove it from its skin and enjoy.

               

 

If doing this on a regular toaster oven…

  1. Place the cut plantain on a oven proof dish at 350° F. 
  2. Let the plantain bake in its skin for about 20-25 minutes.  The sweet smell of the sugars in the plantain will let you know when it’s done. 
  3. Turn off the oven and let it finish cooking in the residual heat for about 10 minutes more.  Take the plantain out of its skin and enjoy.

 

This is a great side dish for… anything, in my opinion.  But if you dare try it with a glass of milk, let me know how it goes…  it’s awesome!!!

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Tomato Mozz Salad

19 Oct

This salad is a way to rearrange the same ingredients found in a Caprese Salad, plus adding some greens in the form of lettuce to increase the nutrition and the volume.

I first did this salad in this way when visiting my sister when she was living back in Indiana.  She had all the ingredients for a caprese salad – tomato, fresh mozzarella, great olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  The only thing was that the size of the ingredients were not the traditional ones to fix a traditional caprese… we had delicious grape tomatoes and bocconcini mozzarella.  So this is how I rearranged the ingredients to make it work for us…

 

TOMATO MOZZ SALAD

10 – 12 grape tomatoes, sliced in half
4 thick slices of fresh mozzarella or 6-8 bocconcini balls, cubed
6-8 romaine lettuce leaves, sliced and hard core pieces removed
Drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil
Drizzle of balsamic vinegar
Salt and Freshly Cracked Black Pepper
2-3 fresh basil leaves – optional

 

  1. In a small bowl, mix together the tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.  Add now also the basil leaves, if using.  Marinate tomatoes and cheese for about 20-30 minutes.  You can do this first and they can marinate while you prepare the rest of your meal.
  2. In a salad bowl, add the lettuce leaves and mix together with the tomato/cheese marinated mixture.  Toss to combine.  The extra mix of oil/vinegar will dress your salad beautifully.

 

The balsamic vinegar kind of “stains” the mozzarella and it looks “dirty”.  Even if the looks are not the best, the flavors are.  My sister called me once after I had left to remind her of the ingredients because she wanted to make it for company.  That’s how tasty this is…

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Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes

7 Oct

You know how it is…  that the things that come naturally to you and you think they’re the most normal and mundane, some people find fascinating.  To you, it’s something you’re sooooo familiar with that you take completely for granted.  Such is the case of these mashed potatoes.   It’so “run-of-the-mill” for me that I didn’t even bother to style the plate a little when I made them… 

Mashed Potatoes, as I have seen in sooooo many TV shows, cookbooks, food magazines is an exercise in the balance of butter, milk, cream, salt, pepper, mashing, ricing, etc…  I don’t bother with any of that.  Lately, people have been fascinated that I mash my potatoes only using olive oil.  That’s what common and normal to me… why bother with anything else??? All I dirty is a saucepan and the plate and fork I will be eating it with…  here’s how I do it.

 

 

OLIVE OIL MASHED POTATOES

3-4 red-skinned potatoes, washed well and quartered
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Garlic salt, optional

 

  1. In a medium heavy-bottomed sauce pan, place the potatoes and pour water covering the potatoes only half way.  Sprinkle kosher salt on the water/potatoes and move around so the salt mixes well with the water.  Cover and boil at medium-high heat.
  2. After 8-10 minutes have passed, lower the heat to medium.  Wait about 5-8 minutes more and check the potatoes, they should be fork tender by now.  If not, just leave them a few extra minutes.  I turn off the heat and leave them there for a few minutes so they finish well and cool off a bit so I can handle them.
  3. I take them out of the saucepan, place in the plate I will be eating and mash them with a fork.  Drizzle olive-oil on top of them and keep mashing until they’re sort-of smooth and chucky at the same time.  I sometimes sprinkle a bit of garlic salt on top for extra flavor.

 

That’s it!!!  This is my go-to meal when I am feeling under the weather.  I also eat it a lot when my stomach acts up and can’t stomach regular cooked foods…  like I said, it’s sooooo normal to me.  Enjoy them.

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