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Sprouts, chowder, & cookies

Green Spaces

This week I’m fully back into cooking our meals at home again. There’s a LOT of dining out when we’re on vacation. I’m also once again doing the Whole Life Challenge, so I’m using recipes that work for my chosen nutritional level, which remains the most lenient of the choices. I’m not going overboard (full-on vegan, and something in-between that level of craziness and just skipping real sugar and wheat flours).

While we were in Florida, we dined at P.F. Chang’s, at Dennis’s request. He loves their Mongolian Beef - go figure. Kim and I shared an appetizer featuring blackened brussel sprouts. They were so amazingly good that once we were home I did an on-line search for that recipe. This one isn’t exactly like the dish we had, but it’s still pretty good. I’ll keep tweaking it. I might even purchase and use the dried red chilies (we didn’t eat them at the restaurant, but I’m sure they added a bit of heat).

Kung Pao Brussel Sprouts

• 2# brussel sprouts, quartered

• 6-10 dried red chilies, split, seeds removed

• 1/3 C roasted peanuts

Sauce:

• 2 Tbl tamari OR soy sauce

• 1 Tbl dark soy sauce (skip for gluten-free)

• 1 Tbl rice vinegar

• 1 Tbl agave syrup OR honey OR maple syrup

• 2 tsp sesame oil

• 1 tsp red chili paste

• 1 Tbl cornstarch

• 1 tsp grated ginger

• 3 cloves garlic, pressed OR minced

• Salt & pepper to taste

• Garnishes (optional:

• Crushed red pepper flakes

• Sesame seeds

• 1/3 C sliced green onion tops

Mix sauce ingredients in a bowl. Add sprouts and chilies, stirring to coat.

Air fry at 380 for 8-10 minutes. Add peanuts and air fry 1 minute longer. Put in bowl, add garnishes.

OR bake in oven at 400 for 20-25 minutes, until crispy. Add peanuts and garnishes.

I used liquid aminos instead of tamari and skipped the dark soy sauce, and maple syrup instead of agave or honey. My chili paste was Hoisin sauce. I baked in the oven (didn’t want to clean the baked-on sauce from the screen in the air fryer), in a casserole dish. Next time I’ll spread them out on a lined baking sheet. Mine didn’t get very crispy. My garnishes were sesame seeds and a few red pepper flakes. I hope I’ll remember to get green onions the next time I buy brussel sprouts to make this.

Today I made a big pot of corn chowder for myself (lots of leftovers for future meals!). While Dennis will eat corn, it’s not one of his favorites, so I also made a big pot of chili for him (again, lots of leftovers). I combined two recipes for the chowder, so I’ll write it the way I made it. I used my own frozen corn, which is roasted with real butter and cream. If you use regular frozen corn (or fresh next summer), you can add a few pats of butter and a half pint of cream. Just don’t boil it after adding the cream. This could be thickened with a slurry of a little water with cornstarch or arrowroot.

Corn Chowder

• 2 slices bacon, in 1/2” pieces

• 1/2 each red AND yellow onion, diced

• 1 shallot, minced

• 4-6 C frozen corn

• 2-3 C chicken broth

• 1/2 (4 oz) can green chilies, with juice

• 1# red potatoes, diced with skin on

• Salt & pepper to taste

• 3 polish sausages, chopped (optional)

• 2 tsp thyme

• 1/8 tsp cayenne

Brown the bacon over medium heat. Add onions & shallots, sauté until translucent. Add the corn, broth, and chilies. Lower heat, cover, and let simmer until corn is thawed. Add spices, potatoes, and sliced sausages. Simmer, covered, until cooked through.

I’ve been craving sweets since beginning this session of the WLC last week. The challenge nixes real sugars as well as wheat and rice flours. I made a batch of pecan sandies using almond flour and powdered fake sugar (erythritol - your body won’t absorb this but it’s really sweet. And it doesn’t give me headaches which some other sugar substitutes do.). Pecan sandies and shortbreads are my favorite “dry” crispy cookies. I hope you’ll enjoy these as much as I do.

Almond Flour Pecan Sandies

• 2 C almond flour

• 1/2 C butter

• 1/2 C finely chopped pecans

• 1/2 C powdered sugar substitute

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 2 tsp vanilla

• 20-24 pecan halves

Oven at 350. Line cookie sheets. In a medium bowl, blend the flour and butter on low to a soft dough. Add nuts, sugar substitute, salt, baking powder, and vanilla. Beat on low to soft dough stage again. Use cookie scoop to form 20-24 balls. Use 10-12 per sheet, gently pressing half a pecan on each. Bake 10 minutes. Let cool undisturbed on the sheet for ten minutes. Then cool completely on rack. Store air tight.

 

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