Brussel Sprouts and Burritos?

Sooooo....lately I've been having an affair with brussel sprouts. My mom, who still makes brussel sprouts the same way, boils her sprouts in water until they're mushy, adds butter and salt, and eats them as a side with a meat dish. I hated brussel sprouts growing up. I didn't eat them, until this past Christmas (2010). I tried one of the mush brussels and found an underlying taste that seemed interesting to me. At least, it was okay 'enough' to add to my diet as a regular addition.

I saw Heather (heathereatsalmondbutter.com) used brussel sprouts often in stir-fries, so I decided to sautee some sprouts. I love sauteed brussel sprouts. There is just enough crunch (I like my veggies to have life left in them) to keep me buying the small bags on clearance in the produce aisle and add brussels as a side to just about anything or the main dish.

While fixing up a leftover burrito (Amy's Black bean Vegetarian Chili, grassfed beef, and homemade salsa), I decided to make up some brussels. It was DELICIOUS!!!!

My favorite way to saute, you say? I like to use a little coconut oil with the brussels cut in half (1/4 if they are large). I saute for a few minutes and then add 1/4 cup of water to the pan. I have no idea if it has a technical name, but I call it flash boil. As the water nears complete evaporation (stirring several times as needed), I add pink sea salt, black pepper, and garlic. I think the garlic lends itself VERY well to the natural sweetness of the brussel sprouts.

Halflet is only 11 months old. I don't think that's old enough for cabbage. Her brussel sprout days will have to wait, but that doesn't stop her from making faces at me. I asked her to smile.

Question of the Day: What new vegetable have you tried lately?

Homemade Salsa

Well, I'm back to posting. Since I normally work full-time and miss a lot of time with my 10 month old I took the holidays off. It's not necessarily a wise choice as a blogger, but it was a wise choice as a mother.

So here we are. New Year's Eve some friends came over, and one of them brought homemade, raw salsa. It was DELICIOUS! Days later I was craving the salsa. My friend gave me the loose 'recipe' and I got to work with my food processor. In minutes I had amazing salsa.

Luckily, I save jars, so I re-purposed this old pickle jar to save the KEified homemade salsa.

All you do is put tomato, onion, garlic, cilantro, sweet bell pepper, salt, and pickled jalapenos in the food processor, blender, or chop by hand, the latter taking more than just a few minutes....maybe 10-15. Taste test. Devour.