Broccoli: Maybe the most un-sexy vegetable?
Chili Broccoli Salad, an addictive condiment & the Best Pjs
Broccoli fits in really well into parent life: It’s easy to obtain, it’s cheap, it smells pretty bad at times, it’s good for you, it has mass appeal, it doesn't rot quickly… like I said, it doesn’t have a lot of sex appeal but when you have a toddler either do you! Perfect! Along with things like pasture raised eggs, Dave’s killer bread and organic berries (my god $$), broccoli is in our shopping cart every week, no fail.
Mini Mouths:
When I find a vegetable that Dean will eat with at least a quarter of the fervor that he gives berries, we go full tilt. For him, the main way of cooking broccoli is steaming. When the hot florets come out of the steamer, they go into a bowl that already has some butter (or ghee), olive oil and salt on the bottom. Maybe a crushed garlic clove. Toss and that in itself is great. But to take it to the next step: Boil pasta. Add in peas at the last 1 minute mark. Drain it all. Put some more fat of choice (butter) and a dash of cream in the pan then add the pasta, peas, and broccoli (chopped up). Let that all hang out together and that’s dinner...for mom too… and leftovers go to daycare.
Chili Broccoli Salad:
Now, for the grown ups. Side bar: “Grown ups” -another word that just incinerates any sex appeal you maybe had at one time before these kids came along. When does this happen that you start using words like “jammies” or “poopies”? My husband and I look at each other sometimes with that look that says “Do you realize that just a mere 3 years ago we were sipping $18 drinks at The Bowery Hotel and the word ‘Bedtime’ had never even crossed our lips”. I’ve always wanted to have babies, but no one can prepare you for what a stereotype you will become. Okay, back to the broccoli.
This salad is THE BOMB. It starts with a QUICK, I mean quick, steam to keep the broccoli super crunchy. This is the moment that you take most of it out of the steamer for you and leave some in to steam longer for the MiniMouths. 1 steamer, 2 demographics.
1 large head of broccoli, broken down into large pieces
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, smashed
Juice and zest of 1 lime (2 if it’s dry)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
4 medjool dates, pitted and finely chopped
¼ cup pepitas, toasted (see notes)
¼ cup shelled pistachios, chopped (peanuts can work too)
1 small fresh red chili or jalapeño, very thinly sliced (see notes)
Handful of cilantro, chopped
Handful of mint, chopped
Here’s How:
Steam the broccoli until just fork tender and still bright green- about 1 minute. You only want it lightly steamed, so that there is still a little crunch in the middle. So keep checking it with a fork. Transfer to a cutting board to cool.
In a large bowl, combine the oil, garlic, lime zest and juice, salt and dates. Stir together to let the garlic infuse into the dressing.
Meanwhile, chop broccoli into small pieces. It’s fine to use the stem here. It adds nice crunch.
Remove and discard the garlic clove. Add the broccoli to the bowl along with the remaining ingredients. Toss to combine. Taste for salt and lime juice.
What I’m Loving this week:
Kefir: It’s like a drinkable yogurt that is fermented so it has the gut health element to it. It has a lot more probiotic activity per serving than yogurt and it is naturally a lot lower in lactose from the fermentation process. Our favorite way to consume it is in a smoothie. Almost every morning I make a big batch smoothie for all three of us. Some variation of banana, frozen wild blueberries, other berries, almond butter, hemp seeds and a scoop of yogurt but recently I’ve been swapping the yogurt for kefir. It really balances the sweet of the fruit and gives it a good tang.
Chili Crisp: This is really not an addiction that started this week, but on Tuesday my assistant Paul and I were having a gush fest on how much we love Chili Crisp. If you’re not familiar, I would hate to not do the description justice. Just trust me that this crispy, spicy, garlicky topping is good on just about everything. Some brands have MSG, some brands don’t. I don’t really care in this instance because it’s not like I’m consuming mounds of it everyday (or am I?). A good starter brand is Laoganma (has a photo of a stern but kind looking mom on the jar). Some other brands I love: S&B Crispy Garlic, Fly by Jing, Sze (haven't tried yet but my friend said it’s crack). On eggs, on rice, on noodles, on beans, on veggies, on just about anything that you want to taste better.
Avauma Pajamas on Amazon: Only read this paragraph if you’re in need of great, well priced, good quality kids PJs that ship fast. If you follow me on Instagram I posted a picture of Dean the other day in what my dad calls his “Jailbird” PJs. They are black and white striped. If you have kids, you know how some Pjs just become your favorite and you continually reach for them? These are our favorite right now and they are priced right and are on Prime- No brainer for me. They have a lot of stretch which is ideal so you can size up but they will still fit now.
Wishing everyone a sexy weekend (that I can live vicariously through) XO Liv