Can someone please re-post the recipe for the crunchy brussel sprouts? Can't remember if it was Manick or Soulbliss. Thanks...

Was it you Manick who provided the helpful prep instructions too?

Will do Happy! Hopefully this afternoon I will have a little time :)

DH is actually volunteering to go for a walk with me right now so I am NOT going to turn that down!

It was roasted brussel sprouts.

Hope you had a nice walk Manick - walks with the DH can be some of the nicest exercise!

Ok, this is the one I am trying too...I will use LESS oil however, NOTE: He likes the artichoke-like flavor ;) We had artichokes for dinner tonight with baked salmon...really quite delicious! I got some Brussels sprouts at the growers outlet today so this is the recipe I will use this week.


Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Garlic

Yield 4 servings

Time About 45 minutes

Recipe from Mark Bittman

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

I cannot remember when I intentionally began to almost-burn Brussels sprouts by roasting them until they were really, really dark. But cooked this way, the crisp outside leaves and tender, almost artichoke-like interior cannot be beat.

Ingredients

* 1 pint brussels sprouts (about a pound)
* 4 to 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, to coat bottom of pan
* 5 cloves garlic
* Salt and pepper to taste
* 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Method

* 1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Trim bottom of brussels sprouts, and slice each in half top to bottom. Heat oil in cast-iron pan over medium-high heat until it shimmers; put sprouts cut side down in one layer in pan. Put in garlic, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
* 2. Cook, undisturbed, until sprouts begin to brown on bottom, and transfer to oven. Cook, shaking pan occasionally, until sprouts are quite brown and tender, about 1/2 hour.
* 3. Taste, and add more salt and pepper if necessary. Stir in balsamic vinegar, and serve hot or warm.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/...g/brussels.jpg

Manick: I love roasted brussell sprouts. They are so yummy! Oh, btw you guys, if you didn't know you should try to find sprouts all about the same size so that they cook evenly. Are brussell sprouts our food to try this week?

Oooh ladies - Fiddleheads! bought them at the market yesterday. Gonna keep it simple and steam them. But they have such a short growing season. Gonna reaserch more for next time.

Here is a quick start http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiddlehead

http://www.wild-harvest.com/pages/fiddlehead.htm

OOOOOOOOH!! Fiddleheads!!

I've never seen them in real life . . . just on TV. I'm dying to know how you prepare them and what they taste like.

Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies
These contain no flour or butter!!

1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips (about 9 ounces), divided

OR - due to the price of bittersweet chocolate chips I used semi-sweet chocolate chips and added 2 Tbsp Hershey's dark cocoa powder. Worked great and tasted like bittersweet.

3 large egg whites, room temperature
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, divided
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 400*. Spray 2 large baking sheets with non-stick spray.

Melt 1 cup chocolate chips in a glass bowl in the microwave stirring twice. About 2 minutes, cool slightly.

Beat whites in large bowl to soft peaks. Gradually beat in 1 cup sugar. Continue beating until mixture resembles soft marshmallow cream. Whisk 1 cup sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt in a medium bowl to blend. Lowering speed on mixer to low, beat dry ingredients into the meringue (egg whites.)

Stir in lukewarm chocolate and remaining chocolate chips. Dough will be very stiff.

Place remaining 1/2 cup sugar in bowl. (I used granulated sugar here because I wanted them sparkly. Next time I think I'll use powdered sugar.)

Roll 1 rounded tablespoon of dough into a ball. Roll in sugar, coating thickly. Place on prepared baking sheet. Cookies should be about 2" apart. Bake about 10 minutes until puffed and tops crack.

Remove from baking sheet immediately and cool on a rack. If left on the baking sheet they STICK like crazy. Ask me how I know . . .

HINTS: If you overcook them just a little bit, they taste kind of burned on the bottom. I used a mini ice cream scoop instead of measuring with a Tbsp and ended up with 26 cookies. I'm interested in baking these again and adding some peanut butter. When I make meringues I always add the salt to the eggs BEFORE whipping. I'm also going to try to replace the sugar used in the batter with Splenda. Not sure how it will affect the meringue, but I MUST KNOW.

These are crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside.

Hope you like them!!

This was originally a recipe from the June, 2008 issue of Bon Appetit.

I've never even heard of Fiddleheads, as a matter of fact, I thought that you were using that as a cussword, sort of like "fiddlesticks" haha. Let us know how they are!

Sauteed Zucchini and Yellow Squash With Mint

From the Martha Stewart Living Cookbook.
serves 4 to 6

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2 medium (about 12 ounces) zucchini, cut into 1/2" pieces
2 medium (about 12 ounces) yellow squash, cut into 1/2" pieces
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup fresh mint leaves, cut into 1/4" thick strips


1. Heat 11/2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and onion, and cook until translucent but crunchy, about 2 minutes.

2. Raise heat to medium high. Add the remaining 11/2 tablespoons of olive oil, the zucchini, yellow squash and red-pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and golden brown, 5-10 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving dish, sprinkle the mint on top, and serve hot.

Notes:

Don't crowd the vegetables in the pan; they will steam rather than brown. If your skillet is not large enough, cook them in two batches.

This recipe is fantastic! I made it tonight along with grilled chicken breasts. I would not have thought of the lemon juice and mint but it really rounds out the pepper flavor. Very yummy!

This quinoa dish is a protein, fiber and iron rich meal. It's also really tasty and attractive, with a vibrant array of colors, textures, aromas and flavors.

Served on a bed of arugula and baby spinach it is a complete meal, delicious and very nutritious.

I hope some of you will try this, and if you want any info on substitutions or such, let me know! It's a recipe from my book, so please don't repost it without permission. ;)

Protein-Rich Quinoa Salad (My recipe for a dinner party of 8-10)

2 Tbsp. olive oil or 4 Tbsp. vegetable broth
1 large onion, chopped finely
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup shredded carrots
1 each medium red and yellow pepper, seeded and chopped

Heat olive oil or 2 T. broth in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until soft, then add garlic, carrots and red pepper (as well as the remaining broth if using that), cooking until soft.

Add to the following and combine well in large bowl:

4 T. pickled jalapeños, minced finely
Juice of 2 fresh limes
6 cups quinoa, cooked in vegetable broth (I use low sodium)
1 cup corn (you can use frozen or rinsed canned but I shucked fresh corn)
2 cups black beans or black soybeans (black soybeans have a LOT of protein and fiber, virtually no net carbs and a fair amount of fat)

Now you are ready to serve it like this:

Arrange baby arugula and spinach leaves on a plate and place a scoop of the quinoa mixture in the middle, then get ready to garnish! (I use 1 bag of each for the whole recipe).

Top each serving with a bit of EACH of these following ingredients, or put them in separate bowls for everyone to add as they like:

3 green onions, sliced thinly
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 1/2 cups fresh hot salsa or Pico de Gallo
2 avocados, sliced thin to garnish or cubed to mix in
4 limes, sliced to squeeze over each serving
2/3 cup dried chili-lime mango slices, julienned (sub fresh mango if desired, but the dried is so much better!)
1 cup pickled jalapeños and carrots, sliced
1/2 cup dried cranberries (trust me it's GOOD in this!)
1/2 cup toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
Toasted sesame or pumpkin seed oil, to drizzle over (as your plan allows, but this really brings out the flavor)
Sea salt and pepper to taste

This looks wonderful! I will try! I have some quinoa right now and was thinking about ways to use it, its such great grain, the full spectrum of amino acids and protein! Thanks Soul!

Y'welcome. I hope you like it. It's a great dish, and it is worth it even though it has many ingredients (a calorie counter's nightmare...how can you count 6 pepitas and 6 pieces of dried cranberry? :lol: ).

For those of you with a Trader Joe's nearby, they tend to have a lot of the ingredients needed for this.

The fiddleheads were wonderful! Couldn't get the kids to do anything but try 1. I was ok with that. They taste like a cross between asparagus and brussel sprouts. I washed and steamed them. DH put some sea salt on his. But I kept my au natural. Will definately do again! Next year I will buy more and freeze some.