How I Made Brussel Sprouts Taste Good

I remember as a kid my mom cooking all day to get thanksgiving dinner on the table. Me, being the difficult, ungrateful picky eater of the family, I always had a running commentary going in the background. The one and only time I tasted brussel sprouts was during a thanksgiving dinner where I took one bite and said, "Brussel sprouts taste like ear wax!" I likely followed this with refusing to eat or dry heaving at the table.

Scary, scary brussel sprouts!

I have not eaten brussel sprouts since and I don't know if my mother had another family thanksgiving ever since. There was a small twinge of guilt as I made this recipe. When I was a kid, I was the pickiest eater in the world. Only in the past five years have I really opened my horizons to trying new foods and retrying things I hated as a child. Going vegan took it to a whole new level.

Life Lesson: Your taste buds change over time.

So, brussel sprouts... a hated vegetable of children and a regular attendee at holiday meals. t are they healthy? Yes, yes they are. Brussels sprouts are full of nutrients and contain tons of vitamin C. One serving of Brussels sprouts contain the adult daily requirement for vitamin C. Brussels sprouts contain indoles, which are known for their cancer fighting properties and they are also a decent source of folate, potassium, vitamin K, fibre and beta carotene.

So, I think it is time for me to retry this weird little holiday veggie. In order to get over my bad memories of brussel sprouts, I knew I needed to jazz them up a bit. I found a very yummy looking recipe in Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's book Color Me Vegan. I put my own spin on her recipe to give brussel sprouts a second chance in my life.

Autumn Brussel Sprouts 

Adapted from Color Me Vegan
Makes 4 servings, approx 15 min

• 1 Tbsp oil
• 12-14 large brussel sprouts, chopped in half and sliced (fill your pan)
• 1/8 cup raisins (I used dried pomegranate)
• 1 small apple, diced or slice thinly (peel on)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 handful of pumpkin seeds
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Maple Syrup
• 1 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar
• 1 lime, zested (save the juice)
• 1 handful of pecans, toasted and chopped coarsely
• 1 Tbsp Cilantro, chopped (optional)

In a small pan, toast the pecans and set aside. In a large pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Chop up the vegetables and once hot, add the shredded brussel sprouts. Toss in the oil to coat and saute for about 8 minutes, or until they are bright green and looking cooked. Next add the garlic, apple, maple, balsamic, lime zest, pecans and pumpkin seeds. Stir well and a cook for about 5 minutes or so until it is heated through.

Coleen Patrick-Goudreau was right, it is worth shredding these

The Sprouts brighten once you cook them, easy to tell when it's ready

Remove from the heat and toss in the raisins, lime juice and the cilantro. Serve along side your favourite grain and protein or with your thanksgiving dinner!

Voila! Serve with your Thanksgiving Dinner... or be like me and just eat it on its own

I have to say, If I hadn't added so many strong flavours, I am not sure if Brussel Sprouts would be one of my favourite vegetables. On their own, they are OK, but combined with all of these bright flavours and this is one healthy side dish they I will eat any day! In fact, this may end up being my lunch tomorrow! :)

My vegan roommates cried the whole time I was making this to see if I would share. I didn't. I am sure they are plotting revenge as we speak. It was worth it!

Ever seen an angry guinea pig? Well, meet Gizmo.. Cavy 101, pigs always get fed first or people die!!

Barley and Sausage One Pot Meal

Today didn't go exactly as I planned. I was hoping to make an amazing pumpkin soup. It all started going wrong when I couldn't find a small pumpkin. So, I abandoned plan A and instead did what I should have done and took stock of my fridge to see what I could make instead for dinner tonight.

I had some leftover barley and some sausage (veggie, of course) and figured I would try something a little different.

I think barley is an underused grain. It is a great alternative to rice (or any grain for that matter), and it's cheap and easy to make. It's good for the heart, lowers cholesterol and is high in fiber. You can add it to soups, casseroles or even make risotto with it. If you are feeling a little sick and tired of the same grains everyday, give it a try.

Barley... nutritious and delicious!

Ok, back to dinner... I wasn't sure what to call this thing. It isn't a casserole, it's not a stew and it's not a stir-fry. So I am titling this one a barley one pot dinner. I love one pot meals because it's less to clean up which is important what you don't have a dishwasher.

Unfortunately, I forgot to put my memory card in when I start shooting this dish... so I only have a pic of the finished product. Sorry!  :)

Barley and Sausage One Pot Meal

Serves 3-4, takes about 20 minutes if you have already cooked barley

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp vegan butter
• 3 links of vegan sausage (Italian, Hungarian, whatever you have on hand)
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 handful of sun dried tomatoes, chopped (8-10)
• half a bunch of kale, chopped
• 1/2 cup of cooked barley
• 1 can of cannelloni beans

First, chop up your ingredients while heating the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 5-7 minutes or until the onions are translucent. Next add the sausage, garlic and the butter and cook again for a few more minutes. Add the kale and the sun dried tomatoes and cook until the kale shrinks to about half the size, about 5 more minutes.

Last, add the barley and the beans and cook until heated through. I also added a bit of salt and pepper. If you want to kick up the heat on this one, add some red pepper flakes before serving.

Some easy substitutions are to change the beans, greens or grain. Try spinach or collards instead of kale. For the barley you can mix it up with quinoa or rice and the beans, you could try kidney beans or navy beans.

Hopefully tomorrow, it is soup time!

Happy World Vegetarian Day!

Vegan Mofo day one. Last year I missed the boat for Vegan Mofo and promised myself that this year, I would give it a go. For those that don't know. Vegan Month of Food was started by the Post Punk Kitchen where the month of October, vegan bloggers take to their keyboards and blog as much as they can about all that is vegan. I doubt it is a coincidence that vegan mofo begins on world vegetarian day. For info, check out http://www.veganmofo.com/ they have an rss feed you can subscribe to and they just recently got the blog roll up http://www.veganmofo.com/blogroll/ check out all the blogs participating! There are so many!

This could not have come at a better time for me. For anyone that reads the Angry Vegan, you would have noticed that my blogging has decreased over the last few months. To be honest, I let life get in the way. Things were not good for a while, things were hectic for a while and the next thing I knew, weeks had gone by without a post! A lot of work goes into maintaining a blog (even a super simple on like this one) and you really need to keep committed.

So, as I said, Vegan Mofo is perfect timing for me to get back on track! I have a lot planned and I am going to try and blog every day this month. Help keep me motivated and comment when you're reading. Send me some blog ideas.

I hope to post something else today, but fighting a small hangover and a busy day planned, I thought I would start simple and share today's hangover breakfast.

It is not often that I get a hangover, but this morning I woke up a little out of it and a little headache-y. After getting some water and an ibuprofen.. It became clear that breakfast was needed ASAP! After a late night, I am not into making a big breakfast. I want something quick, easy, with not a lot of mess and with some extra carbs. On the menu today? Pan fried mochi and a green monster.

What is mochi you say? Well, I had no idea what this Japanese treat was either until I saw it in The Kind Diet. Mochi is a glutenous rice that is cooked and then pounded into a paste and then shaped and hardened. I get mine a Planet Organic usually, but I bet you would find it in Asian markets too. There are a few flavours out there, but I like the regular one best. You can do lots with mochi. One of my favourite ones is mochi waffles (Click here for recipe)

Sometimes, I want to keep it simple. Like today. Here is a quick and easy way to enjoy mochi:

Pan Fried Mochi
Adapted from The Kind Diet

Serves 1, about 20 min

• 1/3 package of Mochi, cut into 2" squares
• 1 tbsp oil (I used grape seed, but what ever you got should work)
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp brown rice syrup (Or agave)

Heat your pan to medium low and add the oil. While it is heating up, cut the mochi. This requires a sharp knife and a bit of strength. Once the oil is hot, add the mochi to the pan and cook for about five minutes. Keep an eye on it and if it looks like the mochi is browning quickly, lower the heat a bit. Flip the mochi and drizzle the soy sauce on top. Cover and cook for another four to five minutes. The mochi will start to melt and get puffy and turn into weird shapes.. that's how you know it is ready. 

Remove from the heat and drizzle the brown rice syrup. Serve with a green monster (click here for the recipe) and a cup of coffee/tea.

So simple. Sorry for the so-so pics. Hangovers and photography do not go well together!

Have a good Saturday!