After a week and a half away from my kitchen, I was excited to spend some quality time cooking last night.  Sadly, the reason for my kitchen absence was not a vacation to a tropical island nor a business trip in a fun city; a kitchen-based injury was the basis.  Needless to say, my mandolin and I are not on speaking terms.  It even may take some online therapy to repair our relationship.

So. . .after a week and a half of letting others prepare meals and making the simplest of dishes on my own, I was ready to embark on a culinary journey.  With a snowstorm forecast for Tuesday, I gambled on having two assistants while preparing the menu.  Fortunately, school was canceled, which meant the kids’ evening events were also.  Ta-da! Instant help!

Still working at a slightly limited capacity, I put my two foodies-in-training to work.  They made pork filling for dumplings and assembled them.  (They were fabulous!)  They also did most of my chopping and dicing work.  While it took 1-1/2 hours to create our entire, belated Chinese New Year meal, it was worth every second.  We got to spend time working together with minimal bickering (which is a miracle when the kids are 11 and 13) and produce a meal that everyone loved.

Being me, I wanted there to be at least one veggie dish on the menu, so we created Kung Pao Broccoli.  Simply substitute fresh broccoli for meat, and you have a whole new dish.  To keep it healthier, we stir fried the broccoli instead of deep frying it.  Everyone had a serving of it, without being coerced into doing so, and enjoyed it.

Kung Pao Broccoli

2014-11-27 05:02:03

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Ingredients

1. 1 lb. broccoli florets
2. 1 Tb. water
3. 1 tsp. cornstarch
4. 3 Tb. low sodium soy sauce
5. 1 Tb. red wine vinegar
6. 1 Tb. sugar
7. 2 garlic cloves, minced
8. 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
9. sesame oil, optional

Instructions

1. Heat a large frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. Coat pan with 1-2 tablespoons of peanut oil, if desired.
2. Add broccoli, and saute for 5-6 minutes, or until crisp tender. While broccoli is cooking combine water and cornstarch in a small bowl.
3. Add soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar, and stir well. Add garlic to broccoli, and saute for 1 minute. Add soy sauce mixture, and cook for 1-2 minutes more.
4. Top with walnuts and a few drops of sesame oil, if desired. Serve immediately.

By TT

Think Tasty https://www.thinktasty.com/