A Pinch of This, a Dash of That

That is how I would describe my cooking method, if you could even call it a method. Usually, I start off with a couple of recipes whirling around in my head from my latest blog reading or a search on good ol’ Google. I start with a bit of structure and the next thing I know, I’m adding more veggies, more sauce, more seasoning!

I used to think my mom was a kitchen magician. She could take a pound of pasta and a can of tomatoes and *POOF* she had a fantastic dinner on the table, no recipe needed. I just thought, “I’ll never be able to do that. You just…you HAVE to follow a recipe!” It wasn’t until recently that I finally realized that it doesn’t take a kitchen magician to create a recipe. You just have to have some tasty ingredients and a bit of imagination…and a bit of taste testing of course! 😉

Inspired by Jessica’s Shredded Sprouts Salad, I got in the fridge today and decided to use the Brussel sprouts I’ve been eyeing for a week and a half. I bought a big bag of sprouts at SAMs just before the holiday, but due to my overabundance of leftovers, I felt guilty for making a new dish until today. It was definitely worth the wait!

Fakin’ it Out Shredded Sprouts:
8 ounces Brussel sprouts, shredded
1 small to medium eggplant, cubed
2 medium carrots, diced
1/2 Vidalia onion, diced
1 cup cooked wild rice
3 strips Fakin’ Bacon tempeh

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 Tbsp. olive oil

Cut the ends of sprouts, place in food processor, and pulse until they are just shredded.

Cut ends off a medium size eggplant (mine was about past it’s prime…saved just in time!), peel and dice into cubes.

Place eggplant in a skillet with shredded sprouts, carrots, and onion.

Mix balsamic vinegar, oil, and maple syrup in a bowl and add to skillet. Sautéed veggies in syrup mixture until tender (about 7-8 minutes).

I found this at Whole Foods last month and have been dying for a chance to use it. Love the smoky flavor!

Fakin' it Out Shredded Sprouts

This was so delicious and super filling. The combo of the maple syrup and the smoky “bacon” was just right! Thanks Jessica for the inspiration!

Oh, and breakfast was just too purdy not to post 😉  so I will leave you with this. My “Waffle Mountain” as Allie would say: A Van’s Organic waffle topped with cottage cheese, cinnamon, pom arils, bordered with fresh-cut persimmon wedges. I LOVE persimmons!

Hope everyone has a good rest of the night! There’s some leftover cheesecake that’s calling my name from the fridge!