Inspiration

I have to admit I’m loving my little Android phone.  Right now, I’m using it as an MP3 player to stream music to my harmon kardon speakers.  While it doesn’t have much room for apps, I’m able to do a hundred times more stuff on it than I could on my old little prepaid touch phone.  Perhaps, one day, I’ll grow up and get a full Android phone, but I doubt they’ll ever get cheap enough for this no contract boy.

My Trainer Road workouts are proceeding as planned.  I don’t have a clue as to why their base plan would follow up the 8 minute test with a hard VO2 set, but the workouts after that have been more manageable, more base.  I’ve actually had a little something left in the tank at the end, which is nice.

My friend Marni, is a registered dietician, and an Ironman with a masters in exercise physiology.   She loves to fill her blog with healthful and helpful advice, as well as lots of interesting recipes.  Recently, she posted a recipe that Karel made for her with one of my favorite vegetables:  Brussels sprouts.

Admit it, you love them…

I had seen a video on the NY Times website featuring Mark Bittman, the man who cooks everything.  He pulsed some fresh Brussels sprouts in a food processor and made a vegetable dish with it.  I thought that I might combine that technique with Karel’s recipe and come up with my first very own concoction, inspired by Marni!

Orzo a la Karel

1 lb fresh Brussels sprouts

1 lb extra firm tofu, drained and pressed

16 oz Orzo

1 small onion

2 cloves of garlic, minced

salt

pepper

olive oil

juice of one lemon

parmesan cheese

vegetable or chicken stock

I pulsed the Brussels sprouts in my food processor until I was happy with the consistency.  I wanted them leafy, but not mulched to nothing.  I left some of the bigger chunks in there as well, and I was fine with that.  You could just half or quarter them if you want.

Cook the orzo according to the directions on the package.

Heat a pan on medium-medium high and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  Add the garlic and sautee for 1-3 minutes, careful not to let it burn.  Slice or dice your onion, matters not to me.  I basically cut mine in half, then sliced it. Add the onion to the pan and sautee until translucent.  Added the tofu, and cook for 2-5 minutes.  I never know exactly how long to cook tofu!  Add the processed Brussels sprouts.  The idea here is to wilt the Brussels sprouts down.  I added some vegetable stock to mine until I achieved the tenderness that I wanted.  Salt and pepper to taste.

For my sauce, I made a lemon vinaigrette.  I got about a third of a cup of lemon juice from mine, so I added 2/3 cup of olive oil, a teaspoon of salt and pepper, then blended well.  I then dumped everything into one pot, the orzo, the Brussels sprouts, and the vinaigrette, and heated through.

Serve garnished with parmesan cheese to taste.

This dish didn’t overwhelm me with flavors, although it tasted good.  What I did enjoy about it was the subtleness and cleanliness of it.  Since I’m the only one in my house that would eat it, I’ve been enjoying it for four days!

I hope you enjoy it too!

Wes