Weekly Dish

Broccoli has never been one of my favorite foods. As a matter of fact, I’m not sure I really ate much broccoli until I was in my twenties (unless you count the kind that comes in a casserole dish smothered with cream of mushroom soup and cheese).

In the first six months we were married, David and I lived in a small apartment downtown in the small Mississippi suburb where I grew up. My soon-to-be sister-in-law Hannah lived just a block away, and during those months, we shared many a meal (and many a load of laundry–Hannah was the only one of us with a washer.) She made this broccoli for us one night, and I have not fixed it any other way since. I love the tangy sauce, the crunchy cashews, and the texture of the not-soggy-but-not-too-crisp broccoli. Most of all, though, I love to make it because it reminds me of the delight of being within walking (and meal-sharing) distance of one of my favorite people (she and David’s brother now live far, far away in Pasadena, California).

If you’re noticing a trend with my vegetable preparation, it is true that I need a bit of sauce to make the vegetables go down smoothly. But in my defense, it makes me enjoy eating them, rather than forcing them down because they’re good for me. And if I were really honest, I would tell you that I’ve not done much forcing since I’ve been cooking for myself. So the sauce is getting me to eat more vegetables, and that’s always a good thing. Right?

Experts say broccoli is good for your eyesight, helps prevent breast cancer or heart disease, and is super high in Vitamins C and A and super low in calories. Alright, so the butter and sugar might increase the calorie content just a tad–they can’t take away those vitamins and antioxidants (the latter of which qualifies broccoli to participate in the ARF round up over at Sweetnicks)!

Hannah’s Broccoli

2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup cashews, chopped
1 1/2 pounds broccoli
3 T. butter
1 T. brown sugar
3 T. soy sauce
1 T. cider vinegar (Hannah’s recipe calls for 2 t. of white vinegar, but I never have it on hand, so I sub a tablespoon of cider vinegar)
Cracked black pepper

Blanche the broccoli in boiling water; drain, and set aside. In the same pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cashews and cook until the garlic is tender, about 2-3 minutes. Add the brown sugar, soy sauce, and vinegar. Stir to combine, and cook for another few minutes. Bring the mixture to a boil; reduce the heat to low, and add the broccoli. Cover and steam the broccoli until it’s the desired tenderness (I do it for about 3 or 4 minutes.) Stir to coat the broccoli with sauce and nuts.

Posted: Tuesday, January 17th, 2006 at 12:45 pm Filed under: On the Side, Family, Vegetables. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.