The Only Way to Cook Brussel Sprouts

Having tried brussel sprouts out a few times at the old folks home where I used to work, I had placed them on the X list of vegetables. I suppose I should have known that boiled vegetables kept warm in water are always bad news.

This year, Caitlin reintroduced me to the nutritious green vegetable. She likes to cut them in half and saute them in oil, then eat them with just salt and pepper. They're quick and delicious that way, but personally I prefer a bit more complicated method we learned from the manager of Columbia's campus grocery.

What you'll need:

• Brussel Sprouts (About 10)
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 Tbsp Mustard (I prefer spicy brown or dijon)
  
• Oil

Directions:

1. Cut out the core of the brussel sprouts
2. Peel all of the leaves and place into a bowl
3. Discard the cores
4. Heat a few tablespoons of oil over medium heat
5. When the oil is hot, add brussel sprouts
6. Saute for 2-3 minutes
7. Add mustard and saute for an additional minute
8. Remove from heat and toss in salt and pepper to taste

They are truly delicious prepared this way! Enjoy!

Best Pizza Ever

This is my mom's perfect pizza recipe. She played with it a lot, and this is her favorite.


Ingredients:

• 3 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 Cups White Flour
• 2 Tbsp Vital Wheat gluten
• 1 1/2 Tsp Salt
• 2 Cups Warm Water
• 1 Tbsp Sugar
• 2 Envelopes dry yeast

Directions:

1. Dissolve the sugar and yeast in the warm water, and set aside until it foams
2. Measure the flour and add salt
3. Add the yeast and water, mix together
4. Add another 1-2 Tbsp water if needed to make a flexible dough
5. Knead for about 10 minutes on a lightly floured surface, until smooth and elastic
6. Oil the dough lightly, and put in an oiled bowl to rise
7. Cover with a damp cloth and rise until doubled in size (approximately 1 hour) in a warm location, like on top of the fridge.
8. Punch down, knead briefly, and divide into two
   
9. Using a rolling pin, roll the balls of dough on a floured surface into two 14 inch rounds or 10x12 rectangles. The dough should be about 1/8 inch thick.
10. Place on pizza pans
11. While the dough is rising for an hour, make the sauce and prepare the toppings
12. When pizza is assembled, back for 10-15 minutes at 450 degrees.

You can put any toppings you want on this pizza, but if you want to try the pizza pictured above, use mushrooms, fried onions, sliced tomato, and chopped garlic. Since we're vegan, we used miso marinated tofu and nutritional yeast gravy as a cheese sub. Miso marinated tofu is straightforward:

1. Drain one block of tofu
   
2. Mix 4 Tbsp miso (any of the varieties will work) with 2 tbsp of water, or enough to make the miso runny.
3. Crumble tofu into a bowl. Try to drain as much of the water as possible.
4. Mix Miso and Tofu
5. Let marinate for an hour

You could probably marinate it for way less time. I got the idea from Cafe Viva, my favorite vegan pizza in the Morningside heights area. This worked really well, and was really delicious.

Enjoy!
Chelsea