Grilled Baby Bok Choy

It's Monday, and I'm up bright and early to blog.

Many exciting developments are coming soon, including a Twitter Party that I'm hosting for Meatless Monday (details to follow) and an article that I'm writing for Whole Life Times, inspired by my blog post: My Glamorous Hollywood Career... And Why I Gave It Up.

Today I wanted a share a simple, delicious, healthy summer recipe for Grilled Baby Bok Choy. 

This is one of my favorite vegetables in the world. Bok Choy—also known as white cabbage or Chinese cabbage—comes from the same family as broccoli and brussels sprouts, and has many of the same health benefits. 

For this recipe, I simply halve the bok choy (if the bok choy is bigger, you can quarter them), brush them with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. 

Then I lightly grill them on each side. If you're grilling, this is a great easy vegetable to throw on. It can also be made indoors (as I did last night in my Le Crueset grill pans).

Grilled Baby Bok Choy

Serves 4 people

Cooking time: less than 10 minutes

Vegan; gluten-free

Ingredients

about 12 heads of baby bok choy

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Heat grill or grill pan.

2. Halve the baby bok choy (or quarter if they are on the larger side). Brush them with the olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper.

3. Quickly grill the bok choy over medium to low heat for about two to three minutes (depending o size) on each side. Enjoy!

Sesame Tamari Bok Choy

The other day, I got a wonderful gift in the mail:

A huge box of greens.

Now many a child might cry had they opened this box to behold the packages of kale, beet greens, spinach, pea tendrils, chard, and bok choy. But not me. If I cried, they were tears of joy. The samples came courtesy of Cut 'n Clean Greens and Jade (both from San Miguel Produce).

Usually, I'm very picky about what products I will sample, but if I am anything, I am a greens aficionado, so these products fit right in my sweet spot. Many of their greens are organic. I also love that they come pre-washed and lots of them are already cut for you (hence the name Cut 'n Clean Greens). One of the best things that anybody can do for their health is to eat more green stuff, and any product that removes the impediments to doing so gets a huge gold star from me.

For example, the chopped up rainbow chard could be quickly cooked up in a pan, or tossed into soups or pasta dishes with no prep work required. I loved the mix of beet greens and spinach. Though it's advertised as salad, I ate them voraciously alongside eggs for breakfast a few mornings in a row.

And that leads me to the baby bok choy.

I'm quite obsessed with this vegetable. And the bok choy that they sent me might have been the most beautiful that I'd ever seen—tiny, delicate, dark green. I almost didn't want to eat it it was so lovely.

I love bok choy for breakfast. I saute it up in my cast iron skillet with olive oil, tamari, and sesame seeds. Yup, it's that simple but also that delicious. I'll eat this along with a piece of Ezekiel toast and an organic egg every morning. This can also be a great side dish.

Sesame Tamari Bok Choy
Serves 2 people
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Gluten-free, vegan

Ingredients

• 4 cups baby bok choy, chopped with white parts separated from leaves
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon tamari (if you're not gluten-sensitive, regular soy sauce works, too)

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil over medium high heat.
2. Add the bok choy stems (the white parts) and saute until beginning to soften (about two to three minutes).
3. Add the leaves and stir to combine. Saute for a minute, until beginning to wilt.
4. Add the tamari and the sesame seeds and cook for another minute or two, until the bok choy is tender. Enjoy!