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!

Snap Pea, Bell Pepper And Sesame Salad

It's June, summer is here, the temperatures are creeping up the mercury.  Every year, when I feel the weather shift, I shift my diet, too.  I stop braising and start grilling.  I trade in roasted vegetables for all manner of salads.  Here's a great one I made the other night as a side dish.  It's simple--filled with raw snap peas and yellow bell peppers--and tossed with lemon juice, sesame oil and sesame seeds.  The combination is stunningly scrumptious and refreshing.

It's also super healthy.  For starters, snap peas are bursting with health benefits.  They're loaded with 8 vitamins, 7 minerals, dietary fiber and protein.  Brightly colored bell peppers, like the yellow ones used in this recipe, are health superstars, full of Vitamin C and A, as well as a host of other nutrients.  Meanwhile, sesame seeds are no slackers in the health department.  Not only are they "a very good source of manganese and copper, but they are also a good source of calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, vitamin B1, zinc and dietary fiber." 

Snap Pea, Bell Pepper And Sesame Salad
Serves 4 people
Prep time: 5 minutes

Ingredients
2 cups raw snap peas, larger ones halved
2 yellow, orange or red bell peppers, julienned
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
1 lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
salt and pepper

Directions
Toss the snap peas and bell peppers with the sesame seeds, lemon juice and sesame oil.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Enjoy!

Source For Ingredients
snap peas, organic yellow bell peppers and organic lemons from Trader Joe's

black sesame seeds (Gomasio) and toasted sesame oil from Whole Foods

Music On Tap

The National - High Violet

"High Violet, the new full-length record by the National, is a nervy, melodic, explosive and beautiful set of songs that find the band at the height of their collaborative powers. The music is wide-ranging in its moods, by turns intimate and rough, expansive and spare, full of stark angles and atmosphere."
--From Amazon