Instant Pot Sweet and Spicy Glazed Brussels Sprouts

I got this beautiful cookbook in the mail on Tuesday. I had forgotten I preordered it so it was A nice surprise. I don’t usually preorder cookbooks because I like to know there are recipes in the book I would like to cook. I have been disappointed by cookbooks too many times. However, I have 8 out of 9 of Urvashi Pitre’s cookbooks and I have never been disappointed with any of them.

This new cookbook didn’t disappoint either. The first recipe I opened the book to had not one but two of my favorite ingredients, Brussels sprouts and cranberries. I couldn’t resist that and it was delicious. In the head note to the recipe Urvashi states she knows that most people only like their Brussels sprouts roasted and she isn’t wrong. I was sorely tempted to roast the Brussels sprouts instead of cooking them in the Instant Pot because I believe the reason most people don’t like them is they have only had them boiled or steamed to death. I know that was certainly true in my case. There is a reason the people who follow Urvashi have a hash tag that says #trusturvashi. Urvashi’s recipes are always spot on.

This recipe would make a nice Thanksgiving side dish. Yeah. Thanksgiving is only 6 weeks away. Time to start planning that feast.

Sweet and Spicy Glazed Brussels Sprouts

• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

Adapted From Instant Pot Miracle Vegetarian Cookbook

1 lb small Brussels sprouts, trimmed

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup orange marmalade

1 TBS butter, melted

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp to 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Chopped, toasted walnuts, optional

Pour 1 1/2 cups water into the pressure cooker liner. Place a steamer basket in the liner and add the Brussels sprouts and cranberries to the steamer basket.

Close the pressure cooker and lock the lid. Make sure the pressure cooker valve is sealed. Set the pressure to high and the time to 3 minutes. Use a quick release to depressurize.

Transfer the Brussels sprouts and cranberries to a serving bowl. Add the marmalade, butter, salt, cayenne and walnuts. Toss to combine. Serve hot.

Brussels And Bacon Frittata (Whole 30) And A Review

The older I get the more picky I am about the cookbooks I buy. I used to buy whatever cookbooks caught my eye with the glossy covers and had one recipe I wanted to cook. Now, I am all about quality over quanity. In order to make it to my cookbook collection the cookbook has to answer two questions, will I cook from it on a regular basis and does the food taste good.

Cristina Curp’s Made Whole Cookbook answered both of those questions with a resounding yes!! Let’s explore the positives. The cookbook is beautifully photographed. Each photograph makes you want to take a bite of the page. While beautiful food photos aren’t necessary for a good cookbook, they cetainly don’t hurt.

Will I cook out of Made Whole On a regular basis? Yeah, I can see this cookbook being on regular rotation in my kitchen. Every time I look through the book I see more recipes I want to try. The recipes have a reasonable number of ingredients. The ingredients are easily found in most grocery stores. The author stays away from the odd, hard to find ingredients that plague most whole food and “diet” cookbooks.

Except for a couple of recipes that contain sauces, the recipes are self contained, you don’t need to make a bunch of other recipes in order to start making the recipe you want to make.

The book has a keto-paleo focus but many of the recipes are naturally Whole 30 compliant or can easily made compliant.

The only negative, and it’s a minor one, is the book is over sized so it doesn’t for easily onto my kitchen book shelf.

So, how does the food taste? Well, I made the frittata for Satuday morning breakfast. I had 2 pieces for breakfast and the other 2 pieces for lunch. I wished that I had some leftover for dinner. It was that good. I am looking forward to exploring the cookbook further.

Brussels And Bacon Frittata

• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

Adapted From The Made Whole Cookbook

2 1/2 slices bacon

6 large eggs

2 TBS coconut milk

3/4 tsp salt, divided

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp dried dill

1/4 onion, sliced

1 cup shredded Brussels sprouts

1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

1 1/2 tsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat an 8 inch skillet, add bacon and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the bacon is crispy. In medium bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper and dill, until light yellow, smooth and frothy.

When bacon is almost done, a the onions and sprouts to the skillet. Combine well. Cover the skillet and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the mustard and oil. Mix well.

Pour the egg mixture into the skillet, cook undisturbed for 5 minutes, until the edges look cooked and pull away from the side of the skillet.

Transfer the skillet to the preheated oven and bake 15 minutes. The frittata is done when the center doesn’t jiggle when shaken.

Remove the pan from the oven and run a spatula around edge of the frittata to make sure it isn’t stuck. Flip it out of the skillet onto a plate or cutting board and cut into equal pieces.

Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Brussels Sprout with Cranberries and Garlic (Whole 30 Day 3)

Perhaps looking for new cranberry recipes isn’t the best thing to do when you are on day 3 of your Whole 30.  Way to much sweet cranberry stuff out there.  But what am I supposed to do when pumpkin spice everything is everywhere?  You know I gotta try a cranberry recipe for every pumpkin recipe I see.

Fortunately,  I can try many of the savory cranberry recipes I find even when I am on round thanks to the juice sweetened cranberries I found at Natural Grocers.  I tried this recipe because it combines two of my favorite things,  Brussels sprouts and cranberries.

Brussels Sprouts With Garlic and Cranberries

• Difficulty: Easy
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From Eat Drink Paleo

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium brown onion, thinly sliced

3 cups shredded Brussels sprouts (about 15-20

sprouts)

2 garlic cloves, finely diced

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon ghee

Generous pinch of pepper

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice

⅓ cup dried cranberries, preferably unsweetened

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Shred the Brussels sprouts. Cut off the ends off the sprouts and slice them in half lengthways.   Slice each half into thin strips. Add to the onion together with garlic, salt and butter. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring a few times, and then add the pepper, vinegar and cranberries. Stir through and cook for a further 2 minutes. Serve while warm.

Zesty Pickled Brussels Sprouts (Whole 30)

When I saw this recipe for pickled Brussels sprouts in my feed this morning, I got up from bed so fast I almost fell over.  If that doesn’t tell you how much I love pickles and how much I love Brussels sprouts I don’t know what will.  I am trying to eat more salads this summer so I am looking for interesting things to include in them.  This isn’t a quick pickle, they take a few days to ferment, so I haven’t tasted them yet but I already have 3 or 4 variations in my head to try.

Head on over the the Frugal Haus Frau to get the recipe.

Brussels Sprouts Salad (Whole 30)

Good grief!!!  How did it get to be Saturday and I haven’t posted anything?  It isn’t that I haven’t been cooking.   I think the problem is most of what I have been cooking isn’t mine to share.  I was picked to help recipe test for  a cookbook that is coming out in the fall.  Since the cookbook isn’t small batch I have sooooo many leftovers.   I will share more with you when I can.  For now I will tell you it is going to be an awesome  electric pressure cooker cookbook when it comes out.

In the mean time,  I am going to tell you about another cookbook that is already out and you should have in your cookbook library.  On Sunday,  I picked up a copy of Mark Bittman’s 10th anniversary edition of How To Cook Everything Vegetarian.   My love for Mark Bittman is no secret so it was no surprise,  I love this book.  The book isn’t just a reprint of the original How To Cook Everything Vegetarian.  The majority of the recipes are new.  The recipes have also been revised to rely less on dairy and cheese to fill out the recipes  so many of them can easily be made Whole 30 compliant, which has become important to me.   As usual,  Mark Bittman’s recipes use ingredients you probably have on hand already.

I noticed two things about this book that are different from his other How To Cook Everything books.  First,  there are absolutely gorgeous food photography.  Mr.  Bittman”s other How To Cook Everything books have  line drawings.   The second thing I noticed about this book is the recipes don’t have as many variations to each recipe as the original How To Cook Everything Vegetarian does.  I think this is in line with Mark Bittman’s adoption of a simpler style of eating and in no way detracts from the loveliness of this book.  `

Brussels Sprouts Salad

• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

Adapted From The 10th Anniversary Edition How To Cook Everything Vegetarian

3/4 lb Brussels sprouts

salt

2 1/2 TBS olive oil

1 TBS lemon juice

1/2 small red onion

1/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped

1/4 cup nuts, chopped

Using a paring knife thinly slice the Brussels sprouts.  Transfer the sprouts to a medium bowl.  Add a pinch of salt and gently work the salt through the sprouts with your hands.  Just left, separate the strands while rubbing the salt through it.   Add the olive oil, lemon juice,  red onion, cranberries, and nuts.  Mix well.   Refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 6 hours.