So it’s been a whole week since we’ve shared a recipe.  I think we were getting a little carried away with our daily posts a couple weeks ago.  Let’s just relax and enjoy some broccoli with peanut sauce.

I’m calling this a weeknight meal because it wasn’t actually too challenging to throw together in a matter of, oh, maybe 20 minutes?  And prep time is one criterion (ok, maybe the only criterion) which I use to distinguish a weeknight meal (or a work-night meal) from a weekend meal.

I’m also still on a “trying to eat more vegetables” kick, and I’m desperately struggling to meet a new standard – to avoid letting produce go bad before I can eat it.  It’s a lofty goal.  There are no guarantees, and it leaves the door open to unlimited challenges. Your level of achievement is only limited by how many fruits and vegetables you dare to put in your cart at the grocery store.

This recipe begins with a brief blanching of some broccoli.  Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, drop in some florets, and let them come back up to a boil (maybe one minute of total time in the water) before removing them and shocking them in an ice bath.  Don’t get rid of your water – you’ll use that later.

The original recipe also calls for some edamame.  It’s delicious, and I’d recommend it, but I didn’t have any when I made this recipe, so as you can see, there is none here… However, after removing your broccoli, you can keep that water boiling and drop in some frozen shelled edamame to cook for a few minutes as well.

Meanwhile, you’re whipping together a DELICIOUS peanut sauce.  I used freshly ground peanut butter as is my preference in all things.  Once the sauce comes together, it will be REALLY thick, so you can add a tiny bit of the hot water from the broccoli and edamame to loosen it and make it a bit more “pourable.”

This recipe comes from one of my most favorite food blogs, Gimme Some Oven, and you can find the link to this recipe here.  The pictures are so much more fabulous that if you’re not convinced to make this broccoli dish after reading my post, you should check out her photos, and then you’ll definitely feel compelled to put this on your “to make” list.

I feel good about making it my whole meal, but you could just as easily make it as a side dish.

Enjoy!

xo – the llama