| Something From Nothing! That’s right! I’m back with another use-it-up kinda moment….batten down the hatches, and get ready to be surprised! First, let’s get a look at our poor, unsuspecting piece o’ vegetation… Yes, that is the poor, un-loved stalk of broccoli! Did you know it was edible? Not only can you eat it, but it is delicious, with a texture similar to crisp water chestnuts, and a faint broccoli taste. I usually peel it, cut it into coins, and use in a stir-fry, but today I was in a slaw-tacular kinda mood so…I peeled the stalks, and got my remaining slaw ingredients together. Clockwise from the broccoli stalks; salt, pepper, mayo (vegans and heart-healthy readers may want to choose veganaise, or safflower mayo-look in the health-food aisle), red wine vinegar, raisins and salted roasted almonds. I prefer peanuts in this slaw….but this what I had that day, and I’m a nutty kinda gal, so I went for it. First, grate up your broccoli (you may use your processor, but I hate to clean mine, so I just used my box grater) into a bowl. I apologize for the blurry photo…truth be told, I just wanted to get to the gorging quality-control part of the deal… Then, rough-chop your nuts….(nope, I’m not gonna say it). Then, mix a couple tablespoons of mayo with some red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Thin the mayo with the red wine vinegar to achieve a salad-dressing kind of fluidity. You will have a lovely, pink-ish dressing. Then, with wild abandon, (or conservative grace, depending on your level of solemnity that day), throw the raisins and nuts onto the shredded broccoli slaw. Ooops! The onion, I forgot the onion! Take ye a nice red onion..See? Mine is organic, because that’s how nearsighted hipster, hip-hip-hippee I roll. Um, yeah. Cut off a small piece and chop into small dice. Why yes, I do have some mad knife skills, if I do say so myself! Amazing what 30 years of practice can do…ahem. Mix them thar onions and the dressing into your slaw, too. Now, place in the fridge for the flavors to blend, or do what I did…pile on to a plate, garnish with a little cilantro, and….inhale! Go back to fridge….repeat! Repeat until gone. Ut-oh, I’ve said too much. The finale? I must tell you…the crunch from the broccoli stem, and the nuts, the chewy sweetness from the raisins, and the tang of the red onion, were divine. I feel better, too…knowing that instead of throwing away the misunderstood broccoli stem…I turned it into something healthy and delicious! It was fabulous, and I have some more stems in my refrigerator that are going to make their florets blush! Eat well, my friends, and stay tuned for the beeeg three-year blog-a-versary bash! Love and kindness to all, Pixie ———- MilitaryConnection.com, a portal of all things military, has become the “go to” site for resources, news and information that is of importance to the military audience. We have thousands of pages and hundreds of databases to keep you current on the information you need to have. With something for everyone, we take pride in providing all of our resources free to users. Additionally, we feature all types of military spouse articles like this one to keep you informed. We will post your press releases, special events, newsletters, professional conferences and seminars, reunions, job fairs, and videos to help organizations get out the word. One of the areas of our focus is connecting candidates from the military community with outstanding government and civilian employers. We are well aware that candidates from the military community across the board have a work ethic second to none. They make highly valued employees. MilitaryConnection.com has a multitude of employment resources including a Directory of over 30,000 employers, Job Tips, Columns, Virtual Job Fair and our new and improved Job Board, featuring our Virtual Marketplace where you can post free ads for items you want to buy, sell or rent , and much more. We understand the importance of education. Please check out our new Scholarship Directory featuring thousands of scholarships. When the next tour is back home, it’s on MilitaryConnection.com.
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