Lara Ferroni Photography

OK, I don’t really mean broccoli for breakfast… I’ve been on a three day juice fast, and today I got to break it with what has to be the best stirfry ever… probably because I haven’t eaten anything solid in a few days. It’s like eating a big pizza when you are back from a long hiking trip, and you can’t imagine food ever tasting better.

I try to do some kind of cleanse a couple times a year… and after April (“birthday month”) and May (Cinco de Mayo turning into Anyday de Mayo), I had indulged a little heavily. Normally, I stick to a consistent motto of excess in moderation… but after a couple of months of excess in excess, I needed a bit of excess of meagerness. Hence the juice fast. For three days, just fruit and vegetable juices (to my hearts content) and lots and lots of water. And, so as not to completely kill myself, I made all-fruit smoothies a couple of times with some green tea ice cubes to take the edge off of the caffeine withdrawl. Overall, it hasn’t been bad. And, other than being a little hungry at night and a little bit more tired during the day, I could have continued for a few more days without issue. But, that wasn’t the plan. Enough with the meagerness. I’m ready to get back to moderation.

While I’d love to jump back in with a big extra cheese pizza, I’m playing it safe today and ramping up to “real” food slowly. For breakfast, I had a half of a mango (which, technically, wasn’t a change from what I was already eating, it being fruit and all). For lunch, I got back into the kitchen and cooked! It feels like forever, although it’s only been a few days. Sticking with the vegetable plan for now, I made a quick stirfry with spring onions, broccolini, flat leaf parsley and sesame. My senses for food are all incredibly heightened right now, and each bit threw my tastebuds into a tizzy with salty sweet goodness.

The recipe here is very loose. I don’t typically measure when I stir fry… just add a little of this and a little of that till it looks and tastes good.

Broccolini Stirfry

olive oil
1 large spring onion
broccolini
flat leaf parsley
seasame salt
tamari (or soy sauce)
mirin
sri racha chili sauce (optional)
seasame seeds (garnish)

Chop the white part of the spring onion and the parsley and add to a wok with a splash of olive oil. Heat over medium for about 5 minutes to soften the onion.

Chop the broccolini into 3 sections, discarding the bottoms of the stems. Add the remaining sections to the onion mixture, along with some tamari, mirin and seasame salt. Raise heat to medium-high and cook until the broccolini starts to soften.

Scoop the broccolini and onions out with a slotted spoon, leaving the sauce in the wok. Add the chili sauce to the remaining sauce, and stir over medium heat till combined. Pour over the broccolini, and garnish with sesame seeds.

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