Almond Brussels Sprouts and a Liebster Award

Post number 15 for VeganMoFo.

The brussels sprout is a strange and cute looking little vegetable. It resembles miniature cabbage, but is part of the mustard family (or at least that is what Merriam-Webster says). When you mention the name of this vegetable, you generally get a strong negative reaction from folks. Not from me! Brussels sprouts made many appearances on the dining table of my childhood and I always enjoyed them. I would picture myself as a giant eating a tiny, delicious shrub.

John never had them as a child and I wanted to introduce them to him. Lucky for me, he like them! Now we use them in stir fries, steam them, and roast them. Growing up, my family roasted them with olive oil and garlic. The outer leaves become crispy and the inner leaves become tender, juicy, and sweet. To make them our own, John and I came up with a recipe that incorporated balsamic vinegar and almonds. I recommend that you give this recipe a try, you might just learn to love these sprouts!

Toasted Almond Brussels Sprouts

• 1 lb of brussels sprouts, washed, bottoms removed, and slice in half
• Olive oil spray
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup of sliced almonds
• 3 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste

Heat your oven to 375. Spray a baking pan with a couple of squirts of olive oil spray. Place the brussels sprouts in the pan and drizzle with the teaspoon of olive oil. Roast for 10 minutes. In the meantime, heat a small dry pan to medium heat and toast the almonds until crispy on each side. This process should take about 3-5 minutes. When finished, set aside.

When the sprouts have roasted for 10 minutes, remove them from the oven and sprinkle the balsamic over them and toss to coat. Use more olive oil or spray if needed. Add in the toasted almonds and roast for another 10 minutes until crispy. It is ok if some of the leaves become a bit crispy as they are crunchy and delicious!


Now....on to the award!

Kristen of Different Shades of Green, Theresa from The Vegan Version, and Dawn of Veg-am- were kind enough to pass on the Liebster award to me. Thank you so much! The Liebster award is given to bloggers with less than 200 followers to show a little love to them. I appreciate the love and now it is time for me to pass some love around!

Here's how it works:

1. You show your thanks to the blogger who gave it to you by linking back to them.
2. You reveal YOUR top 5 pics for bloggers with less than 200 followers, and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
3. Post the award on your blog. (Right click on the image, and select 'save image as'.)
4. Bask in the love from the most supportive people on the internet! And in this case, fellow mofo'ers.
5. Have fun, and spread the love! :)

Here are my 5 MoFo blogs to share the Liebster with. I have really enjoyed reading all of them and they have made me inspired to be more creative. So, here they are in no particular order:

1. Cara of Fork and Beans- She makes the most amazing vegan and gluten free candy. Before her awesome blog, I never thought I'd have my favorite candies again.
   
2. GiGi of VEGANVILLE- The humor and creativity keeps me coming back to this blog each day. Often times I laugh out load when I read her posts.
   
3. Mandee of Cupcake Kitteh- She has been taking on cooking challenges and tackling recipes in several major cookbooks. I am usually drooling and dreaming of her recreations.
   
4. Kittee of Cake Maker to the Stars- This is Ms. xgfx! She was the first vegan and gluten free blog I came across. Her pictures, stories, and adventures are a delight!
   
5. Ashley of (vegan)(kitchen)(nuggets)- She has been delighting my taste buds with all of her fall inspired creations. I especially love all of her posts with peanut butter!

Please make sure to check them out and show them the love!