Branden's Dinner (with "The Green Stuff")

I love being a teacher. Even on my worst days, it beats folding shirts at The Gap for a living (which I did, briefly, much to the consternation of the company). One of the best things about teaching high school is that I get to watch kids come in as a group of goofy freshman and be a part of how they grow and mature towards their senior year. Some students stick with you, too, and even now, a few thousand kids later, I could probably tell a former student just where he or she sat in my classroom.

Branden and I hit it off from the very beginning. For one thing, he was nearly 6' 7" as a 9th grader to my 5' 1", which he found endlessly amusing. I had Branden for numerous classes during his four years in high school and I never remember seeing him without a huge smile. It was infectious and it still is.

Branden struggled a lot with his weight in high school. Yes, he was tall, but he was also much heavier than he wanted to be. Then, one day, something seemed to "click," and he began to transform into the man we all knew he could be. He began working out in earnest when he started to play football his freshman year in college. The rigor of the program, a dedication to eating healthily, and Branden's never-ending optimism have all made him virtually unrecognizable (with the exception of his smile).

Over the years, Branden has become part of my family. With his mom's blessing he's always managed to fit in some time with us when he comes home from college. When he came to dinner this last time he asked if he could help cook. He's really dedicated to lean proteins and low fat eating, so together we whipped up a quick, easy, healthful meal that he can recreate on his own back at the ATO house. We didn't use a recipe because it was more about tastes and techniques and creating something he could do later on his own. He declared it "awesome" and said "the green stuff" was "EFFING fantastic." I love those college boys!


Some of our ingredients: shallots, spinach, mushrooms, avocado, garlic and tempeh.



Branden preparing the red quinoa (1 cup quinoa to 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth)



Shallots

 
Branden crying like a girl because the shallots burned his peepers.



Making the "Green Stuff," as Branden christened it.  Scoop out 1 avocado.





Add about a tablespoon of Italian herbs.



Add about a tablespoon of minced garlic.



Add between 1 to 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast.



Add ingredients to food processor.



Add some low sodium broth until it thins out to a sauce consistency.  Taste it and add some salt if needed.  Pop it in the fridge so it's cold to serve.  It was so yummy!



Quick frying of shallots, garlic and mushrooms in a little olive oil.




I had Brandon add little bits of low-sodium vegetable broth, cooking it down until it really reduced and concentrated the flavor.  It adds a buttery flavor without the butter (and fat).



Just before plating the vegetables, Branden adds some ground, toasted almonds for a little texture.





Veggies aren't Veggerific until they get some spinach love!



Here we're trying to capture the comical difference in our height . . .





We cut tempeh in half length-wise and width-wise, then browned it up with olive oil and some sea salt.





Branden says, "Effing FANTASTIC!"