Vegetables. Don’t get me wrong, I do like them and typically I eat them with my lunch and dinner. But sometimes, they are just so hard to get excited about. I’m usually much more invested in the main dish and am at a loss as to what to serve as an exciting vegetable side dish. I end up getting into the same old salad rut or eating the same types of veggies over and over. Tonight I’m making chicken wings with an Asian twist. Instead of doing a traditional vegetable stir fry like I usually do, I thought I would mix it up a bit. Nothing spectacular or fancy. Just easy and flavorful and a welcome departure from the norm. I put sesame seeds on this side dish which gave it just a trace of a warm nutty flavor. I think it would also be very good with toasted, slivered, almonds.

Sautéed Broccoli, Carrots, and Cremini with Sesame Seeds

3 Small Heads of Organic Broccoli

4 Large Organic Carrots

10 Cremini Mushrooms

3 Heads of Organic Garlic

About 1 Inch of Fresh Ginger

3 Tbs. Rice Vinegar

3 Tbs. Gluten-Free Soy Sauce

Couple Drops of Sesame Oil

1 Tbs. Papaya Ginger Preserves (This is from Hawaii, if you can’t find something similar, you could use apricot)

1 Tbsp. Sesame Seeds

Prepare the vegetables, garlic, and ginger. In a small bowl or ramekin, add the rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil and preserves. Stir with fork. Don’t worry about dissolving the preserves thoroughly, they will melt when you place them in the hot pan.

Place the sesame seeds in a small saute pan and toast on a medium high burner for about 1 minute. Keep the pan moving constantly and be careful because they toast very quickly and go from toasted to burnt in a few seconds.

Next, heat a good drizzle of olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the carrots and broccoli and saute for about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and ginger and saute for about 7 minutes. Add the garlic, saute for another 5 minutes. Add the sauce and saute until the broccoli and carrots are aldente.

Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and serve.