pretty much every time i use broccoli in my recipes i think about the way i used to get my kids to eat it when they were little. we would pretend the broccoli florets were trees, and dip them into snow (aka ranch sauce), and they would eat them all up. my son preferred his "trees" raw with lots of "snow" and my daughter ate them  slightly steamed with out any snow at all-but they were eating a vegetable, and that made me very happy, so i bought lots and lots of broccoli and learned to use it every which way you can imagine (no snow covered trees for the grown ups, thank you)! one of our favorite brocco-dishes was this stir fry with chicken (or tofu or beef). i add the broccoli to the wok almost at the very end because we prefer our trees green (almost raw). as always, my stir fry is rather spicy, so please adjust the heat to your preference. this delicious dish comes together easily in a matter of 20-30 minutes. go ahead, eat some brocco-trees....they're good for you.

for the marinade

4 small chicken breasts~about 4-6 servings:

• 1-2 tsp freshly grated ginger root (use a microplane grater)

• 1-2 tsp toasted sesame oil

• 1-2 cloves of garlic, finely minced

• 1 finely minced chili pepper (or 1 tsp cayenne pepper)-SPICY

• 1/4 cup soy sauce or braggs liquid aminos (gluten free)

• 2 tsp corn starch

• 1 tsp fresh lemon or lime zest (use the microplane grater again)

• 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

other ingredients:

• 2 tbs vegetable oil (or virgin unrefined coconut oil)

• 4 organic chicken breasts, sliced in half horizontally, then sliced into thin strips

• about 1.5-2 cups organic broccoli florets (and peeled stems)

• 10-15 mushrooms, thickly sliced (optional) or quartered

• 6-8 scallions, sliced in about 2 inch pieces

• 1/4 cup chicken broth

• sesame seeds and mung bean sprouts for garnish

~marinate the chicken strips in the marinade above for at least 10 minutes and up to 1 hour before cooking the stir fry

1. heat half or slightly more of the oil in a wok, then add the chicken to the hot wok and stir fry on high heat (stirring) until the chicken is thoroughly cooked (about 7-10 minutes) -add a few drops of chicken broth or water if necessary (sticking). remove the chicken from the wok and set aside.

2. add the mushrooms (and more oil) to the wok and stir fry on high for 3-4 minutes, then add the broccoli florets and scallions and stir fry for just a few minutes (3-4)  before adding a small amount of soy sauce (2 tsps or so) and the cooked chicken back to the wok and combining it with the vegetables.

3. as soon as the chicken is hot again (just a minute or two while stirring on high heat), add the broth, combine and allow the sauce to bubble and thicken (a minute or two) before serving with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and sprouts on top over steamed brown rice, soba noodles, or quinoa.

you will likely repeat this process many more times....it's that good:-)