Bruce's Veggie Stir-fry

Bruce's Latest Stir-fry

Recipe by Bruce

My husband Bruce is the king of stir-frying, though he's quite modest if you ask him about it. Using a frighteningly high heat and an intimidatingly large wok, he cooks vegetables to perfection for any occasion. This most recent stir-fry was designed, as usual, to use up large quantities of veggies received from our CSA farm share. Because we were having Crispy Tilapia with Lemon-Onion Relish, he chose to use more cider vinegar than usual, to stand up to the strong taste of the relish. Stir-frying must be done quickly, so vegetables remain crisp rather than turning soggy. To execute this properly, one must be completely prepared before cooking.

Indispensible Kitchen Gadgetry

My Essentials!

You’re in Hawaii for two weeks and have just checked into the condo, or maybe you’re house-sitting at your friend’s country home while she’s in Hawaii. Along the way you were lucky enough (or prepared enough) to find a farmers market and pick up some local veggies to prepare along with fish/meat/rice/pasta/other staple that your friend/husband/kids are picking up at the local store. You’re preparing to cook, but oh no! How could the kitchen be missing a (fill in the blank)? But luckily there’s a (fill in the blank), which you’ve been wanting to have but haven’t been able to buy.

Cooking Disasters

Cheesy Leek Bake: Even a Bad Recipe can Look Good

Recipe FAIL!

The downside of the creative process, whether it’s in cooking or anything else, is that we don’t always get it right the first time. Sometimes it doesn’t taste quite right—the spicing, texture, or combinations of flavors are off—these are opportunities for improvement next time. Sometimes it’s a colossal failure. These recipes might never be saved.

Quick Asia-Inspired Salad

Quick, Easy, Healthful Salad

Recipe by Robin

During the process of cleaning out my deceased father's house, preparing simple and healthful recipes is best practice. I invented this recipe during another busy and stressful time when we had few fresh vegetables. Keeping some water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, mandarin oranges, canned pineapple, canned tomatoes, and sesame seeds on hand expands your food possibilities when time is short. And we love the light Newman's Own Lighten Up salad dressings: the taste, the low calories, and Newman's business practice of donating 100% of royalties and after-tax profits to charity. You may cut this recipe in half, and use the extra half-can of water chestnuts in a stir-fry with other veggies.

Environmentally Friendly Kitchen Tips

Earth Image Courtesy of NASA

I am taking a break from menu planning and formal cooking (but not from blogging) for a couple of weeks as I work on cleaning out my recently deceased father’s house. Although my Dad didn’t know much about environmentalism, and likely would have considered it a subversive leftist plot, he was quite an organic gardener. He spent much of his youth living on a farm. As his engineering career soared, we moved from the country to the suburbs, where only a small area could be planted. Still he cultivated tomatoes, lettuce, trees, and flowers, and my Mom shopped for produce at the local farm.

Pasta with Onion-Garlic Red Sauce and Veggie Crumbles

Green Onions and Garlic Make Festive Pasta

Recipe by Robin

In our quest for tasty meat substitutes, my husband bought some MorningStar Farms Meal Starter Recipe Crumbles. We thought we’d experiment with this ground meat substitute in our vegetarian pasta sauce. The texture and taste were excellent. Main “crumble” ingredient is textured vegetable protein (TVP), a combination of soy protein and wheat gluten. Minor ingredients include egg whites and skim milk (plus plenty of spices), so this is not a vegan option.

Marge's Coleslaw

Much Like Mom Used to Make

Recipe by Robin, inspired by Mom

In the early days of blenders, my mother filled her “Osterizer Container” with cabbage, carrots, and onions suspended in water. She pulsed each veggie into shreds, drained off the water, then mixed them all with mayonnaise, cider vinegar, salt, and pepper to make coleslaw. I did this a few times too, till I noticed that the green and orange water looked too nutrient-rich to waste. And so it was back to chopping and shredding, which I like because it’s quieter, and more eco-friendly.

Rolled Sole with Oyster Mushrooms

Recipe from The Chinese Herbal Cookbook

Another recipe from the wonderful Chinese Herbal Cookbook, published in England, which combines Chinese herbs with European recipes. One odd thing about this recipe is that it doesn’t give a weight for the fish. Lemon sole fillets are native to Northern Europe, so are not a good choice for Californian locavores. Luckily this recipe is surprisingly versatile: summer flounder (on US east coast), black cod (sablefish), and tilapia (west coast) are all good substitutes that are sustainably harvested--although the name “Rolled Tilapia” sounds considerably less poetic than “Rolled Sole.”  The trick is to get uniformly sized fillets, so they all cook evenly. I used rather large (~1/2 lb. each) tilapia, and would not go larger. You’ll notice it takes several toothpicks, but I’ve found that to be true with fillets of all sizes. Functional but not elegant, you can remove the ‘picks before serving. I also had 10 oz. mushrooms on hand, which helped fill the large fillets.

Week 6 Menu Plan

Infinitely Dippable Strawberry

Featuring cauliflower, oyster mushrooms, sugar snap peas & more strawberries

I wish I had time and an occasion to make chocolate-dipped strawberries this week. The huge, ripe, and flavorful strawberries in the CSA share this week cry out for it. Perhaps I will melt a few chocolate bits and dip one or two for fun. Thank you Live Earth Farm!

Week 6 Veggie List & Ideas

Another Round of Pasta a l'Olio Likely This Week!

Week 6 of our CSA farm share and we’re getting more spring onions and green garlic, no surprise at this time of year. Sounds like another week for Pasta a l’Olio, possibly adding the oyster mushrooms we’re getting. A few sundried tomatoes would be another tasty addition.

More fava beans, broccolini, sugar snap peas and watercress.  Does anyone have a new idea for watercress? I only have one watercress recipe, and the watercress is more of an accompaniment than an ingredient. Any watercress recipes out there?