Farm Fridays: Tangled Collard Greens and Sesame over Rice

I'm trying to get things back on track around here. My stupid, stupid cold is still hanging around. I thought I was over it last weekend, but as soon as I started going about my normal business (especially going to the gym again), things went back a few steps. I've been holding it together well enough to teach, but as soon as I get home from class, I crash. Very little is getting done around here, which is definitely not ideal this particular summer.

But I'm going to try to ignore it and get things done. First thing on the list is to work on my backlog of blog posts. I've managed to upload and edit the pictures I've been taking, so expect to hear more from me soon.

I know my last Farm Fridays post was about collards, too, but I just can't resist them. I love the thick, smooth leaves. This time I went with a more Asian direction, based on a recipe from Deborah Madison's Vegetable Literacy. With a little soy and a little sesame, these unassuming greens are kicked up a notch. This dish is really simple - the first time I had it was for a quick lunch with a few leftover leaves - and really delicious. This time I sized it up a bit - enough for dinner and leftovers. The fresh, thick greens are pleasantly toothy over the soft rice. If you have extra collards in your crisper, this is a great way to use them.

Tangled Collard Greens and Sesame over Rice 
Adapted from Deborah Madison's Vegetable Literacy.

1 c white rice
2 c vegetable stock
1 tbsp sesame oil (regular is fine - I used toasted sesame oil because I have so much of it!)
1 small shallot, minced
1 bunch collard greens (about 8 oz)
splash tamari
splash rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

To cook the rice, bring the stock to a boil. Add rice, reduce to a simmer and cook 15-18 minutes, until liquid is gone and rice is fluffy.

Remove the stems from the collard greens. Stack the leaves and roll into a cylinder, then slice into 1/2" thick ribbons.

Preheat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallot and cook 1-2 minutes, until softened

Add the collards to the pan and cook, stirring, until wilted, about 4-6 minutes. When the greens are softened, add a splash of tamari, a splash of rice vinegar and sesame seeds. Drizzle with a bit more toasted sesame oil, if desired. Serve over rice.

Fridge-Clearing Stir Fry with Bean Thread Noodles, Broccoli Stems and Edamame

Jeff and I love playing around with new recipes. Every week, we construct a menu out of them. But what happens to the motley assortment of leftovers in the veggie bin at the end of the week?

Stir fries.

Stir fries, generally with rice, but sometimes with noodles, crept into our repertoire during CSA season as a way to deal with the bok choy that was inevitably abandoned, wilting, in the crisper the night before we picked up our next share. Stir fries are awesome. A quick saute and some tasty sauce will perk up the saddest of produce. Add some rice, a fried egg and crunchy cashews and you have a meal.

Since it's March, we didn't have any fresh CSA produce to use up in this dish. Instead, it started with leftover broccoli stems. I've been a broccoli stem hater my whole life, but given my crusade to eliminate kitchen waste, I feel obligated to use them. Adding them to stir fries is the only use I've come up with (sometimes sliced, sometimes shredded). I also threw in some snap peas that were on their last legs, a roughly chopped onion, and some edamame and chard from the freezer. Anything you have on hand is really fine - it's less of a recipe than a formula. A formula for success!

Fridge-Clearing Stir Fry with Bean Thread Noodles, Broccoli Stems and Edamame

5 oz package bean thread noodles
3 tbsp canola oil, divided
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 medium onion, chopped
2 broccoli stems, thinly sliced (you might want to peel any particularly woody bits as well)
3/4 c edamame
1 c snap peas (I like to cut them into bite-sized pieces)
3/4 c frozen chard, thawed
ginger-garlic sauce (see below)
1/2 c roasted cashews

Cook the bean thread noodles according to package directions - mine needed to be soaked in boiling water for ten minutes.

In a large wok, preheat 1 tbsp canola oil over high heat. Add the egg and stir fry, stirring constantly, until cooked through, 1-2 minutes. Remove from pan and reserve.

Add the remaining 2 tbsp oil to the pan. Add onion and broccoli stems and cook 2-3 minutes, until onion is translucent. Add the snap peas, edamame and chard and cook another 2 minutes, until heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Drain the noodles and add them to the stir fry (since they're extremely long, I usually cut into the pile a few times with some kitchen scissors before adding them to the pot - it makes it much easier to toss everything together). Add sauce and stir well to combine everything. Sprinkle on the cashews and serve.

Ginger-Garlic Sauce
From For the Love of Cooking.

1 tsp cornstarch
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 c honey
2 cloves garlic, minced
1" fresh ginger, minced
1/2 tsp water (optional, if sauce is too thick)
2 tbsp sliced green onion

In a small saucepan, combine the cornstarch and soy sauce, whisking well until any lumps are gone. Add the honey, garlic and ginger. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat and let thicken 3-4 minutes. Stir in green onion and serve over meat, mixed with rice or tossed with a stir fry.

Chicken Salad with Ginger-Soy Vinaigrette

I had a delicious quick salad for dinner the other night. I feel like the last two months have been a constant battle to consume all the lettuce I get from the farm before I have to pick up some more. Most of the time, I'm eating the same salad - lettuce, carrots, peas or radishes, and honey mustard dressing. I'm happy with it, but it gets boring after so many weeks. I added some leftover tandoori chicken and dried cherries (they're not in the picture - I forgot them the first night, but ate them with my leftovers) and tried out a different dressing. Quick, easy and tasty. Served with my farro salad, it was a nice fresh meal for a hot summer night.

Chicken Salad with Ginger-Soy Vinaigrette
Inspired by Rachel Ray's 30-Minute Get Real Meals.

1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 tbsp lime juice
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp tamari
1 1/2 tbsp canola oil
4 c salad greens
2 carrots, sliced (I used a purple one and a yellow one, for color)
1/3 c snow peas, sliced
3/4 c cooked chicken (mine was leftover tandoori chicken from the night before)
1/3 c dried cherries

Combine the first five ingredients in a bowl and whisk well to combine.

In a larger bowl, combine greens, carrot, snow peas, chicken and cherries. Toss with dressing and serve!

Farm Fridays: Chicken Chow Mein with Spring Vegetables

Welcome to my new feature: farm Fridays! I spent my winter thinking about how I could integrate my CSA, Honey Brook Organic Farm, into my blog more effectively. I knew I wanted to move toward offering seasonal recipes. What better way than to blog about my CSA share each week?

So here's the plan: I'll be picking up my share on Friday mornings, going home to plan a menu, doing my grocery shopping for the week, then cooking up something tasty for dinner from the day's produce and blogging about it. While it sounds like a lot of work, it's pretty much what I would do anyway - I'm just adding a deadline for myself. Hopefully, this will help out my fellow CSA members who may be mystified by their piles of produce each week.

Speaking of piles of produce, this is a picture of my haul for this week. My kitchen is currently buried in leaves: lettuce, arugula, bok choy and spinach (and this picture doesn't even show half of my spinach - two pounds is a lot! I can't imagine what people with family shares are doing with four pounds!) There are also some leeks, so it's not a total leaf monopoly. I went out and picked some herbs as well - parsley and garlic chives - which I'm going to use in a lovely cold potato salad tomorrow. I love that potato salad, so it may be making it to the blog soon!

When I was looking for something to make today, I immediately fixed in on the baby bok choy. It's so cute and perky. I knew I could find something delicious to do with it. I settled on this chicken chow mein from Jamie Oliver's Jamie's Food Revolution. I have been loving this cookbook lately (my awesome potato salad comes from there as well!). Jamie Oliver's attitude toward cooking is really laid back. His cookbooks don't contain precise measurements and he offers lots of suggestions about substitutions and extra twists you can put on each dish. Perhaps that is what inspired me this morning, because I played around with this recipe quite a bit, taking inspiration from the fresh spring produce sitting in my fridge. The result, as you will see, was fantastic. I only wish it used a bit more of my bok choy!

Note on servings: the original recipe says it serves two, but we had a whole serving of the meat and veggies left over. If you want to stretch it out for three, you may want to cook 6 oz of noodles and some extra baby bok choy. 

Chicken Chow Mein with Spring Vegetables
Adapted from Jamie's Food Revolution.

1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced (about a thumb-sized piece)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 chile pepper, minced (I used a green cayenne I had frozen from my garden last fall - remove the seeds if you don't want a really hot dish)
1 1/2-2 tbsp peanut oil
1 chicken breast, sliced into thin strips and seasoned with salt and pepper (6-8 oz)
2 spring onions, chopped, tops and bottoms separated
4 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
6 baby bok choy 
8 oz asparagus, chopped into 2" segments
4 oz chow mein noodles (or linguine, if you can't find them at the store, like me!)
1 tsp cornstarch
8 oz can water chestnuts (don't drain it - you'll need the water too)
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 lime, juice only

Put a large pot of salted water to boil for the noodles. (The recipe says to cook the chow mein noodles 3-4 minutes, but my linguine took 12. Check the package directions and make sure you have enough time, since the rest of the cooking is quick and you don't want your food getting cold!) Add the noodles and cook for the allotted time. About 2 minutes before the noodles are done, toss in the bok choy and asparagus. When everything is done, scoop them off the top and set them aside, then drain the noodles in a colander.

Meanwhile, heat a large wok over high heat. Add the peanut oil and swirl to coat. When the oil is hot, add the chicken and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, until cooked through and slightly browned.

Add the ginger, garlic, chile and mushrooms and the white part of the spring onions. Stir-fry for another minute or so, stirring constantly. Then add the cornstarch, water chestnuts and their water to the wok. Stir well to combine everything. Make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the wok, then remove it from the heat.

Add the soy sauce, lime juice and boiled asparagus to the pan and toss everything to combine. Serve over noodles, with bok choy on the side.

Pork Stir Fry with Peppers and Snow Peas

Stir fries are great. They're quick, flavorful and generally healthy. This one certainly has all those characteristics, and manages to meet all my new dietary requirements.

I found out recently that I have high cholesterol - scary, considering the considerable family history of heart issues that has popped up in the past year. I knew I needed to lose weight, and have been working on it gradually for a year or so, but now I've had to step things up a bit. To be honest, my diet hasn't changed very drastically. The first week after the doctor gave me this weight-loss ultimatum, all of the meals I had planned were suitable for my new low-fat, low-cholesterol program. The snacks and desserts are killing me, though. While I had been steadily improving my eating habits for quite some time, I was still eating a lot of baked goods, and chocolate was a common snack. I've had to cut that out almost entirely, since I can't really eat butter (and refuse to use something as engineered as margarine). It's been painful. If I'm really, really good during the day, I can have a controlled slice of cake or a cookie. I will definitely have to cut back on all the baking I love so much. 

With this diet in place, I was a bit leery of trying a pork recipe - the first "red" meat I've had in weeks - but Jeff really wanted it so I succumbed. It turns out that a nice, trimmed pork tenderloin is pretty lean. Since the rest of the recipe is packed with veggies, it's a rather healthy main dish. Half the recipe with 3/4 c rice is just about 500 calories (I only needed a third of the recipe, so I had some calories to spare for dessert!). Low in saturated fat and high in protein, fiber and vitamin C, this is definitely a keeper. That it takes less than half an hour is a great bonus!

Pork Stir Fry with Peppers and Snow Peas
Slightly adapted from Bride and Groom: First and Forever cookbook.


1 c basmati rice
1 1/2 c water
1/2 c light coconut milk

1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped into half-moons
1 small red bell pepper, cut into strips
8 oz pork tenderloin, sliced into thin rounds
1.5" piece of ginger, finely chopped
1/4 c sherry vinegar
1/4 c hoisin sauce
1/8 c water
1 c snow peas
1/4 c green onions, sliced (for garnish)

In a medium saucepan, heat the water and coconut milk until it comes to a boil (watch closely so it doesn't boil over!). Add rice, cover and cook 12-15 minutes, until liquid is gone and rice is tender.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large wok over high heat. Add onions and pepper and cook until softened.

Season pork with salt and pepper, then add to the pan. Add ginger. Cook 1-2 minutes, until pork is no longer pink. Add vinegar, hoisin sauce, and water to the pan. Simmer 1-2 minutes.

Add snow peas. Cook another 1-2 minutes until everything is cooked through and sauce is thick. Garnish with green onions and serve over rice.

Stir-Fried Beef, Broccoli and Yams

What's the difference between a yam and a sweet potato? Is this just a regional thing, or are they really two types of potato? I tend to use the names interchangeably . . . I hope that's ok.

I love Chinese food. (The fake, American version, I mean.) There's something about fried meat in a sticky, sweet sauce that drives my taste buds wild. I used to eat it a lot. The prepared food section at Wegmans has some good stuff. I was also a huge fan of the Trader Joe's frozen meals (spicy orange chicken, anyone?), which I had assumed was the closest I would ever get to making Chinese take-out myself at home.

I was wrong. And it's a good thing I was wrong. I was at the University of Toronto this past summer, and spent a fair bit of time walking through Chinatown to get to other places. I passed a number of Chinese groceries. They are disgusting. (Ok, most of them are disgusting - one of the girls I lived with directed me to one that was satisfactory.) Most of the ones I passed smelled like rotting garbage. I steered clear of even buying vegetables there. I would never have considered buying the meat. A few of the butcher shops had whole chickens hanging by the neck in the windows. That freaked me out. I would never buy that.

Now, I understand this is a cultural thing. I live a fairly sheltered life and am easily grossed out. While I am trying to learn more about where my meat comes from and how the animals are treated, I still prefer a healthy distance between the cute farm animals and the finished product. I can't handle a rack of ribs or a whole raw chicken because I am too keenly reminded of what they used to be. But walking around Toronto's Chinatown led me to realize that, while I would not buy these things as groceries, I don't seem to have a problem eating them once they're fried up and tossed in sauce. The chicken in the window that I shy away from is destined for my Kung Pao!

So it's a good thing we've learned to make some great Chinese dishes at home, where I have control over the ingredients I use. This stir-fried beef, broccoli and yams is probably the best we've tried to date. The cornstarch gets the juices from the beef to thicken into a great sauce. And the yams (or sweet potatoes - whatever) provide a really nice twist on the traditional beef with broccoli, introducing a great new contrast in color, texture and flavor. And it's not very hard to make.

Try it. I hope you're as impressed as we were.

Oh, and here's a shot of some of the awesome stuff we got at the farmer's market this week. Those turnips are destined for something tasty . . .

Stir-Fried Beef, Broccoli and Yams

From Bon Appétit magazine, sometime last year.

1/4 c water

3 tbsp light brown sugar

3 tbsp oyster sauce

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1 lb flank steak, cut in half lengthwise, then into 1/4" slices 

1 1/2 tbsp corn starch  (yeah, that's a lot, but it's what gets the sauce to thicken)

2 1/2 tbsp sesame oil, divided

4 c broccoli florets (about 8 oz)

1 yam (about 8 oz), peeled, cut in half lengthwise, then into 1/3" slices (if you do this, you get pretty little half-moons of yam. Since I used a few very tiny yams, I chose to just slice them into rounds)

2 tsp chopped fresh ginger (fresh ginger adds a beautiful kick to the finished product)

Stir the water, sugar, oyster sauce and red pepper in a small bowl until the sugar dissolves. Set the sauce aside. Place the beef in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add cornstarch and toss to coat well. (Since we used about 1/3 more beef than the recipe called for, we should have used more cornstarch. Our sauce didn't turn out quite as thick as the last few times we'd made this recipe.)

Heat 1 1/2 tbsp oil in large skilled on high. Add beef. Stir fry for about 3 minutes, until no longer pink. Transfer to a clean bowl. In the same skillet, heat 1 tbsp of oil (we decided to use a bit less this time around because there was a fair bit of oil left in the skillet). Add the broccoli, yams and ginger. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, tossing to coat. Add the sauce. Cover, reduce heat to medium-high, and cook for about 5 more minutes, until the vegetables are just tender. (Test one of the larger pieces of yam to be sure.) Return the beef to the skillet. Toss for about another minute until the sauce coats the beef. Serve over rice.