Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Sweet & Sour Stir Fry

This week in the CSA, we got radishes and bok choy.  Also, cabbage, kale, and arugula.  And another sweet potato.  I'm a little CSA-weary these days, but we haven't had time to go to the farmer's market since the beginning of August, so thank goodness my sister keeps showing up with fresh veggies on Tuesday.  This week, we are sort of overrun with leafy green things, and I am feeling the need to cook everything so nothing goes bad.  (Suggestions for things that freeze well are appreciated.)

Tonight, I finally used up some tofu that was on it's last legs, the radishes, the bok choy, and an onion to create a simple but delicious stir-fry.  If you are afraid of bok choy, don't be.  I was freaked out at first too, but it turns out it is easy and delicious.  Same goes for the radishes.  This was super easy and I'm really pleased with how everything tasted.

Ingredients:
Tofu (I used a 2-block pack from Costco, but you could probably just use one) cut up into 1/2 inch dice and drained
1/4 cup Sweet and sour sauce (I used about a half cup, but was using 2 blocks of tofu)
1/4 cup Soy Sauce (all liquid measurements are approximate, you want a mixture that is a little runny but still thick)
2-3 cloves Garlic
1 onion
1 bunch radishes, cleaned, trimmed and cut into quarters
1 bok choy, cleaned, separated from stalk and with leaves trimmed off and set aside (just cut them off and put the leaves separate from the white part)
More soy sauce
Olive oil
Brown rice or starch of your choice (I throw the rice in the rice cooker first, since it takes so long.)

Procedure:
1.) Heat olive oil in a pan on medium-high.  Add the tofu and allow to cook until edges are crispy (this took around ten minutes, during which I chopped everything else.)
2.) In a separate pan or wok, start the onions cooking over medium-high heat.
3.)  Once the onions have softened, add the radishes.  Allow them to cook for about 5 minutes with the onions.
4.) Mix the soy sauce and sweet and sour sauce together.  Add to tofu. Turn to medium-low heat.
5.) Add the bok choy to the  onions and radishes.  Add about 1/4 cup of soy sauce to the mix and allow to cook over medium-high heat for another 5-10 minutes.  Radishes should taste crunchy but fork easily.
6.) Once the radishes are edible, add the bok choy leaves and stir into the mixture.  Cook 1-2 minutes more, until leaves are just wilted.
7.) Serve tofu and veggies together over brown rice.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Apples and Sweet Potatoes

I mentioned to my boss that in a fit of delusion, I bought a giant bag of apples, and also, the sweet potatoes from the CSA just keep coming, and today she brought me a whole bunch of recipes.  I copied most of them, but one is too hard to copy, so I'm retyping it here instead.  If you make it, let me know how it goes. 

Apples & Sweet Potatoes
2 cups apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
4 lg sweet potatoes
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp raisins
1/4 cup applejack (do they still sell this?)
lemon juice
cinnamon
1/4 cup butter

Peel and cut potatoes into thin slices.  Cook them in boiling water to cover until nearly done (soft but not mushy).  Cook peeled, cored, thinly sliced apples in a slight amount of boiling water until same texture as cooked potatoes.  Sprinkle apples with lemon juice after they are cooked.  Grease a baking dish and alternate layers of apples and potatoes.  Sprinkle the top with brown sugar, cinnamon, and raisins.  Dot top of sprinkled apples and potatoes with butter.  Pour applejack over top of apples & potatoes.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. 

(Serves about 6. Unless Boston is coming over, in which case, 2. Maybe.)