Don's Most Perfect Stir Fry Ever

We just had the most delicious stir fry. It's an improvement on a former recipe we tried from Epicurious called Stir-Fried Beef, Broccoli and Yams. Our additions and revisions are definitely for keeps and have earned this a permanent rotation in the early household. Wanted to write it down while it's still fresh.


Ingredients

1/4 cup water

3 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar

3 tablespoons oyster sauce*

1 to 2 teaspoons dried crushed red pepper

1 pound Ribeye Steak (sirloin or flank would work nice too)

2 1/2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil, divided

3 Stalks Celery, sliced diagonally

4 cups broccoli florets (about 8 ounces)

2 small sweet potatoes, peeled, cut in half lengthwise, then crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick slices

1 teaspoon bottled ground ginger

1 teaspoon bottled ground cloves

1 small box of Trader Joes Pad Thai Noodles (save sauce packet for another use)

Stir first 4 ingredients in small bowl until sugar dissolves. Set sauce aside.

Season Steak with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in large wok over high heat. Add beef ; sear on both sides about two minutes until no longer pink outside. Transfer beef mixture to cutting board and let rest.

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in same skillet. Add broccoli, yam, celery, garlic and ginger. Toss to coat; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add sauce. Cover, reduce heat to medium-high, and cook until vegetables are just tender, about 5 minutes. Add beef mixture. Toss until sauce coats beef, and beef is to desired degree of doneness. Add noodles and toss until well coated. Serve immediately.

Chinese Make In: Stir-Fried Beef, Broccoli, and Yams

Sorry, I didn't get a better picture, but this one was too good not to share. Why get Take Out when you can have Make In. Next time you are in the mood for Chinese Food, try this delicious and easy stir fry recipe made with Flank Steak, Broccoli, Yams, and homemade sauce. So simple and tasty and way healthier than Take out. This was so good on it's own we didn't even bother to make rice to go with it. For the full recipe visit http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Stir-Fried-Beef-Broccoli-and-Yams-352549.

Thai Shrimp Stir-Fry with Basil

Here is a delicious adaptation inspired by a giant unused tub of basil and adapted from a Food Network recipe. For the original recipe visit: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/thai-shrimp-stir-fry-with-tomatoes-and-basil-slimmed-recipe/index.html, but we have made quite a few changes below:

Thai Shrimp Stir-Fry with Basil

2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Water
2 Teaspoons Fish Sauce
1 Teaspoon Red Chile Flakes
4 Teaspoons Organic Brown Sugar
3 Tablespoons Peanut Oil
3 Cloves Garlic
1 Tablespoon ground fresh ginger (we use the refrigerated kind from the jar)
1/2 Cup Diced Yellow Onion
1 Red Bell Pepper, cut into one inch pieces
1 Bunch green onions, cut into one inch pieces
1 Jalapeno, minced
3/4 Cup Fresh Torn Basil Leaves
1/4 Cup Fresh Torn Mint Leaves
Juice of one lime

Directions

In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, water, fish sauce, and sugar; set aside.

Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, ginger, and chile flakes, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the shrimp and stir-fry until pink but still translucent in the middle, about 2 minutes. Transfer the shrimp to a medium bowl with a slotted spoon.

Add the onions, pepper, and chile to the skillet, and stir-fry until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Return the shrimp to the pan along with the soy sauce mixture. Bring to a boil, and stir-fry until the sauce glazes the shrimp, about 1 minute more.

Add the tomatoes and stir until coated with sauce, about 15 seconds. Remove pan from the heat, stir in the basil, mint, and lime juice. Serve over Jasmine Rice.

This was definitely a hit as Don ate two huge bowls! Probably best anyway as shrimp doesn't usually make the best leftovers.

Eat Your Greens

One of the fun things about getting a weekly delivery of organic produce to you doorstep, is the exciting element of variety and surprise, as well as the challenge of trying to come up with ideas for new ingredients that you wouldn't normally buy on your own. One thing I do like about Dandelion Organic Delivery so far is that they publish their weekly Harvest Box list a few days before actual delivery to give you some time to plan your meals for the week.

For me, the foreign produce item this week was Kale. My family of origin was an iceberg lettuce family. As I got older and grew into my own kitchen, I came to love and embrace the variety of salad greens that exist out there including spinach, arugula, romaine, spring mix and other leafy greens. But I still have never ventured into the darker greens such as kale, mustard, and collard greens. Maybe it's because they are most often served warm and wilted which for the unexceptional cook translates pretty quickly into soggy. So I was excited this week to be challenged in the kitchen by getting familiar with this new (to me) vegetable.

Since I had never prepared Kale before, I decided to start with some recipe websites and researched recipes that had already been tried and reviewed by other readers. I found a basic recipe with a rather favorable rating and adopted some of the comments and my own ideas to come up with an even better version than the original. Below is the creation we arrived at - a nice steamy bowl of sausage, tomatoes and kale, served over white rice for the perfect winter luncheon. I was excited at the amount of flavor that the kale was able to absorb and retain without becoming the soggy wilted mess that I had feared it would.

For sausage, we used Uli's Famous Cajun Brand Andouille Sausage from the Community Food Coop. Uli's is based out of Seattle, Washington and all of their meats are Preservative free and MSG free with no artificial coloring or hormones. Don and I were big fans of the Andouille which paired perfectly with the tomatoes and Kale. Besides a little olive oil and a minced clove of artichoke garlic from our produce box, Don added a little bit of sea salt but I really didn't feel any extra spices were needed.

The recipe itself cooks up in only minutes so get started early on the rice. We are looking forward to our next delivery of Kale to make this special winter treat again!

Sausage, Kale and Tomatoes over Rice

1 cup white rice
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 links sausage of your choice (recommended Uli's Famous Cajun Brand Andouille Sausage)
1 clove artichoke garlic (or regular garlic), minced
14 ounce can diced plum tomatoes
2 cups kale leaves, rinsed and roughly chopped
Salt and Pepper

Prepare rice in rice cooker or according to package directions.

When rice is about 10 minutes from completion, heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Once pan is heated through, add olive oil. Remove sausage from casings and crumble into pan. Cook stiring occasionally 3 to 5 minutes until lightly browned. Stir in garlic and heat another 60 seconds until golden. Add tomatoes and kale and heat another 3 to 5 minutes or until the kale is tender.

Serve sausage and tomato mixture over steamed rice. Add salt and pepper to taste.