Stir-Fried Bok Choy and Lettuce with Mushrooms

Bok Choy. Is. Delicious.

I've posted the Cooking Light recipe that guided me, but I made a few modifications:
1. I had the mushrooms that came in my box. No idea what kind they were, but they certainly weren't dried. I skipped the soaking of the mushrooms in step 1.
2. I had bok choy, not baby bok choy. I chopped the bok choy in half lengthwise and then in about fourths the other direction. This seemed to be a pretty good size. I also used the Bibb Lettuce from my box instead of romaine.
3. This didn't thicken the way it said it would and then I just had oodles of sauce and nowhere to put it. Unfortunate. Because I didn't soak the mushrooms, I added between 3/4-1 cups of water. I would recommend adding 1/4-1/2 cup instead if no mushroom soaking is required.
4. A little extra sauce came in handy however (it was still way too much though). I pan-fried some tilapia with some garlic, salt, and pepper and a tad bit of sauce from the stir-fry flavored it well.

• 1 cup boiling water
• 8 dried shiitake mushrooms (about 2 ounces)
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Shaoxing (Chinese rice wine) or dry sherry
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 4 teaspoons canola oil, divided
• 1 teaspoon minced peeled ginger
• 1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 8 heads baby bok choy, halved lengthwise
• 1 medium head romaine lettuce, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces (about 8 cups)

1. Combine 1 cup boiling water and shiitake mushrooms in a bowl; cover and let stand 20 minutes. Drain mushrooms in a colander over a bowl, reserving liquid. Rinse mushrooms. Remove and discard stems; cut each cap into quarters. Set aside.
2. Combine soy sauce, wine, and sugar in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.
3. Heat a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon oil and ginger to pan; sauté 30 seconds. Add reserved mushrooms; sauté 1 minute. Add reserved mushroom liquid and broth; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.
4. Combine oyster sauce and cornstarch in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk; stir into mushroom mixture. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook 1 minute or until thickened. Remove from heat; keep warm.Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat. 
5. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan. Add garlic; stir-fry 10 seconds. Add bok choy; stir-fry 2 minutes or until bok choy begins to soften. Add lettuce; stir-fry 2 minutes or until lettuce wilts. Stir in mushroom mixture and soy sauce mixture; cook 3 minutes or until bok choy is tender.

"My Box"

About 3 months ago I started looking in CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture). I knew I wouldn't have time or room to grow my own veggies and as much as I love going to the farmer's market, I never had much incentive to try new veggies or be adventurous.  So I looked into different CSAs in my area and ended up going with Dominion Harvest. I found that they had the greatest flexibility for my crazy summer schedules. They get local and organic produce from a variety of local farms so it's not as a restrictive as a typical CSA. I started with just a basic fruit/veggie box, but they offer upgrades and/or downgrades if you want meat, bread, or dairy. You can also stop your service when you go out of town and you don't have to pay for those weeks! Did I mention they also deliver to your doorstep? I was sold as soon as I read their info and signed up right away to ensure I had a spot.

The first delivery was supposed to be this past Friday. I came home from work all excited expecting my box to be there. It wasn't. I waited until the 7pm deadline...still no box. Finally at 8pm I emailed Dominion Harvest about where my box was. I got a prompt phone call the following morning saying that they had a delivery confirmation but offered me a complimentary box the following week with an upgrade! Fine by me. As I was talking to "the guy" I had a idea of where my box might be. Turns out it was at my address BUT on the next street over (the street names are very similar). I went right over there, fully expecting to have to pry my box out of somebody's hands, but my big red box was just sitting there, completely untouched. It appeared that no one had entered or left through that front door the entire time my box was there. Phew. I snuck away and home with my precious fruits and vegetables. DH was really great about the whole thing and I was pleased with their service anyway.

So this marks a new era: no more neglecting of cooking/food blog. I am going full-on adventurous with my box. This week I received asparagus, strawberries, mushrooms, blackberry jam, spring kale, bibb lettuce, mustard greens, bok choy, sugar snap peas, and spring onions. I am going to document EVERYTHING that I make out of that box. Even a PB&J with the blackberry jam (ok, maybe not), but you get the idea. I am hoping to have fun with fabulous fresh produce and find tons of great new seasonal recipes! Here it goes!

Summer Squash Soup with Pasta and Parmesan

Summer squash season is over. But it wasn't when I made this. I'm obviously still behind on blog posting, but slowly getting caught back up. This was a nice chunky soup that uses the abundance of summer squash. The fresh herbs and parmesan tied all of the flavors nicely together and it didn't feel like I was violating any "no soup" laws pre-cold weather because the soup was light and fresh.

6  cups  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth 

3  cups  water 

2 1/4  cups  uncooked farfalle (about 6 ounces bow tie pasta) 

2  cups  finely chopped yellow squash 

2  cups  finely chopped zucchini 

1  tablespoon  chopped fresh parsley 

1  tablespoon  chopped fresh basil 

1  tablespoon  fresh lemon juice 

1/2  teaspoon  chopped fresh thyme 

1/2  teaspoon  chopped fresh oregano 

1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper 

1/2  cup  (2 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese 

1/4  cup  thinly sliced fresh basil

 

Bring broth and water to a boil in a Dutch oven. Add pasta, and cook 8 minutes or until almost tender. Add squash and the next 7 ingredients (through pepper). Reduce heat, and simmer 4 minutes or until pasta is done and squash is tender. Sprinkle with cheese and basil.

Veggie Fried Rice

I went to the Farmer's Market, picked up what looked really fresh and threw it into a veggie fried rice. I've been a huge blog slacker so I've had these pictures on my camera, but no other record of how I actually cooked it. I looked up a couple of fried rice recipes and just kind of threw them all together. So this is what it is. There's an egg, green beans, bell peppers, onions, rice, and a few asian seasonings/sauces that I have hanging around. I love that I'm feeling comfortable enough in the kitchen to just wing it sometimes.

Summer Squash Pizza

I love going to the Farmer's Market here. I knew I'd be able to find fresh squash and also that I'd get to use my mandoline slicer for this recipe. I have no other words for it other than...lovely. I got a little camera happy making this because the squash was just so pretty, and I wanted to show off what a mandoline actually does (my parents got me this for Christmas even though they didn't know what it really did - I had raved about using one when I once worked in the catering department at Utah Valley hospital). I love my mandoline - it doesn't get used that often but it makes perfectly even slices quickly...just watch your fingers!

Pretty squash

Mandoline - the tomatoes have to be really firm for the mandoline to work on them. These worked ok.

Can't wait until we have a real grill!

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 medium zucchini, cut lengthwise into (1/4-inch-thick) slices
1 medium yellow squash, cut lengthwise into (1/4-inch-thick) slices
Cooking spray
1 (12-inch) packaged pizza crust (I used a Whole Wheat Boboli crust)
2 plum tomatoes, cut into (1/8-inch-thick) slices
1/4 cup (1 ounce) finely grated pecorino Romano cheese
2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh oregano

1. Prepare grill.

2. Combine oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, zucchini slices, and yellow squash slices in a large
bowl, tossing gently to coat. Place squash mixture on grill rack coated with cooking spray;
grill 2 minutes on each side or until tender.

3. Reduce grill temperature to medium.

4. Lightly coat pizza crust with cooking spray; grill 1 minute on each side or until lightly
toasted. Arrange zucchini and squash over crust. Arrange tomatoes over squash; sprinkle
with pecorino Romano cheese. Grill 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from grill;
sprinkle with basil and oregano.

Source: Cooking Light

Green Beans with Black Bean Sauce

Another Crabtree classic. In fact, this has become a "Lauren" classic. Whenever I'm home and this is on the menu, I'm the one who cooks it. I have no idea why this has become "my" recipe, but it has. It's also a classic around here too. Aaron loves it and if I've bought green beans, he always asks if this is what I'm making (and I usually am).

1.5 pounds Green Beans
2 Tablespoons Garlic Black Bean Sauce (usually found in the Asian section, we use the Lee Kum Kee brand)
1 tablespoon olive oil
water, as needed.

Heat olive oil in pan over medium high heat and add beans to stir fry. Add small amounts of water when olive oil is absorbed to keep beans from burning. When done cooking beans, there should not be a lot of water left. When green beans are crisp tender, remove from heat and stir int he Garlic Black Bean Sauce until heated through.