Just Another Stir-Fry Recipe.

Not too much to say about this new recipe.  Roy and I simply enjoy delving into Asian cuisines, and this was another opportunity to play.  I think the most creative thing was coming up with a way to flavor the rice without a lot of ingredients.  Using jasmine green tea bags did the job with any mess.  Just place them in the water being used to make the rice, bring to a boil, remove the bags, and wallah, the water is infused with the flavorful tea.

The entire recipe, including rice, makes eight servings, and the leftovers simply got more flavorful over time.

 Order Up, and You're Welcome! 

 

Sweet Chili Stir-Fry

(Over Jasmine Green Tea Rice)

Ingredients:

2 lbs. raw, peeled and deveined large shrimp (or chunks of chicken breasts or pork tenderloin)

1 cup chopped red bell peppers

1 (15 oz.) can straw mushrooms, drained

½ cup julienned purple (also called red) onions

½ tsp. ground black pepper

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. ground lemon grass

3 Tbsp. vegetable oil

½ cup sweet chili sauce (aka Thai sweet chili sauce)

8 cups jasmine green tea infused rice **

Preparation:

In a sealable plastic container, mix together protein, peppers, mushrooms, onions, black pepper, ginger and lemon grass.  Place in refrigerator for one hour, but begin making rice in a half hour.

 

** To make rice, in a 3-quart pan, place 8 cups of cold water, ½ tsp. salt, 2 teabags of jasmine green tea.  Set heat to high and bring to a boil.  Remove tea bags and add 4 cups uncooked, medium grain, white rice; stir, reduce heat to low, cover and let cook for 20 minutes.  Remove lid, let rice rest for 5 minutes before fluffing up with a fork.

 

 

In a large skillet, heat oil on medium-high heat; spread out contents from plastic container in skillet and sauté’ until protein in thoroughly cooked (shrimp will turn pinkish/red, and no longer be translucent).  Add sweet chili sauce, mix in thoroughly, remove skillet from heat, and serve.

 

Makes 8 servings.

Mary Cokenour

First Harvest of August.

August 1^st is known as the first of two harvests, this date chosen primarily for being between the summer solstice and autumn equinox.  Lughnasadh, or Lughnasa, are the Gaelic names of this Middle Ages holiday celebrated in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man.  Named after the god Lugh, it was celebrated with horse racing, athletic competitions, trading, feasts and, for those within marriageable ages, matchmaking.  Once Christianity had a strong hold upon the people, the holiday was renamed as Lammas (Old English for “loaf mass day”).  The first harvest included wheat, and the first loaf made was brought to church to be blessed. 

Looking outside my window, as I take a break from typing on the keyboard, I see the apricot tree and its bounty of deep orange colored fruit.  Time to harvest, and good thing too, as I have seen many an apricot cake recipe that interests me.

Of course, there was a bounty of Roma tomatoes, juicy red round tomatoes, yellow squash and multi-colored peppers to collect as well.  The tomatoes were divided up with one half being made as homemade salsa, the other half a rich pasta sauce.  The larger of the squash was sliced and frozen; but the smaller ones were saved for a special recipe.  The same will happen to the peppers, sliced and diced, but not all will be frozen.  While cultivating, growing and harvesting is an excellent way to have your favorite vegetables, and fruits, for the winter time, do not cheat yourself from the now.

In my previous article of August 2, 2023, I wrote about how to bake a cake in a microwave.  I did mention that this was an alternative, in case the oven went kaput.  Well, the universe must have read my article, and guess what?  Just so happens the gas oven went kaput, but a new one will be delivered soon from Knowles of Moab.  The old gas range was almost 15 years old, the oven being fixed once already, and this was a sign that it wanted to be put to rest.  However, a dish, that Roy enjoys with freshly harvested vegetables, is a savory quiche, but it needed to be baked in an oven, or did it?  Time to get the ingredients together, take out a microwave safe casserole bowl, and convert a recipe of a baked dish, to a microwaveable one.

As I stated before, this is a savory quiche, but can still be a lovely dish to serve for breakfast, lunch, dinner, lunch, or bring to a social get-together.  It is crustless which means gluten free.  With some vegetarians, they still use milk and egg products, so they will enjoy this recipe.  Vegans?  I am very positive they can convert my recipe to satisfy their taste buds, while keeping to their diet regime.

 

Microwave Crustless Quiche

 Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. of melted butter; or butter flavored nonstick spray

6 baby yellow squash (2 to 3 inches in length), thinly sliced

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced (a cayenne pepper will work too)

¼ of small onion, diced

1 small red bell pepper (or 2 mini sized), seeded and diced

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. ground black pepper

¼ tsp. dried celery seed

1 tsp. dried, crushed thyme

6 large eggs

1 cup 2% milk

Preparation:

 

Coat the bottom and sides of a deep 3-quart microwave safe dish with melted butter, or the spray.

Mix together vegetables, salt, pepper, celery seed and thyme; spread evenly in coated dish.

 

 

 

 

 

Whisk together eggs and milk; pour over top of vegetables, moving slightly, with a spatula to make sure liquid gets between the vegetables, and flows to the bottom.

 

 

 

Microwave in increments of three minutes for a total of nine minutes. First three minutes, the top will begin to firm up.  Second three minutes, the sides will firm up.  Third three minutes will firm up the center and bottom. Remove bowl from microwave and rest for five minutes.

Carefully tip the bowl, use a spatula for guidance, and allow the quiche to slide onto a serving dish.  Cut into triangles with a sharp knife, and use a pie server to keep that beautiful shape.

Makes 8 servings.

 

 

While working on the bounty of your first harvest, be it freezing, dehydrating or canning, treat yourself, or others, by creating some delicious recipes to enjoy immediately.  Did not have a garden this year?  Make sure to check for notices on local farmers’ markets, as some grow more than they can personally handle.

Mary Cokenour

 

 

 

 

 

Microwave Baking, Does It Work?

Microwaves, for home use, became popular from the 1970s to the 1980s.  At that time, they were large, bulky, heavy, and cooking food properly was hit or miss.  Nowadays, they seem to be a standard in every residential home, apartment, business office, and fast-food chains.  They have become more compact, easier to carry, take up less room on the counter, and definitely more efficient.

Back in, oh around 1989, I purchased a microwave cooking set put out by Tupperware. It was stackable bowls in which a complete meal, including dessert, could be cooked around the same time as your favorite sitcom show.  Unfortunately, unless the included cookbook was used, making other types of recipes was again, hit or miss.  After a while, the set was boxed up, placed on a shelf and forgotten about.  Oh, I still have it, as you never know when the gas range will go kaput, and eating out is, also, not an option.

 

 

How do microwaves cook food exactly?  According to a 1999 article, by Scientific American, and I quote, “"A microwave oven cooks food because the water molecules inside it absorb the microwave radiation and thereby heat up and heat the surrounding food. The microwaves cause water molecules to vibrate; the increased friction between the molecules results in heat.”  Basically, after getting those molecules a rocking and rolling, the food, or recipe ingredients, cook from the inside outward.  That is why, sometimes, the center will be fully done, or even well done, while the food closer to the container sides is not completely cooked.

Often, I have seen recipes regarding baking cake in a microwave, mainly inside a ceramic mug.  In fact, you can purchase a kit, of pre-measured ingredients, mix in the mug, microwave, and “wallah!”, dessert.  Maybe I am microwave challenged, but these kits did not work for me; usually ended up with a gooey, inedible mess.

So, when I recently found a recipe, to bake an entire chocolate cake, in a microwave, I was intrigued, but hesitant.  Why?  I have been working so hard to learn “bake from scratch” which, in turn, has been teaching me patience.  What if this recipe fails?  Will it set me back in acquired baking skills, and lead to frustration instead of patience?  These, and other questions, would be answered, same bat time, same bat channel…if you do not get the reference, we certainly cannot be friends.

Ovens cook/bake using Fahrenheit, or Celsius (metric) units which is basically temperature increase or decrease, under standard atmospheric pressure.  Microwaves, however, work using wattage which is electrical energy transferred over time.  While ovens are standardized, microwaves are not; cooking speed increases dependent on the power (wattage) of the microwave.  So, when using a microwave-based recipe, results will not be the same if using a wattage different from what the recipe states, if it states one at all, and most do not.

 

Back to the chocolate cake; the list of ingredients, and directions, were simple, so decided to give it a try.  The author did not list what size microwave used, so my baking time actually doubled from the time indicated.  Other than that, the cake itself came out moist, not too dense, and pretty tasty by itself.  Of course, after adding on the frosting, it was even better.

Happily, my baking skills were not challenged, nor diminished, and my learning of patience continued.

Does microwave baking work?  Trial and error, and patience, will give the answer.

 

 

 

5-Minute Chocolate Cake

(Youtube Channel - Emma’s Goodies)

Ingredients:

1½ cups all-purpose flour

⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

¾ cup granulated sugar

3 tsp. baking powder

½ cup + 1 Tbsp. oil or melted butter

1¾ cup + 2 Tbsp. warm water

Method

Prepare your dish (microwave-safe container, around 9- to 10-inches in size) by lining with parchment paper, then greasing and lightly flouring the inside.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, and baking powder in a bowl.

Stir in the sugar (I used a combination of brown and white sugar for more flavor).

Add the oil followed by the water and combine using a whisk.

Pour into your prepared dish and microwave 5 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Chocolate Icing

Ingredients:

1-ounce square unsweetened chocolate

1 Tbsp. shortening

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

½ tsp. vanilla

Method

In a small saucepan melt chocolate and shortening over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in powdered sugar and vanilla. Add boiling water to make a spreadable consistency.

Mary Cokenour