Back to Basics : Use-It-Up Stir Fry and Breakfast Bake

Yesterday I was pondering and pottering in our mesh-covered vegetable tunnel when I spied four or five rows of miniature bok choi plants, all glossy and green, some of them prematurely shooting lemon coloured flowers in their distress at our unseasonably warm, dry weather. That evening, while scrabbling frosted fingers amongst icy packets of summer vegetables trying to retrieve a packet of sausages, I found a bag of crisp Chinese long beans.

Mmm the makings of stir fry suggested themselves to me as I went about the mundane tasks of my day.  Yes, perfect. I want to dramatically diminish the contents of our freezer, and those bok choi plants are growing where I plan to plant potatoes in springtime.

A little bit of this and a little bit of that and tonight we had a delicious Thai stir fry topped with strips of omelette.  This stir fry meal is a basic recipe - BACK TO BASICS - that I often rely on. It's wonderful for using up leftovers, surplus garden produce and as a freezer clearer.

BASIC USE-IT-UP THAI STIR FRY
1) Start by gathering and prepping all your ingredients in advance. For me this means picking, washing and slicing veggies, gathering spices etc beforehand. This meal is fast to make, so have your table set and plates ready. If you are serving your meal on rice, it needs to be almost cooked before you start cooking the stir fry. If you use instant noodles in the dish, there is no need for rice.  (Tonight's choice of ingredients is shown in brackets)

2) In a very large, hot wok or frying pan, heat up your oil of choice (coconut oil for me tonight)
Sitr fry sliced ginger, garlic, sesame seeds if you have them and whatever oniony item you have  Lemongrass is great here too. (spring onions from our tunnel)

3) Stir in Thai spices or thai paste and a dash of soya sauce and/or fish sauce. (I used thai seven spice, soya sauce)

4) Add sliced leftover meat and/or nuts of choice e.g. bacon, white fish, chicken, pork, beef, cashew nuts. Stir rapidly. (I left this out and rather used the egg strips at a later stage)

5) Add a large quantity of veggies, in order of cooking time eg carrots then beans then spinach. (Our own frozen grated courgette, sweetcorn, mange tout and Chinese long beans were dumped still frozen into the pan, then once they were softened I added the fresh bok choi)

6) Sprinkle over some stock powder to complement your protein and the flavouring sachet from instant noodles, or not. Optional: Break up some instant noodles and stir into the pan. I use two spoons to keep everything in the pan. ( chicken stock and 1 packet of chicken flavoured 2 minute noodles)

7) Pour in a can of coconut milk if you have any, alternatively use a little water and a dollop of tart jam like plum or apricot jam or a dash of sherry if needed. Season to taste. (coconut milk for us tonight)

8) Place a lid on the pan while the noodles cook.  Top with egg strips if you like. (I did - Beat and cook an egg or two in a small pan without stirring, flip over like a pancake to ensure it is cooked through. Roll up and slice into strips).

Yummy!

In a similar fashion, the ideas for the other two meals of the day came together in my mind as I pondered various items that alerted me from garden, freezer or pantry. The most frequent question in my mind when entering my personal grocery store is, "What is begging to be used first?" This mindset ensures that there is minimal wastage.

Frozen apricots that escaped my daughter's smoothie-making frenzy last summer were calling the loudest from the freezer. So last night I used these apricots and a recipe from my sister to prepare breakfast for today: First I smashed the solid hunk of apricot halves onto the concrete floor to separate them inside their plastic bag. Half a packet of sweet frozen peach chunks were added to balance the tartness. Then my mind switched into FOOD FAMILY mode. Pecan nuts and peaches, the slightly bitter nutty crunch complements the soft sweet fruit. I whisked an egg, then stirred in the nuts, two handfuls of rolled oats, some oat bran, cinnamon and honey. I spread the mixture over the still frozen fruit in a casserole dish and popped it all in the fridge to defrost overnight. This morning all I needed to do was pop the dish in the oven to bake for half an hour while I showered. The oats soaked up the juices that oozed from the thawing fruit, then crisped up on top as the dish baked. We ate it alongside dollops of warm yoghurt drizzled with honey. Delicious. "Where's the recipe?" you may ask. Well it's simple

BASIC BREAKFAST BAKE
1) Place sliced fruit of choice on the bottom of your dish
2) choose nuts and spice to match eg apples and walnuts, peaches and pecans, apricots and almonds
3) mix (2) with 1 or 2 beaten eggs and a few handfuls of oats, oat or wheat bran, and a little honey/sugar mixed to a moist consistency
4) In the morning, bake in a moderate oven until bubbling and golden. Serve with plain yoghurt.

All those frozen vegetables needing to make way for the next season also inspired me to rustle up an Almost Mexican Vegetable and Bean Soup for lunch, which needed a crusty bread. So we turned cream into butter just for the buttermilk, a key bread-making ingredient around here. The butter went into the freezer and the excess buttermilk went into the soup pot. And the bonus was using up some frozen sweetcorn, green beans, mange touts and patty pans from summer. The mexican part came from the pantry - baked beans, a little tomato sauce, cumin, garlic and oregano and chilli sauce on the table. Oh and I used some of the ubiquitous leeks from the veggie tunnel.

I wrote this blog post to show how I plan my meals based on what needs using the most - true Elastic Mom Style, but meandered into sharing recipes. Both the stir-fry and breakfast bake are favourites in our home. I hope you adapt my BACK TO BASICS recipes to what's in your garden/freezer/pantry and give them a try.

Marrow Matters - Marrow Muffins

MARROW MUFFINS

1 c wholewheat flour

1 c white flour

1 c grated marrow (mine were sliced, but grated is better)

1 t baking powder

1 t mixed herbs

1/4 c melted butter

1 1/2 c milk

1 egg

Mix together and bake in muffin pans at 180˚ for about 1/2 hour until golden.

 Slice some yummy homemade cheese and a tomato from the garden.

Enjoy!

Marrow Matters - Marvelous Marinated Marrows

Another Thursday, another marrow recipe - my favourite one so far.

MARVELOUS MARINATED MARROWS

Take 5-8 baby marrows. Wash them well.

 Slice them lengthways into long strips. Coat them with olive oil and roast them in a hot oven (200'C) until they are tender, stirring every now and then.

While the marrows are softening in the oven, crush a clove of garlic into a casserole dish. Add a handful of freshly chopped mint leaves.

 Heat half a cup of vinegar until bubbling merrily.

Toss the softly roasted courgettes with the hot vinegar, garlic and mint in the casserole dish. Grind salt and pepper over the dish.

Cover and refrigerate overnight to mellow the flavours. 

Voila, an absolutely delicious accompaniment to any meal that is perfect for a hot Summer's day. 

Now to think of some ideas for the rest of the marrows that grew enormous while we were away. 

Marrow Matters - Garden Risotto

It looks as if Thursdays will be my Marrow Matters days. I hope to post a few more ELASTIC TIPS on some of the days in between but, for now, this is all that I can muster being so busy with processing the fruit of our harvests. 

I do not presume to pretend that I am a master chef and this so-called risotto is probably not at all like a real risotto, but delicious and, in Elastic Mom style, quick and easy. Best of all, it only uses one pan.

GARDEN RISOTTO

Sizzle some butter or oil in a large pan. Slice up and fry one onion, some marrows, a green pepper and a few slices of bacon. My bacon was shaved off a hunk of frozen bacon generously given to us by my father-in-law. I used a rather large yellow summer squash.

Once the onions start to soften, add some frozen beans, carrots and sweetcorn to the pan, or use vegetables that you have on hand. Fry them until defrosted.

The beans were my own, blanched and frozen and needing clearing from the freezer. I have memories of my long-suffering children helping me to slice crates of sweetcorn off the cob with my electric carving knife before freezing them last Summer. Now that the new harvest is coming, it's time to clear the last of them from the freezer too.

Shake up the remains of an almost empty jar of apricot jam with a half jar of hot water and pour it in. You could shake up any tasty almost empty jar - mayonnaise, jam, chutney or mustard. No suitable jars? Then just add a dollop of your favourite flavor and some water, or just use stock. 

All the while gently stir the mixture in the pan. Add some fresh cream, about half a cup. Liquid quantities are not important, as you will adjust them as you go.  

Sprinkle some risotto rice over the pan. My mother-in-law taught me to use a handful of rice per person and one extra for the pan. 

Keep stirring the risotto as it simmers. You will soon see if you need to add more liquid for the rice to absorb.

If it looks a little dry still, slosh in some wine and chicken or vegetable stock.  

Season with salt and pepper and add your favourite herbs or spices. I used some smoked paprika because its smoky flavor is great with bacon.

Keep simmering, stirring, and adjusting the liquid if you need to, until the rice is cooked through, but still with a bit of a bite to it. 

Tuck in to a tasty family meal. 

This recipe is truly ELASTIC and you can adjust it to whatever you are clearing from your garden. pantry, fridge or freezer. Avoid unwanted science experiments in your fridge. Plan your meals according to what needs using the most.

 USE IT, DON"T LOSE IT. 

I always try to choose flavours that compliment each other. Apricot jam and bacon sing together. 

ELASTIC GARDEN RISOTTO:

Be creative with flavor families. Use your basic garden vegetables, making sure to throw in heaps of marrows, but vary the spices, herbs and meat according to what you have and need to use.... 

Go THAI with coconut milk, green curry, asian greens and strips of chicken,

or ITALIAN with garlic, parmesan, tomato, peppers, oregano and bits of salami.

How about FRENCH with brinjal, peppers, tomato, mixed herbs, bacon and garlic.

For a VEGETARIAN version use cooked chickpeas or beans for protein. 

Mmm, I am thinking lentils and CURRY spices, but then that would need a different rice, basmati maybe....

The variations are as abundant as your imagination. In fact, the flexibility of this recipe makes it perfect to add to my list of BACK TO BASICS recipes. 

Marrow Matters - Summer Tart

As promised, here is another summer squash recipe. It is my personal variation on Grandma's Tart, a recipe that I found in a Waldorf School Recipe Book and a firm family favourite.  Our garden marrows keep on coming. I like to pick them small and tender. We seem to have a lot of yellow ones at the moment. This recipe is a winner, fast and easy, but delicious. 

SUMMER TART

Pick and wash a handful each of baby marrows and cherry tomatoes.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. I use a pastry brush to oil my baking tray, then roll out some ready puff pastry to fit the pan. 

 Slice an onion and about six baby marrows lengthways. I use a vegetable peeler to make the slices really thin.

Wash and halve the baby tomatoes. Send a helpful family member, like my daughter, into the garden to pick some fresh rosemary.

Smear a large dollop of dijon mustard over the pastry. Be sure to take it all the way to the edge of the pastry. 

 Saute the onion and ribbons of squash in some olive oil. You could add garlic here if you like. After the marrows have softened, add the tomato halves and stir gently. 

Spoon the vegetables over the pastry. Crumble feta cheese over and sprinkle with blades of rosemary. Season with ground salt and pepper.

Bake in the oven until the pastry is golden, the vegetables are starting to brown slightly, and your family starts commenting on the wonderful aromas wafting from the kitchen.

 Summer Tart is scrumptious served hot or at room temperature with a little salad on the side.

It is most enjoyable to eat this meal outdoors on a warm evening and it would be complimented by a chilled glass of light white wine. 

Marrow Matters - Creamy Courgettes

Barbara Kingsolver, in her wonderful book, Animal Vegetable Miracle, shares the woes of an overabundant zucchini harvest where one dare not venture out, as on returning home one will invariably find a bag of marrows on the doorstep, a doubtedly generous gift from a similarly overrun neighbour.

Yet again this summer, I am challenged to include these prolific green, yellow and stripy marrows into as many meals as possible without offense to my darling family.

Life frequently intrudes on my blogging intentions, but maybe a series of marrow solving recipes is in order. This recipe raises the humble marrow's status from sublime to sought after. It cost me no more than a trip to the garden and a little cream-begging from our dear sweet jersey cow, Rose.

CREAMY COURGETTES

 Melt a generous dollop of Rosie's butter in a large pan. Wash courgettes well and slice thinly. Keep them in rings or else they will break up during cooking.

 Add the courgettes to your bubbling butter and sauté until they are beginning to soften slightly and smell golden.

 Quickly run into your garden and pick some thyme and rosemary which you will need to rinse and finely chop.

 I use cream freshly skimmed, but bought cream is just as good, well almost.

 Sprinkle the herbs and pour the cream over the sizzling slices of marrow. Grind over some salt and pepper.

 Use enough cream to cover the bottom of the pan, but not to drown the courgettes.

 Bubble and simmer this mixture, stirring gently when you remember, until the cream has reduced right down and the marrows are very tender.

This dish is delicious served warm as a side dish for a main meal. It tastes so much better than my photograph looks. Even my marrow unfriendly son enjoys it.