Bok Choi, Snow Peas & Almonds

Tender crisp peas and choi, embraced by the warm flavors of sesame and almond.

Prep time:  10 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Serves:  4-6









INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons sesame oil
1 small onion, 1/4 inch dice (about 1/2 cup)
4-6 stalks bok choi, white and green parts separated and coarsely chopped (about 4 cups total)
1 pint snow peas or sugar snap peas
1/2 cup slivered almonds
Soy sauce (optional)

DIRECTIONS
In a wok or large skillet/saute pan heat the oil and onion over medium-high heat.  When onion sizzles, add the white bok choi stems and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.  Add the bok choi leaves and the pea pods, stir, cover, and cook for 2 minutes or until peas are tender crisp.  Remove from heat.

Distribute to serving plates, sprinkling each serving with slivered almonds and, optional, drizzling with soy sauce.

Photo and recipe by Tod Dimmick

Warm Greens Salad with Apples and Walnuts

A crunchy, chewy, savory, satisfying salad made of hearty greens.

Prep time:  10 minutes
Cook time: 10-15 minutes
Serves:  4-6

INGREDIENTS
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch bok choi, coarsely chopped
2 cups celery stems and leaves
3 cloves garlic, crushed
4-5 fresh sage leaves, minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1/4 cup toasted walnuts1 apple, cored, 1/2 inch dice
1/4 cup mint, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Heat the oil in a large skillet or saute pan over medium heat and cook the bok choi, celery, garlic, sage, rosemary and thyme for 10 minutes, stirring, or until the bok choi and celery stems are tender crisp.  Remove from heat, stir in the walnuts, apple, mint, and feta.  Drizzle with lemon juice, and serve, seasoning to taste with salt if necessary - don't forget feta is salty.

Photo and Recipe by Tod Dimmick

Choi Chicken

Photo and Recipe by Tod Dimmick










This tasty meal makes good use of one large saute pan or skillet.

Prep time:  5 minutes
Cook time:  15 minutes
Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS
1-1.5 lbs chicken breast meat, sliced into "fingers"
3 TSP Jerk Style Seasoning
2-3 TB olive oil2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large bok choi plant, white parts separated from the green leaves, both coarsely chopped
Cilantro
DIRECTIONS
Place the chicken in a large bowl, drizzle with 2 TB of olive oil, and turn to coat.  Then sprinkle with 2 tsp. of the jerk seasoning, turning pieces to reach all sides.  Set aside. 

Place a serving platter in your oven and preheat  oven to about 150F (warm). 

Heat the remaining olive oil in a large saute pan or skillet over medium heat.  Cook garlic for a minute, then add the choi stems and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until tender crisp.  Sprinkle in the remaining 1 tsp. jerk seasoning, and stir.  Add the green leaves, cover, and continue cooking for 5 minutes, stirring once or twice, or until bok choi leaves are tender.  Remove cooked bok choi to the platter in the oven, and turn heat to medium high (add a little more oil if necessary to facilitate cooking the chicken).   Cook chicken over medium high heat for 5 minutes, turning once.

Arrange chicken on top of bok choi, drizzle remaining pan juices over the chicken, and serve.

Choi Chard Stir Fry

Photo and Recipe by Tod Dimmick










Fresh earthy choi flavors meld beautifully with oyster sauce.

Prep time:  10 minutes
Cook time:  12 minutes
Serves:  4-6 as a side dish

INGREDIENTS
2-3 TB canola oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 bunch scallions, chopped
1 bunch red choi, rinsed and coarsely chopped, stems separated from leaves
1 bunch swiss chard, rinsed and coarsely chopped, stems separated from leaves
3 TB chopped fresh cilantro
2-3 TB oyster sauce

DIRECTIONS
Chop the choi stems into chunks about 1/4 inch wide, and coarsely chop the leaves, keeping them separate.  Do the same for the chard.  Heat the  oil in a wok or large skillet over medium heat, and cook the garlic, scallions, chard and choi stems for 4 minutes, stirring.  Add the chard leaves and choi leaves, stir, and cover for 3-4 minutes to steam the leaves (steam to the texture you like).  Remove cover when the leaves begin to wilt, sprinkle with cilantro, drizzle with oyster sauce, and stir to combine.

Choi Stir Fry with Three Peppers

Choi Stir Fry with Three Peppers

Speedy prep, tantalizing savory-sweet flavors.

Prep time:  10 minutes
Cook time:  10 minutes
Serves:  4 as a side dish

INGREDIENTS
1  bunch bok choi, washed, stems separated from leaves.
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4 inch chunks
1 green sweet pepper, cut into 1/4 inch chunks
1 hot pepper, seeded and finely minced.   (I used jalapeno)
1-2 teaspoons hot pepper oil (optional)
2-3 tablespoons oyster sauce

DIRECTIONS
Chop the choi stems into chunks about 1/4 inch wide, and coarsely chop the leaves, keeping them separate.  Heat the canola oil in a wok or large skillet over medium heat, and cook the garlic, choi stems, sweet pepper, and hot pepper for 4 minutes, stirring.  Add the choi leaves and hot pepper oil if using, stir, and cover for a few minutes to steam the leaves to the texture you like.  Remove cover when the leaves begin to wilt, drizzle with oyster sauce, and stir to combine.

Delicious with rice and a half-sweet wine like a typical Riesling or Gewurztraminer.

Photo and Recipe by Tod Dimmick

Roast Chicken with Bok Choy and Kohlrabi

Bok Choy, Scallions & Cherry Tomatoes

Photo:
Tod Dimmick













Crunchy texture, sweet & savory flavors. Yum.

2-3 TB olive oil
5-6 small scallions, cleaned, roots removed, and chopped, white part and an equal amount of the green.
1 bunch bok choy, cleaned, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces, stems kept separate from the greens
1 1/2 - 2 cups cherry tomatoes
2-3 TB teriyaki sauce -or- salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the scallions and the thick bok choy stems and cook for five minutes, stirring. Add the greens and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until stems and leaves are tender. Add the cherry tomatoes and heat for a minute. Toss with Teriyaki sauce and serve.

Variation: Use other hearty greens, such as Napa cabbage or kale, giving similar advance heat to the stems before adding the greens.

Served up by Tod Dimmick,
AKA "The Foodie" at 1000radishes

Freezing for Winter

It probably sounds insane to be thinking about winter at the height of summer, but this is the part of the growing season where we sometimes get too much of a good thing. This is a huge opportunity to start storing up fresh greens for winter. The method is simple: bring a big pot of water to boil and blanch your greens for a minute. Drain in a colander, rinse quickly under cold water to stop them from cooking further, and store in labeled freezer bags.

In February, pull one of those big bags out of the freezer and voila, greens from Powisset to use as a starting point for all kinds of recipes, from sauteed vegetable dishes to the perfect addition to soups. There's hope after all...

Served up by Tod Dimmick,
AKA "The Foodie" at 1000radishes

Bok Choi

Bok choi (or bok choy) is a type of Chinese cabbage that does not form a head, but rather has dark green leaves coming off white succulent stems. It is also called spoon cabbage, taisai, celery mustard and Chinese mustard. Baby bok choi is smaller with light green stems. The kind pictured here is a subvariety called Joi Choi which has exceptionally yummy stems.

Store unwashed and whole in unsealed plastic bags in the fridge. Clean by chopping off the base and washing stalks and leaves well, especially near base end. It can be eaten raw with dips, or chopped into slaws and salads. It is very good sauteed or stir-fried - make sure it is cooked quickly at a high temperature to keep it crunchy and avoid it becoming very limp. The leaves cook faster than the stalks so you may want to add them at different times to recipes. It goes well with soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, and chiles.

Crunchy Bok Choi Slaw

¼ c. Apple Cider Vinegar (or Rice Vinegar)
1 TBS dark sesame oil
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
¼ tsp salt
6 c. very thinly sliced Bok Choi
2 med carrots, shredded
2 scallions, thinly sliced

Mix all together, serve.

Spicy Stir-Fried Tofu with Bok Choi
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/16/health/nutrition/16recipehealth.html

Napa Cabbage

Napa Cabbage (Brassica campestris) is a type of Chinese cabbage with a more cylindrical shape, white crunchy stems and light green crinkly leaves. It is widely used in East Asian cuisines and can be substituted for regular cabbage in most recipes. It has a lot of vitamin K and C, fiber, and manganese, as well as health-promoting phytonutrients.

To store, keep unwashed head whole in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. To use, discard outermost leaves, slice in half longwise, and cut out the core at the base of the head. Wash leaves individually to remove soil before using. Try it raw, chopped into salads or simple slaws, or use whole leaves as a wrap. Blanch leaves and stuff. Use chopped in stir-fries or soups. Or try pickling it into kimchi.

Check out the recipes under "Cabbage" for some other slaw ideas.


Napa Cabbage Slaw with Cilantro Dressing

• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
  
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon grated peeled ginger
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 fresh serrano chile, finely chopped, with seeds
• 1 small head Napa cabbage (1 1/2 pounds), cored and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices
• 1 bunch scallions, sliced
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro

Whisk together vinegar, sugar, ginger, oil, chile, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add remaining ingredients and toss well. Let stand, tossing occasionally, 10 minutes.
From www.epicurious.com


Ten-Minute Miso Soup
Serves 2-4

2 1/2 cups water
1 scallion, chopped
2 tablespoons carrots, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1 tablespoon miso dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup napa cabbage, sliced
1/4 cup diced extra firm tofu
1 tablespoon hijiki sea vegetables (optional)

1. In a pot, combine the water, carrots, most of the scallion (reserve 1 tablespoon for garnish), and ginger. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, let it stop boiling, and stir in dissolved miso.

2. Pour mixture into serving bowls. Soup will be cloudy at first, but will settle upon standing. Mound the cabbage, tofu, and if desired, hijiki sea vegetables, in center of each bowl; garnish with reserved scallion and serve.

Napa Cabbage Slaw
From: http://www.about.com/
Ingredients:
· 3 cups napa cabbage, shredded
· 1 cup bok choy, shredded
· 3 tablespoons sweet pepper, diced
· 1/4 cup rice vinegar or white vinegar
· 1 tablespoon sesame oil
Preparation:
Toss napa cabbage, bok choy and pepper together. Combine vinegar and sesame oil. Pour over cabbage mixture and toss to coat. Serve immediately or refrigerate for one hour to blend the flavors and toss again before serving.