by Paul Cormier, Salamanders of Kemptville
When all of the fresh vegetables come out of our garden at the same time, we might feel a bit overwhelmed with nature’s bounty. Freezing, canning, salads and barbecues are all options for taking advantage of fresh vegetables. There is also the stir fry, a great and healthy way to enjoy the full flavour of your garden’s veggies while taking advantage of proteins (meat, tofu, fish) that you may have in stock. There is another advantage to stir fries: they are easy to make and there is a lot of different ingredients you can combine with seasonings that you can invent as you go along, in tune with your taste buds.
Summer Stir Fry
Ingredients
- Your choice of 1 pound of beef sirloin, chicken breast, pork tenderloin, haddock or tofu
- 2 tablespoons of crushed garlic
- 1 large onion, e.g., a Vidalia, thinly sliced
- 1 cup of mushrooms, e.g., Baby Bellas, thinly sliced
- 1 cup of broccoli florets
- 1 large green or red pepper, thinly sliced
- The kernels stripped off of one cob of corn
- 1 cup of spinach leaves
- ½ cup of orange juice
- 3 tablespoons of soya sauce
- 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 teaspoons of granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon of corn starch
- 3 tablespoons of canola oil
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Preparation
- Cut your protein into thin strips
- Bring the Canola oil up to medium heat in a largish pan
- Stir fry the garlic, onions and mushrooms till sweated
- Add the broccoli, pepper and corn kernels, then the spinach, stirring constantly
- Add your protein and cook lightly until done (don’t overcook)
- Combine the orange juice, soya sauce, sugar and cornstarch in a separate bowl
- Add the Worcestershire Sauce; pour over your stir fry and incorporate to the mixture
- Sprinkle with the red pepper flakes (if you wish)
Serve on a bed of piping hot Basmati rice. Stir fries and a chilled White Zinfandel go well together. So does Grahame’s brown bread. Enjoy out of doors if you can. Please be in touch at pcormier@ranaprocess.com.
