Asian Bok Choy and Red Cabbage Salad

Thinly slice 4 leaves and stems of raw bok choy and about 1/4 of a red cabbage.  Place in a large bowl.

In a separate, small bowl, mix together:

1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce or tamari
1 teaspoon honey

Top bok choy and cabbage with sesame seeds (to taste) and toss with dressing.  Enjoy!

Bok Choy Salad

I had an entire head of bok choy and no appetite for anything Asian.

So, I took to Google and searched for "unusual bok choy recipe."

To my delight, I found an idea from a blogger who I happen to know in real life (outside the blogosphere!).

The Dirty Radish had a recipe for raw baby bok choy salad.  Like her, I had never before considered the possibility of eating bok choy raw.  It's amazing!

Her recipe still skewed a bit Asian for my taste last evening, but I used the concept, and sliced the stems very thinly, as she suggested.  My bok choy was decidedly not "baby" bok choy, but it wasn't too bitter at all.  The resulting salad was delicious.

My husband and I split what turned out to be about four cups of bok choy.  What a way for each of us to get 1/3 of our recommended daily allowance of calcium (more, in fact, than in a glass of milk).

Head of bok choy, leaves chopped and stems sliced thinly
Raisins (to taste)
Walnuts (to taste)
Olive oil (to tatste)
Balsamic vinegar (to taste)

I am in the middle of reading "Eat to Live" by Dr. Furhman.  This salad was my recognition that "the salad is the main dish."

Bok Choy and Shrimp Soup

Last week’s CSA delivery included two, large bunches of bok choy.  Bok choy is not a vegetable with which I’m particularly familiar.  I knew enough to know what it was, but that’s about it.  The only memory of eating bok choy I could conjure was a really delicious soup with bok choy that used to be served in my college cafeteria (more than ten years ago, ahem).  So, after using the first bunch in a stir fry, I knew what I would have to try with the second bunch.

Luckily, I had a huge container of home-made vegetable broth at the ready!

2 carrots, chopped

½ large onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1-inch diameter nub of fresh ginger, chopped

1 jalapeño pepper, chopped

1 large bunch of bok choy, chopped

1 teaspoon of olive oil

10-12 cups of low-sodium vegetable broth (preferably homemade!)

½ cup of low-sodium soy sauce or tamari

2 cups of cooked shrimp

3 tablespoons of spring (green) onions, chopped

Put the carrots, onion, garlic, and ginger in a pan with the olive oil and cook until the garlic and onions just start to brown.  Put the vegetable broth, soy sauce, bok choy, pepper, and the contents of the pan into a large pot.  Bring to a boil and then turn down to low, cooking for 30 minutes.

If you have raw shrimp, you can add them to the soup at the outset.  I had only the pre-cooked, frozen kind.  I defrosted them and set them aside to add when serving, so that they didn’t become overcooked.  Ditto for the delicate spring onions.

To serve, I put a few shrimp and a few pieces of spring onion in a bowl and ladled the soup over it.  The heat of the soup warmed the shrimp perfectly. 

I’m trying to watch my intake of carbohydrates, so I didn’t add any rice or noodles, but this soup would certainly be delicious served over either one.      

My husband loved it!  He had seconds and even inquired about the best way to bring it to work for lunch without making a mess.  [Freeze it in individual containers so that it’s solid and doesn’t slosh around during the commute, let it defrost during the morning in your lunch bag, and then heat it in the microwave.] 

Vegetable Broth

When I first considered joining a CSA, my biggest fear was wasting too much food. 

I wasn't sure I would know what to do with half of the "weird" veggies I received.  I was concerned that the volume of vegetables would be more than I could eat.  I was afraid I wouldn't commit to chopping, cooking, and otherwise preparing the food I received.  I simply didn't know how I would handle all of that perishable produce, and was concerned that it would all rot in the bottom of my 'fridge.

I did a lot of research before I joined my CSA on this very question.  And my research all led me to one place.

Broth.

If you don't know what the heck to do with carrot greens, make broth. 

If last week's veggies are still kicking around when you get this week's delivery, make broth. 

It's a CSA coping mechanism, and it's a good one.

As it turns out, though, I used most of my veggies in the first week.  [Success!]

But I did have plenty of scraps (carrot greens, kale stems, cabbage hearts, etc.) that I collected in a tupperware container in the 'fridge over the course of the week.  I threw them all in a stock pot on Sunday evening, filled it with water, brought it to a boil, and then allowed it to simmer on low for 3 hours. 

What emerged was a rich, dark broth that is fat-free and salt-free, but nonetheless flavorful and perfect for making soup or cooking grains.

I strained it into a metal bowl and allowed it to cool overnight in the 'fridge before moving it to tupperware containers.  I put half in the 'fridge for a soup I have in mind, and froze the other half for later use.

I really love making broth from scraps like this.  It must be good karma not to waste a single scrap of plant food, right?

Peanut-Beef Cabbage Cups / Bok Choy and Kale Stir fry

Okay.  I finally got brave enough to do something more than make a salad with my CSA veggies.

Here are almost all of this week's CSA veggies in one delicious, Asian-inspired meal!

Peanut-Beef Cabbage Cups:

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup orange juice

1/4 cup tamari (or low-sodium soy sauce)

1 tablespoon white vinegar

2 teaspoons honey

1/4 cup sesame seeds

Combine ingredients (peanut butter through sesame seeds) in a bowl and whisk together.  Set aside.

1 pound of ground beef (mostly lean, grass-fed)
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (more or less to your taste)
1 teaspoon sesame seed oil

Put all the ingredients (beef through oil) in a skillet and cook over medium/high heat until meat is browned.  Add the sauce and continue to cook as necessary to evaporate/absorb excess liquid.

1 small head of cabbage, outer leaves removed
2 carrots, shredded into ribbons
Sesame seeds, for garnish

Scoop individual servings of the peanut-beef into individual cabbage leaves.  Top with carrots and sesame seeds.  Eat with your fingers!  My toddler really enjoyed this dish -- she loved setting up the cabbage, scooping the beef, and placing the carrots!

Bok Choy and Kale Stir-Fry:

2 big handfuls of kale, stems removed

1 bunch of bok choy

1 onion

1 handful raw cashews

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1/2 cup water

Put all the ingredients (kale through water) into a wok and stir fry until vegetables are of the consistency you desire.  Serve alone or over brown rice with a bit of soy sauce.