sunday night mise en place.....

This has been one lazy day! Up late last night watching a new TV show, and awoke waaay late this AM. HUGE breakfast -- Slate's reward for leaving me alone first thing in the morning, and spent the afternoon gleaning tomatoes, not many left, a few sprigs of basil for tonight's supper, and generally just chillin'. Decided to pass on the Part Time Party Time Band tonight in A'boro even though it was free, and I do like free, in order to cook a healthy supper. Stir fry chicken with ginger, garlic, sweet onion, string beans, squash, zucchini, sweet peppers, and a sauce made with water, sugar, lime juice, orange juice, sriracha, soy and fish sauces. Served over rice with basil, lime juice and cilantro on top. Hungry yet?

aaahhhhhhh, refreshing.....

.......and I'm not talking about today's weather! Tonight's supper was the kind of dish my sister(s) would have loved. Although the prep was time consuming, it was fun and well worth it, especially since I like to play with knives. (Insert Snideley Whiplash cackle along with an evil grin) It was kind of a stir-fried salad, which sounds weird, but turned out tasty, and, uh, refreshing.

Here's how it went.....
Hot wok. Cold oil. Season the oil with sliced garlic, ginger and onion. After a minute or so toss in thinly sliced pork. I used only 1 1/2 short ribs for the two of us. When done, add chopped celery and carrot, sliced cucumber, sweet pepper and napa cabbage. Finally throw in some (previously boiled and cooled) noodles and a hot/sweet sauce made from water, srirachi, lime juice, sugar and soy sauce. Oh yeah, the crowning touch was chopped fresh basil, cilantro, and lime juice. Dine on doods and doodettes. 

new stir fry sauce.....

With chicken thighs on sale not long ago and eggplant coming out of local gardens right now, tonight's supper required a google search for a sauce that would work with both. The following is what I found.....

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup oyster sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon corn starch or flour
1 tablespoon honey or 1 teaspoon sugar

I started by seasoning the oil with sliced onion, ginger and garlic, followed by the diced chicken. Once the chicken was done I threw in sliced sweet pepper, eggplant and basil, followed by the sauce. Oh yeah, I had simmered the sauce prior, and cooked rice to serve alongside too. I'm gonna have to play with the sauce a little; it wasn't quite as spicy, zesty or tangy as I would have liked. Maybe it needs some heat by way of red pepper or OJ instead of water, or maybe both. Hmmmmhhhhhh. Anyway, it was still tasty, just needed a little more zip.
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While sorting through pots to glaze this morning, I also annealed a few pieces of steel to be made into kitchen knives. I've learned a lot in the last few weeks, mostly as a result of my mistakes. It's like water skiing -- if you never fall, you never get better.  

more later-Tom
 
Tom Gray Pottery
1480 Fork Creek Mill Rd.
Seagrove, NC 27341
336.873.8270