Summer Veggies

I love fresh veggies. Once upon a time, I attempted to grow some in our yard. But between the deer, squirrels, birds and caterpillars, I rarely got even a tomato without something else having nibbled it already. I surrendered and now I stick to flowering plants and bushes. Even these I need to defend from the bunnies.

I now happily support our local farmers market. They do all the work and the end result is reasonably priced, beautiful seasonal produce. Right now, our market is just starting to get the goods, so to speak. Fresh berries are in season, but so are the perfect tiny sugar snap peas, fresh garlic, asparagus and so much more.

I took a trip to the farmers market last week and purchased fresh Elephant garlic and sugar snaps peas, among other things. I had never purchased fresh garlic before; as in not yet dried. I asked the farmer if he cooked with the greens of the plant and if so how. He suggested using them in a stir fry, or really anywhere you are looking to add garlic flavor.

I knew the sugar snap peas would also be great in a stir fry, so I decided to conquer a delish easy weeknight meal. Looking for a little variety from chicken, I chose to use pork.

I had hoped to get my pork from the outlet at our farmers market, but like many other businesses right now, they are using this time to revamp their store and how they operate, so I bought my pork at Costco. They have big, beautiful boneless pork loin chops perfect for slicing thinly for a stir fry.

Stir fry is generally an extremely healthy and quick dinner, once you have all of your ingredients prepped for cooking. The general idea is that you cook your ingredients in hot oil, stirring almost continually to keep things moving. Done correctly, your ingredients cook quickly and stay bright and crisp-tender, not becoming mushy and lifeless.

Sauces vary wildly, from spicy to mild, and can easily be adapted to personal tastes. For my family, we like things a bit spicy, so my sauce is a little kicky. I start with a base of soy sauce, hoisin sauce, fresh ginger, garlic and Sriracha sauce. If you don’t like spicy things, you can use less Sriracha or leave it out altogether.

Since I was using the fresh garlic this time, I simply chopped up 3 large cloves until they were very small. If you cannot find fresh garlic, dried garlic is perfectly fine, you may just want to use a couple more cloves, if they are small in size.

Set your sauce aside and then thinly slice your pork into strips. Using just a fourth of your sauce, coat the sliced pork and allow it to marinate for at least an hour.

While your pork is doing it’s thing, you can prep the rest of your veggies. Stir fry works with most vegetables, and you can use whatever you have on hand. It is a great way to clean up your produce drawer, too. I sliced carrots, sweet red pepper, my beautiful sugar snap peas, and I also sliced up the garlic greens to add to the stir fry.

Before I pull out my pork and start cooking, I like to get my rice cooked. This way, I can keep it warm but it will be ready as soon as the stir fry is done.

My preferred rice-cooking method is now my Instant Pot. It is fast, efficient and consistent. I use jasmine rice most often. Simply add equal ratios of rice and water to the Instant Pot, like 1 cup rice to 1 cup water. Set it to pressure cook for 3 minutes and naturally release the steam for 10 minutes. Some people like to rinse the rice first to remove extra rice starch, but I kinda like sticky rice, so I do not rinse, or just rinse my rice minimally.

Once you are ready to cook up the stir fry, pull out your pork from the fridge where it has been marinating. Heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil in a large nonstick skillet or a wok if you have one. Once the oil is hot, add your pork and cook, stirring often, until the pork is just browned and no longer pink. Then remove it to a plate to wait.

Add 1 more tablespoon of sesame oil to your pan and cook all of your veggies, stirring continually. Once the carrots are beginning to soften up, add the pork and the rest of your sauce and cook just a bit more. You want your meat to stay tender and your veggies to stay semi-crisp.

Once it is done, serve the stir fry on a bed of the rice. There you have it, a perfectly balanced, healthy meal ready in no time at all. Leftovers, if you have any, can be stored for 3 days.

So get yourself to your farmers market this week and see what treats you can find. Support local farmers and impress your family with a delicious Asian meal at home.

*Recipe adapted from www.cookswellwithothers.com