BIZZY BAKES

As I explore new vegetables, I find that I like them. I don't quite understand this. How did I get through life without bok choy, kale, asparagus and purple carrots? There is a whole new world out there and as a great grandmother, I am now discovering it. " Better late than never," definitely fits. OK, you guessed. I bought bok choy with no plans for it and I made this yummy salad. I definitely did not want a salad. I wanted cooked bok choy but I asked my hubby to get me a recipe and he brought me a salad. Being fair, I decided to make it. It turned out to be one of the best salads, I have made. This is an Allrecipes.com dish which you can find here. Of course, I altered the recipe. It is much more fun to be creative when you cook. I do remember the days when each word of a recipe had tremendous meaning. Now, it is change in the middle of everything and make a completely different recipe, using one of the ingredients. I did use the d...

It is funny that this recipe is actually a meat recipe from  Eating Well.  The beauty of meatless meals is that it is easy to change one with meat to one without meat. They still often work. I did not substitute anything for the meat but if you choose to, tofu could be used. Since, we cut back on our meat intake, I have simply omitted it from most of the dishes but there are times when a little crunch or some bulk makes a difference.  It might be as simple as adding some nuts or additional vegetables or a bit of quinoa. Bok Choy Stir Fry Ingredients: 8 ounces soba or rice noodles 1/3 cup water 1/4 cup dry sherry 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce 2 teaspoons cornstarch 1 tablespoon oil or canola oil 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced 1 pound bok choy (about 1 medium head), trimmed and cut into long, thin strips 1 tablespoon Sweet Thai chil sauce Method: Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add noodles and cook according t...

We love that rich golden chicken soup with chunks of vegetables and chicken swimming around.  We also love rich and creamy soups.  I decided with the use of an immersion blender to transform one to the other. Almost anything can go into chicken soup.  I have used almost any vegetable around over the years.  I have different combinations dependent on what I have in the house.  You can have chicken pieces or just keep the broth.  It has always come out to be loved by all. I can't give you a straight recipe since I rarely make it the same way but I can give you the basics. A large pot, at least 8 quart (you might as well make some for the freezer while you are at it) filled 3/4 of the way with cold water.  Turn on the heat and add 4 chicken bottom s.  You can use whole chickens or just bones.  Cook the chicken for a few hours.  Often, I make it before I go to bed and leave it on simmer for the night.  Add water if you have lo...

Before, you tell me how clever, I am and pat me on the back........ Before you throw out all those praises for my creation....... Before there are accolades for this special dish and before you run to emulate me, I must share that this was all unintentional and just seemed to happen. Happenstance!   Easy also...... Tomato season can be overwhelming and it seems that a new past time is cooking tomatoes for sauces, soups and sides. When you have bok choy, in the house, it gets paired with tomatoes as does almost everything.  Bok Choy hails from China and you will find it in stir fries, soups and main dishes. It is a healthy vegetable with lots of Vitamins and few calories. It is from the cabbage family but it doesn't have the strong taste of the green cabbage, we use. The stalk is very much like celery but I like it better than celery. Tonight, after some checking, I decided to cook it in soup with garlic. This is one of the easy recipes that is rewarding. Basically, y...

This is another Donna Hay recipe from My Sweet and Savory.  I was going through a bok choy stage, putting it into one dish after another.  That period came to an end but I still like bok choy and should use it more often. .  This should have been a no brainer since I made a similar recipe, not too long ago.  I was captivated by using bok choy in a stir fry.  In that one, the bok choy was sliced into small pieces.  Here, we used it quartered.  I was correct, making this went smoothly and I was able to enjoy my dinner, without a hitch. It was the before I got bok choy into my kitchen that was interesting.  Both my hubby and my daughter called from the grocery, last Friday, asking me if I wanted anything.  I told hubby about the bok choy.   Shortly after, he returned the call to tell me, the store had no bok choy and should he go searching other stores.  No problem, I figured, I would ask my daughter to pick it up.  She gla...

I have continued to purchase 3 bok choy each week and then come up with a recipe.  Sometimes, I borrow recipes or copy recipes.  Some, I simply follow and others, I alter until they no longer are related to the original recipe. This simple and delicious recipe is basically the same.  I changed the type oil and added some red bell pepper but that is about it. Baby Bok Choy with Yellow Bell Peppers  *adapted from Simply Recipes Ingredients : 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil 1/2 yellow bell pepper, sliced  1/2 red pepper, sliced 2 green onions, chopped, 1  baby bok choy , sliced in long strips Method : Heat a tablespoon each of olive oil and sesame oil in a large sauté pan on high heat.  Add the chopped yellow peppers and green onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. burn.)  Lower the heat and add the bok choy. Stir to coat with the oil in the pan.  Cook only unt...

Coconut Curried Brussels Sprouts & Bok Choy   Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 teaspoon minced garlic 3 baby bok choy (slice stems and divide leaves into three parts) 2 cups brussels sprouts 1 cup coconut milk 1 teaspoon curry powder 2 teaspoons honey Method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook garlic in olive oil for 1 minute.  Add the chopped bok choy stems and cook for about 3 minutes. Place brussels sprouts, covered with water in microwave and cook for 4 - 5 minutes. Add the bok choy leaves and cooked brussels sprouts to skillet. Cook for an additional 2 minutes. Add coconut milk, honey and curry powder to vegetables and mix thoroughly. Place in a baking dish and cook at 350 degrees for ten minutes. Eat and enjo y, Linked to:  Real Food Forager   Traditional Tuesdays @ Cooking Traditional Foods The Gathering Spot Hearth and Soul My Sweet and Savory Real Food Wednesday

I am nor sure if this really is a dinner.  Living magazine, this month has a spread of plates with different combinations.  Each one tempted me so I decided to do my own thing, make what we like.  I can see making variations during the summer when we want lighter foods and sometimes cold food. I see this dish being determined by what you have in your house.  I had some  baby potatoes, a slice of salmon, bok choy, tomatoes, orange pepper, sweet jarred peppers, eggs and an open bag of frozen peas. This dish can be made without cooking but I wanted to use the salmon and some of the potatoes.  I have a new pan that proclaims (in its advertising), you do not need to grease the pan at all.  I made the salmon in this pan and it seems to be true.  I also boiled some eggs and microwaved those baby potatoes and the peas. While the salmon was cooking, I sliced the orange pepper, removed some sweet mild peppers from the jar, sliced tomatoes, bok cho...