Cottage Cooking: Refrigerator Stir Fry

We get a farm share each summer from our local farm.  We find it easier to use up in Spring when we are home for dinners between sports practices.  Summer gets a little harder.  We are out to dinner more, vacationing, eating with friends, or throwing together a quick dinner after a day at the beach.  We inevitably find a drawer full of vegetables on the day we need to go pick up our new share.  And we only get a half share.  Imagine if we got a full share.

This is just our leftovers from our farmshare.  Look at all those colors. 

Our farmers are great about including a list of the vegetables in the share each week (when you first start you receive vegetables you've never seen before) and some possible ways to serve them.  They also include recipes from other farm share recipients and some of their own favorites.

Our personal favorite is the Refrigerator Stir Fry.  The perfect way to cook up all your leftover vegetables into a delicious dinner.  Rod and I love this meal. Our oldest daughter does too.  The younger two are just happy to have something simple for dinner those nights like mac n cheese.

"Having trouble eating all of your vegetables? -Kevin & Brittany, our farmers

Kevin and I have a TINY fridge in the camper.  We are always trying to eat the leftover vegetables from the stand, and probably eat about 3 shares worth ourselves during the week, but definitely not in the same proportions. 

I always turn to the stir fry.  It is a fast awesome way to make a lot of vegetables taste great.  Lately I have been following this general recipe about every 3 days to use what’s left in the fridge and we have been loving it!

 Fridge cleaner stir fry:

Cook some noodles, rice or other carb (if you are into carbs) and set aside. (Rod and I don't-we add potatoes or turnips for our starch)

Chop up all the vegetables you want to use:

Peas, Turnips, Kale, Chard, Scallions, Scapes, Kohlrabi, Cabbage, radishes, broccoli, bok choy, zuccini etc.

Sautee in Peanut or Sesame oil in this order:

Scallions and Scapes

Cabbage, Turnips, Kohlrabi, Radishes, Chard and Kale stalks, Peas, Bok Choy

Greens, Broccoli, zucchini

 Once everything is just cooked (don’t let it get mushy!) Add:

About 2-3 tbsp soy sauce

A drizzle (maybe 1 tbsp) molasses

A drizzle (maybe a tsp or two) of agave nectar (not necessary)

And a splash of balsamic

A healthy drizzle of Sriracha or other hot sauce (to taste)

Add the noodle/rice and stir over medium high heat for 1-2 minutes

Enjoy!

A twist I tried last night - add two tbsp of peanut butter at the end to make a peanut sauce.  Kevin loved it. (This is how we eat it every time...love the peanut flavor reminds us of thai food!)

I hope this helps.  Remember, eating with what fresh food is available is a journey.  My path to healthy eating started with peanut butter and jelly and grilled cheese.  It’s a long road, but take the time to enjoy it.  Your body will learn to love this healthy food, you will learn to love the motions of preparing it and enjoying it.  Thank you for taking this journey with us!"

Not a bad view for all the chopping required to make this meal.  It feels like we
are in a boat from the cottage kitchen as we can't see the yard between us and the water. 

The colors of these beats are amazing! 

Sautee it all up in the pan!
Add vegetables that take longer to cook first like potatoes, beats, carrots and turnips. 

Then add quick to cook veggies like squash, zucchini, spinach and greens at the end. 

Serve up and Enjoy!

It helps when you have a nice view to enjoy it. Delicious!

And if you are staying in a cottage and don't have all your kitchen essentials on hand grab a
great simmer sauce from Trader Joe's and enjoy all the bounty of vegetables summer has to offer!