Tatsoi and Chicken Stir Fry

Normally, most people don't think of green in a stir fry but Asian greens, like tatsoi are perfect for a dish like this. I find tatsoi, when it is fully grown, to have stems somewhat like celery and the greens to be fairly mild. I make this for my family, if you are wondering why the portions are ginormous. I also have to use two separate skillets or cook the protein first. We don't normally eat rice so the amount of food reflects that as well.

Tatsoi and Chicken Stir Fry:
Chicken:
3 packages boneless thighs, cubed (about 15 thighs)
1/4 c tamari
1 tbsp ginger grated
1/4 c honey
sesame oil
olive oil

Heat pan with oils, about a tbsp of each. Add chicken and other ingredients. Stir until chicken is cooked. If a lot of water cooks out of the chicken, you can drain some of it or reserve it to thicken or thin the final sauce. I set the chicken aside once it is cooked and do the vegetable in the same pan.

Vegetables:
Any combination of vegetables, you probably need about 1-1.5 cups per person
I used carrots, mushrooms, tatsoi, peppers, and onion
2 tbsp peanut butter
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup tamari
3 cloves garlic, sliced
2 tbsp ginger, grated
olive oil and sesame oil
cornstarch
water

Add garlic and ginger to hot pan with oils. Cook 1-2 minutes. Add vegetables in order of how long they take to cook, I usually start with carrots, then peppers, mushrooms, and onions are usually last. Don't add greens until the end. Add other ingredients, tamari, honey, peanut butter, and tatsoi. When the last vegetable goes in, get ready to thicken the sauce and adjust the seasonings, add more honey, peanut butter, tamari to suit your tastes, even some chili paste for those who like spice. Mix 1/4 c cornstarch with a minimal amount of liquid, either water or the liquid from the chicken. Pour in pan and cook until it thickens. Sometimes I find I need more or less cornstarch, it really depends on the water content of the vegetables

Cilantro, Greens, and Chicken Noodle Bowls

This is another quick dinner. Soup or salad is a perfect way to use greenhouse greens. I also added other vegetables that I had in the fridge. You can use a rotisserie chicken and boxed broth or you can make your own stock and shred the chicken, reserving whatever stock you don't need for another day.

Cilantro, Greens, and Chicken Noodle Bowls
1 whole chicken, de-boned and roughly, shredded
1 gallon stock or broth
1/2 cup carrots, sliced
1 tbsp diced ginger or 1/2 tsp ginger powder
2 cups joi choi
1 cup tatsoi
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
3-4 large mushrooms sliced
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
3-5 tbsp tamari
1 lime
2 bunches green onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, sliced thin
2 packages ramen noodles, seasonings thrown in trash

Everything, except lime, tamari, noodles and green onions goes into a large pot until greens are wilted. Season with tamari and lime to taste. Once pot is just to a boil, add noodles and green onions. Turn off heat, serve when noodles are soft.

I love Sriracha--others in my family, not so much, so I add it at the table.

In a Hurry Chicken, Tatsoi, and Noodle Bowl

In a Hurry Chicken, Tatsoi, and Noodle Bowl:
2 chicken breasts, sliced thin
handful tatsoi
handful joi choi
2-3 tbsp tamari
2 tbsp chives, chopped
2 tbsp ginger, minced
4 cups chicken stock
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp olive oil
1 package ramen noodles, seasoning packet in trash

Brown chicken in pot with olive oil and ginger, 4-5 minutes. Add broth, tamari and sesame oil. Bring just to a boil, add greens and simmer. When greens are wilted, add noodles, chives and remove from heat. Serve with Sriracha for the adventurous.

Spring CSA Week 2

This is the second week of my Spring CSA, it looks a lot like last week. We had beets but my children wanted to swap them for potatoes. We ended up with two bags of potatoes, a bag of carrots, baby lettuce mix (top), baby tatsoi (right), and baby bok choi (bottom left). I really liked the baby bok choi it is really mild, it was almost sweet. I wonder if the baby tatsoi, another brassica, will be milder than regular tatsoi, which tends to be slightly bitter.

I like to try to change things up a bit from week to week, but I am always tempted to repeat my favorites. The lettuce will be a salad tonight. With the bok choy, I am thinking maybe an Asian soup with shrimp. As for the tatsoi, since I have to go to the grocery store, I was thinking about picking up some shiitake mushrooms, and making a mushroom stir fry or maybe egg rolls, I could add in the carrots, too. Potatoes, really, how hard is it to use potatoes? I think they only way I don't like them is in potato salad because I don't generally like mayonnaise. I wouldn't eat even my favorite food if it was covered in mayonnaise, but I will eat just about anything in a flour tortilla. Draw your own conclusions on that one.

PS: I think my Spell Check needs to spend more time at the farmer's market. It's called tatsoi and I most certainly do not mean Tutsi. Technology is weird.