Cooking healthy food

I'm not going very many places these days.  With my son in school, and Covid on the rise again, I just don't get out much.  So, I am extra grateful on Wednesdays when my produce order from Kasamatsu Farms arrives at my door step.

Since my husband prefers to cook most Japanese recipes in our house (I play with them too much, in his opinion), I just whip up whatever comes to mind - which usually isn't Japanese food.  As long as I serve rice on a fairly consistent basis, he doesn't complain that we don't eat enough Japanese food.

I was super excited to enjoy the green beans from our produce box.  I made a stir fry for dinner focused on the tender-crisp bean.  I balanced out the beans with thinly sliced pork, red bell pepper, and maitake mushrooms.  I cooked everything with a bit of salt and freshly grated ginger, then tossed on a sauce of soy sauce, rice vinegar, and mirin right at the end.  I garnished it with some chopped peanuts for a bit of crunch.  It was fast, easy, and delicious.

My son had his eyes on the blueberries.  We don't have fresh berries very often because organic berries are really hard to find.  After eating over a cup of them for his afternoon snack (along with a handful of mixed nuts), we got busy making a blueberry buckle.  The recipe we used (from America's Test Kitchen) whips up the batter in the food processor.  So, I measured everything out, and he combined it by hitting the pulse button repeatedly.  He also cracked the eggs into the batter, which is always one of his favorite jobs.  Once we poured the batter into the buttered pan, he dropped the berries on top.  

If I'm not going anywhere, at least I can whip up delicious meals with beautiful produce.  Nothing beats fresh fruit and vegetables!

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Green bean and pork stir fry

2 tablespoons soy sauce 

1 tablespoon rice vinegar 

1 teaspoon mirin (or sugar)

1 pound green beans, trimmed and cut crosswise into 2- inch pieces 

4 teaspoons vegetable oil 

2 tablespoons minced, peeled peeled fresh ginger 

1/2 pound thinly sliced pork

2 pkgs maitake mushrooms

1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips 

1/3 cup dry-roasted peanuts, chopped 

Cooked rice, for serving (optional)

1. In a small bowl, mix soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar; set sauce aside. 
2. Cook green beans in a medium pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Drain; set aside. 
3. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add half the ginger and pork; cook, stirring, until pork is no longer pink. Transfer to a plate. Repeat, cooking remaining ginger and pork in another teaspoon oil; transfer to plate. 
4. Add remaining teaspoon oil to the skillet. Add mushrooms; cook until tender and slightly browned.  
5. Add beans and bell pepper; cook until peppers are tender, about 2 minutes. 
6. Add pork mixture and reserved sauce. Cook, stirring, until pork is coated, about 1 minute. 
7. Top with peanuts.
8. Serve immediately, over rice, if desired.