RECIPE: Chinese Beef and Broccoli

Notes: The original recipe called for oyster sauce, not worcestershire.
I tend to pick minute steak or other cheaper cuts of beef. Cutting across the grain into bite-sized pieces helps to offset the tough nature of the meat.
Do not skip step 3 with the cornstarch (you can use any kind of starch here) or you will not get a good coating of sauce on your food.
Once the final cooking gets going, it goes very fast - chop and mix all ingredients before heating the wok.

SOURCE:  The Garden-Fresh Vegetable Cookbook

MAKES:  4 Servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb beef, cut into matchsticks

3 tbsp worcestershire sauce

3 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp Chinese rice wine or dry sherry

1 tbsp sugar

2 teasp dark sesame oil

1/2 teasp black pepper 

2 lb broccoli, stems sliced and florets roughly chopped(~12 cups) 

1/3 cup chicken broth

1 tbsp cornstarch 

3 tbsp peanut or canola oil

1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced

1 tbsp garlic, finely minced

   hot cooked white rice

METHOD:

1. Combine the beef, worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of the wine, sugar, sesame oil, and pepper in a medium bowl and set aside to marinate.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the broccoli and blanch for 3 minutes, until the broccoli is barely tender and bright green. Drain, plunge into cold water to stop the cooking, and set aside to drain.

3. To make the sauce, combine the broth, remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce, remaining 1 tablespoon wine, and cornstarch. Whisk until thoroughly combined.

4. Heat a large wok or skillet over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil and heat until very hot. Add the half the beef and marinade and stir-fry, stirring constantly, until well browned, about 4 minutes. Use a heatproof rubber spatula to scrape the beef into a medium bowl and keep warm. Return the wok to high heat. Repeat with another 1 tablespoon of the oil and the remaining beef and marinade. Transfer the beef and marinade to the bowl and wipe out the wok.

5. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil over high heat until very hot. Add the broccoli and stir-fry, stirring constantly, until heated through, about 3 minutes. Push the broccoli to the sides of the pan and add the ginger and garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 45 seconds. Toss with the broccoli.

6. Return the beef to the wok. Whisk the sauce and pour into the wok. Cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thickened and evenly coats the beef and broccoli, about 1 minute.

Serve immediately with the hot rice.

Seed Starting

It's the first day of February...  A day when it's usually below 0°F in Albany, NY.  There is usually snow on the ground.  The cabin fever is *usually* fierce.

The seed packets and catalogs taunt me this year as it rains and the wind blows through 55°F air OUTSIDE.  My brain and body are both confused, both feeling like they might have skipped right over February and jumped right into mid-March.  Did we miss something?

This year, the winter-that-wasn't, I feel like I'm behind somehow.  But February 1, I'm starting some seeds.  I've decided it's time to start some herbs so I've sown the Lavender (Elegance Purple) seeds that I never got around to planting last year and three types of parsley: "Giant of Italy," "Titan" and "Forest Green."

Good luck kids!  We're ALL gonna need it...

My brain juices are flowing... all over the place right now.  I want to start planning the garden, but I don't know where to start.  I want to create new garden beds, but I don't know where I want them to be.  I have to put them somewhere they won't get mowed over...

Just so you know, you don't have to come on this journey with me.  This is my set of ramblings, and I don't insist you come along for the ride...  Just in case you do, this is a blog, and is for all intents and purposes and public forum.  If you're coming along, chime in!

The veggie garden currently has 5 raised beds 4'x8' dimensions with drip irrigation installed.  In those beds, we plant tomatoes, cucumbers, beets, peppers, onions, peas, beans, carrots and some lettuce.  There are two 4'x4' beds outside the west side of the garden which grew potatoes last year, and this year will house the garlic, albeit poorly I predict.  To the east of the garden, we have installed 15 thornless raspberry plants which will hopefully produce a nice crop of berries this year.

There are other things I'd like to plant, but feel there may not be room for in the current garden layout.  I'd like a proper herb garden, I'd like asparagus (definitely not room in the garden...), strawberries, okra.

I found an incredibly helpful page today:

http://www.rogerbolger.com/Seed_Calendar.pdf

Looks like I'm starting my seeds indoors on February 25...  I've put all the dates into Google Calendar and maybe I'll be more organized about it all this year.  I'm getting excited already.

The garden porn has started appearing in the mailbox.  Yesterday I received the Burpee catalog, Jung seeds catalog and Nourse Berry Farm catalog.  Spring can't be long now...

More Sourdough

I've been lamenting the lack of "tang" in my sourdough breads...  I read an article which suggested the answer is to add sour salt (citric acid crystals) to the mix.  Long story short, I no longer own sour salt, and I really have no other use for it, so I don't feel compelled to go out and buy some.  I tried adding a teaspoon of lemon juice to the bread.  Honestly, I didn't think it made a difference.  So, I've been making yummy bread which has slightly less of the interesting flavors that I've been looking for.

Until this weekend.  Thursday night, I mixed up a batch of dough for challah, but it didn't work quite right.  The dough didn't come together correctly, it was crumbly and oily and kind of a mess.  I tried to salvage it in small batches, and was able to get it somewhat dough-like.  I braided it and slipped it into the cold oven overnight hoping the yeasties would work their magic.  Friday morning, I awoke to find two loaves that were only slightly more risen than the night before.  Figuring I'd come this far with this batch, I baked the loaves, and while they were baking, I mixed up yet another batch of dough, which came out perfectly.  The bread in the oven didn't rise much (I think too much flour...), I wrapped the fresh dough in floured plastic wrap, threw it all in the car and left the house in a hurry.

The challah was tasty but dry and crumbly.  It was twelve hours after leaving the house when I unwrapped the dough (which was trying to escape from the plastic wrap) to shape it on my mother's kitchen counter and allow it to rise overnight.  In the morning I baked the new breads, packed them up and headed down to NYC for the family party.  To my surprise, the bread had a hint of a tang to it - the kind of kick that you expect to taste when you bite into something labelled 'sourdough'!  So, maybe there's something to this "rise twice" business?

Anyway, glaze with egg and maple syrup, pop in the oven at 350°F for 30 minutes, then 400°F for another 10 minutes to finish up cooking the insides, pull it out and it was delicious!

Sourdough

I have an 8-cup glass pyrex measuring cup on my counter right now filled with flour, water and lots of microbes.  (Microbes make me happy.)

From this soup I've been making breads.  And it's yummy!

Some folks have asked for the recipe for the breads I've been making.  I modified my recipe a little from here:

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/4200/sourdough-challah-photos-recipe


For my bread, I start the night before I'm going to bake.  I take 1.5-2 cups of sourdough starter and put it in the bowl of my stand mixer.  I add 1/4 cup of honey, 3 eggs, 1/4 cup of vegetable oil, salt, and any other amendments I'm going to add.  Lately I've been throwing in 2 Tablespoons of flax seed meal.  Anything else that you want in your bread goes in now.  Then I add 1/2-1 cup of flour, mix it up well and let it sit out for a few hours to make sure the yeast really likes it in there.

Before I go to bed, I add 2 more cups of flour, put the dough hook on the mixer and mix the whole thing up.  If it's too sticky, I add more flour.  I've been letting the mixer do most of the kneading for me.  Then I turn it out, knead it by hand a little bit, and shape the dough.

Yeah, that's really it.  I'm not letting it rise a second time; I won't re-knead it again in the morning.  Shape it, put it on a baking sheet, stick it in a cold oven (so the cat doesn't step on it) and go to sleep!  When you wake up, it will be puffier than you remember leaving it and therefore more fragile - you won't want to move it from the pan.  Warm up the oven (I'm still working on the right temp/time), glaze the bread with your glaze of choice (honey and egg anyone?) and bake.

And add water.  Once your oven is hot, put the bread in and spill some water (1/8-1/4 cup should do it) on the bottom of your oven, then close it fast.  The steam is good for the bread and helps to make a nice crust.  If you open the door to the oven while it's baking, your glasses will fog up.  If all the water goes away, add more water.

I don't wait for my bread to cool before cutting into it.  I let it rest for about 30 seconds, then throw a towel over it so I don't burn my hand and slice.