My Recipe Box - Bok Choy with ginger Chili Sauce

 Bok Choy with Ginger Chili Sauce

Ingredients:

- 1 pound fresh bok choy, washed and trimmed
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, finely grated
- 2 red chili peppers, thinly sliced

-  Gochujang 
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Optional: Sesame seeds, cilantro for garnish

Directions:

1. Wash the bok choy thoroughly and trim the ends. Cut larger stalks in half lengthwise to ensure even cooking.

2. Heat vegetable oil in a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat.

3. Add minced garlic and grated ginger to the hot oil. Stir-fry for 30 seconds until fragrant, being careful not to burn.

4. Add the bok choy to the wok. Stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, tossing frequently to coat with the aromatic oils.

5. In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and honey to create the sauce.

6. Pour the sauce over the bok choy and continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes until the vegetables are tender-crisp.

7. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

8. Transfer to a serving plate and sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.

My Recipe Box - Roasted Fennel

June 2025 - Toronto ON

A new vegetable added to our roster, first tried in May 2025.

 Ingredients

2 lb Fennel bulbs
3 tbsp Olive oil
1 tsp Sea salt
1/2 tsp Black pepper
3/4 tsp Garlic powder

Instructions

Tap on the times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (204 degrees C).

Slice off the stalks of the fennel bulbs and trim the root ends. Make sure to keep the bottom of the bulb intact, so you can slice into wedges without them falling apart.

Slice each fennel bulb in half lengthwise, then slice (lengthwise again) into 1/2-inch pieces.

Place the fennel in a large bowl. Gently toss in olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder until evenly coated.

Transfer to a sheet pan and spread in a single layer (without any pieces touching).

Roast fennel in the oven for 30-35 minutes, flipping halfway through, until the fennel is fork tender and caramelized.

OPTIONAL ADD-ONS

Bbok choy, onions, mushrooms, apple.

My Recipe Box - Balsamic Parmesan Asparagus

May 2023 - Toronto ON

I was never a fan of asparagus until a friend served it this way.

1 pound asparagus
2 cups cherry tomatoes (cut in half) OPTIONAL
Mushrooms OPTIONAL
Drizzle olive oil
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup Balsamic vinegar

Fresh lemon juice OPTIONAL

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 F degrees. Spray a baking dish.

Snap the end pieces off the asparagus and place them in the baking dish. 

Add tomato halves and mushrooms, if using.

Season generously with salt and pepper and drizzle olive oil and Parmesan cheese over asparagus and tomatoes/mushrooms. 

Place in oven and bake for about 15 minutes or until asparagus softens a bit and begins to get brown.

Drizzle with lemon juice before serving.

Photo before baking

My Recipe Box - Stir fry sauce

 March 2021 - Toronto ON

I am loving my new stir fry pan.

 I have been doing a lot of stir fry vegetables lately with various combinations depending on what I have available.

I usually just finish the sautéing with a splash of soy sauce (gluten free) but I wanted something a little different. 

I searched around and looking at various recipes came up with this that worked well and tasted good. John even noticed that I had done something different with the vegetables.

This is so simple it seems almost silly to post this.

This would also be good with meat or fish, but I would double or triple the recipe.

I often use:

Bok choy

Broccolini

Onions

Mushrooms

Green peppers or other colours

Swiss chard is a new 2021 addition

Snow peas

Celery

I always top with scallions and sesame seeds black and white.

INGREDIENTS
¼ cup soy sauce gluten free

Dash Worcestershire sauce
3 garlic cloves minced

Chopped jalapenos optional
3 Tablespoons brown sugar or honey 
1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon cornstarch
chopped green onions and sesame seeds for garnish optional

In a small bowl whisk together soy sauce, garlic, brown sugar, sesame oil, chicken broth, sriracha and cornstarch.


Pour over veggies/meat and cook until the sauce has thickened. Garnish with chopped green onions and sesame seeds if desired.

My Recipe Box - Cauliflower "Fried Rice"

May 2018 - Toronto ON

I found this recipe here. John was quite skeptical when he saw me preparing the :rice, as was I. But WOW this was a huge hit and John even said to make more the next time.

Red are my changes.

I have also added carrot, frozen peas and broccoli to the cauliflower and used the food processor.

Ingredients

1 (2-pound) head cauliflower, leaves discarded or buy it already grated
4 large eggs  can't abide the thought of eggs in this recipe
Kosher salt
4 tablespoons canola oil
1 small red onion, finely chopped
¼ cup peeled and minced fresh ginger
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 large scallions, thinly sliced
¾ cup julienned or shredded carrot
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce gluten free
1 tablespoon sambal oelek or other Asian chile sauce Sriracha 
Lime wedges, for serving



Quarter the cauliflower through the core. Hold a box grater firmly on a cutting board or in a large, shallow bowl. Holding one quarter of the cauliflower by the core, shred it on the large holes of the box grater in short movements until only the core is left in your hand; discard the core. The short movements form the best “rice,” whereas long movements will create shreds that resemble flaked coconut. Repeat with the remaining cauliflower. Transfer the cauliflower “rice” to a medium bowl (you should have about 5 cups).

The purchased cauliflower rice is more expensive but great in a pinch.

In another medium bowl, beat the eggs with a generous pinch of salt. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the canola oil over medium-high heat. Add the egg and swirl it around the bottom of the pan. Let cook, undisturbed, until the bottom is very lightly browned and the egg is nearly cooked through (you’ll see just a little bit of runny egg on top), 1 to 2 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, fold the egg over itself to form a half-moon. Let cook for 30 seconds, then slide it onto a work surface. Let the egg cool slightly, then cut it into ½-inch pieces.


In the same nonstick skillet, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons canola oil over high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until just softened, about 3 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the cauliflower and cook, stirring, until just crisp-tender and hot, about 5 minutes. Stir in the eggs, cilantro, scallion, carrot, lime juice, soy sauce, and sambal oelek Sriracha. Season generously with salt, transfer to bowls, and serve with lime wedges.

One Word Sunday

One Word Sunday is hosted by Debbie at Travel With Intent.

25 June: Repetitive

Nature has many patterns and repetitions which can be found in many different shapes.

30 April - Cliche
  7 May - Caring
14 May: Spectacle
21 May: Flag (or flagging)
28 May: Rush

  4 June: Restless

11 June: Abstract

18 June: Entwined

  2 July: Inclined
  9 July: Underfoot
16 July: Old

My Recipe Box - Roasted Mushrooms - Various

Image source

I forgot to take a photo!!

I love mushrooms - John not so much except fried in a big breakfast. I had lots of mushrooms so tried this recipe and served them with steak. 

This would be a great way to do them for breakfast as well if you were cooking for a crowd.

ROASTED MUSHROOMS
Ingredients
16 even-sized open cup mushrooms, stalks cut level - I didn't remove the stems
3 tbsp olive or vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped very finely
3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
2 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
½ tsp garlic powder
5 tbsp fresh breadcrumbs
1½ tbsp lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste


Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400F. Lightly fry the mushrooms, cap-side down, in hot oil for 2-3 minutes.
Arrange the mushrooms in a a 9x13 cooking dish (or whatever rectangular oven-proof dish you have on hand) with the stalks facing upwards.
In a small bowl, mix together the butter (make sure its softened), garlic, thyme, lemon juice and seasoning.
Spoon a little garlic butter on to each mushroom, then lightly press the breadcrumbs on top.
Either refrigerate for later use, or bake immediately in the oven for 15 minutes or golden around the mushroom cap.

SHEET PAN ROASTED TOMATOES AND MUSHROOMS

INGREDIENTS
2 pints

cherry tomatoes, halved

olive oil

fresh thyme leaves, divided 1/2 teaspoon

kosher salt

small cremini mushrooms, halved or quartered if large

4 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

INSTRUCTIONS
Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 375°F.

Place the mushrooms, cherry tomatoes,  olive oil,  thyme, salt, and a few grinds of black pepper in a large bowl and toss to combine. 

Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet and arrange the tomatoes so that they are cut-side down.

Roast until the vegetables are soft and caramelized, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and mash the tomatoes gently with a fork to realize some of their juices. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar over the vegetables and toss to combine and evenly coat the vegetables. Serve warm or at room temperature.

2012 - Sauteed Mushrooms

My DIL introduced me to cooking mushrooms this way. It is delicious with steak.


Sauteed Mushrooms

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
12 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsps olive oil
10 ozs mushrooms (quartered)
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 garlic clove (chopped)



1 Stir together lemon juice, soy sauce, and sugar. Heat a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until very hot. Add oil, then sauté mushrooms, stirring, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add butter and garlic and saut
, stirring, until butter is absorbed. Add lemon mixture to mushrooms, stirring until sauce is absorbed.

My Recipe Box - Sauteed Kale

Kale is in abundance right now. Give it a good rinse under cold water, then tear it into chunks. If the kale is overly gritty/dirty, soak the kale in cold water for a few minutes.

After you've torn it up, pat it dry with paper towels.

Chop some garlic and onions, any kind you have.

Add olive oil to the pan and saute the onions and garlic  once these brown lightly add the kale. Immediately move it around with a tongs and watch as it shrinks. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. It'll only take a couple of minutes and it's ready to eat!

Add chili peppers if that appeals to you. Some recipes add some chicken stock. I've seen capers added but that won't happen in this house.

You could add a slpash of red wine or balsamic vinegar.

I was thinking that almonds would also be a good addition. 

Kale freezes very well so stock up.

Some recipes boil the kale first which doesn't make any sense to me.

Other recipes using kale:

Spanokopitas

Colcannon

Disney Wordless Wednesday - Letter V

I'm linking up here this week!
The theme this week is: The Disney Letter "V"

November 2013 - Orlando FL



V is for Vegetables.
At Epcot in the Sustainable Agriculture and Research Center they grow Vegetables Vertically!

My Recipe Box - Golden Crusted Brussels Sprouts

I absolutely love brussels sprouts and this is my favourite way to cook them. Typically we use parmesan cheese, but Gouda or gruyere would also be good.  This recipe is from 101 Cookbooks November 2007.

Recipe and image source

Golden-Crusted Brussels Sprouts Recipe

24 small brussels sprouts
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for rubbing
fine-grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated cheese of your choice

Wash the brussels sprouts well. Trim the stem ends and remove any raggy outer leaves. Cut in half from stem to top and gently rub each half with olive oil, keeping it intact (or if you are lazy just toss them in a bowl with a glug of olive oil).

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in your largest skillet over medium heat. Don't overheat the skillet, or the outsides of the brussels sprouts will cook too quickly. Place the brussels sprouts in the pan flat side down (single-layer), sprinkle with a couple pinches of salt, cover, and cook for roughly 5 minutes; the bottoms of the sprouts should only show a hint of browning. Cut into or taste one of the sprouts to gauge whether they're tender throughout. If not, cover and cook for a few more minutes.

Once just tender, uncover, turn up the heat, and cook until the flat sides are deep brown and caramelized. Use a metal spatula to toss them once or twice to get some browning on the rounded side. Season with more salt, a few grinds of pepper, and a dusting of grated cheese. While you might be able to get away with keeping a platter of these warm in the oven for a few minutes, they are exponentially tastier if popped in your mouth immediately.

Serves 4.

My Recipe Box - Mushy Peas

Traditional British Mushy Peas

Prep Time: 5 min Inactive Prep Time: 8 hr 0 min Cook Time: 40 min Level: Easy Serves: 6 servings


Mushy peas are the traditional accompaniment to authentic British fish and chips. In the UK they would be traditionally made using marrowfat peas, but this version uses much more readily available dried split green peas. 

Ingredients
2 cups dried split green peas
1 tablespoon baking soda
Salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
Fish and chips, for serving
Directions

Put the split green peas in a large pot with the baking soda and enough water to cover the peas four times over. Cover and allow to rehydrate in the fridge overnight.

Drain the peas in a colander and rinse with cold water to remove any lingering baking soda.

Return the peas to the pan and cover with cold water by 1/2-inch. Add some salt, bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. During the simmering, discard any pea foam that forms on top using a slotted spoon. The peas are done cooking once they just lose their bite, 30 to 40 minutes. Overcooking results in soup, which isn't what we're going for.

Remove from the heat, add the butter and stir to fully incorporate. Taste and add more salt if required.

Serve immediately with fish and chips, or cool and store for up to 3 days.

Recipes To Try

Photo from our recent trip to NYC

From this week's blog hopping I discovered the following recipes:

Truly tender spaghetti and meatballs I have many recipes for meatballs but still like to check out others.

Amazing stuffed chicken breasts these look so good!!

Chicken tikka masala Yum Indian and we have some naan bread in the freezer.

Honey ginger balsamic glazed beets

A quick fall meal from CBC.
Turkey meatball soup
Spinach radicchio and radish salad
Green onion quick bread
Quick ravioli bake

Caramel apple cupcakes

This looks like a fantastic old-fashioned carrot cake. I have one I've used for years but this sounds much better!!

Recipes To Try

Hoisin baby back ribs look yummy.

Another zucchini fritters recipe but it contains feta!! UPDATE made these last week when I was eating alone as DH absolutely did not want to try these. They were a lot heavier and dense than I expected and they also needed something to spice them up.

Lemon glazed zucchini bread to use up that other zucchini that I bought.

Blueberry lime protein smoothies sound good and healthy.

Mahi mahi parmesan appetizer bites I think I'd like to try this as a main course.

The next three recipes all come from a new blogger I discovered this week Handle The Heat.
Take-out at home turkey lettuce cups
Lightened loaded potato soup
Chocolate covered cheesecake bites

Very raspberry scones yum raspberries are my favourite fruit.

Beef and vegetable lo mein

My Recipe Box - Au Gratin Potatoes

Another favourite from Betty Crocker. I usually make these when serving ham.

UPDATE 2022 - add another vegetable like cauliflower or broccolini.

6

medium boiling or baking potatoes (2 lb)

1/4

cup butter or margarine

1

medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)

1

tablespoon all-purpose flour - gluten free or corn starch

1

teaspoon salt

1/4

teaspoon pepper

2

cups milk

2

cups shredded natural sharp Cheddar cheese (8 oz)

1/4

cup dry bread crumbs (any flavor)  I never add the bread crumbs

1. Heat oven to 375ºF.
2. Scrub potatoes but do not peel. Cut into 1/8-inch slices to measure about 4 cups.
3. Melt butter in 2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Cook onion in butter about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until bubbly; remove from heat.
4. Stir in milk and 1 1/2 cups of the cheese. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute.
5. Spread potatoes in ungreased 1 1/2-quart casserole. Pour cheese sauce over potatoes.
6. Bake uncovered 1 hour. Mix remaining cheese and the bread crumbs; sprinkle over potatoes. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake uncovered 15 to 20 minutes longer or until top is brown and bubbly.

Makes 6 servings (about 1/2 cup each)

Recipes Found This Week

Simple Indian cabbage dish from Chow and Chatter.

Asian slaw ponzu dressing from Steamy Kitchen.

Lemon blueberry yogurt loaf three of my favourite things in one!

Wonton soup with rice noodles

Recipes to Try - Vegetarian

New items will be added to the top of the post.
Spinach Ricotta Pie

Potato and Zucchini Pancakes

Mushroom and caramelized onion tart from Kevin over at ClosetCooking. This uses puff pastry so is super easy. Will let you know when I try it.

Onion Pie from Katy!

Goats cheese and red pepper tart

Butternut squash sage and parmesan pasties

Cabbage Pasta from Allotment 2 Kitchen looks really good!

Recipes to Try - Vegetables

Newest additions at top.
Homemade smoky stuffed potatoes

Pickled red onions
Maple dijon roasted brussels sprouts

Almost anything from http://www.thedailyspud.com/
Neeps and tatties

Baked sweet potato fries


Vegetable casserole would be good to serve for guests.