Spring’s- Coming Stirfry

In these recipies, I’ve tried to incorporate what seems to be a new thing in the produce department…the grape tomatoes. They’ve suddenly become very popular here! Another thing I tried to do was make sure that whatever meat was used could very well be leftover, and it would not matter a bit. I myself can’t bear to throw good food away, and if it’s in the fridge more than a couple of days after I cook it, it gets carefully wrapped and popped into the freezer for one of such recipies so that I don’t have to run out and buy more food, when there’s a perfectly good supply set aside for such purposes. I wouldn’t hold onto such leftovers longer than a month, however.

Spring’s- Coming Stirfry

Prepearation:

First cook a half box of penne, or whatever type of pasta you like best. It’s good to choose something with grooves in it to catch the sauce! Drain and set aside.

Next, you should take a bunch of bok choy (not baby bok choy) and chop the bottom of the stem off, to separate all the individual stems. Wash them all very well, and slice into ˝ inch pieces, and set aside.

The next step can be done if you have a gas stove or a grill, bbq fork- the 2-foot-long kind! Wash a large red bell pepper, and stick it onto the tines of such a fork, and hold it over the flame (not too close!) it will pop and smoke a little, but just don’t let it get too close that it catches fire! But it does have to be close enough to roast. Turn the fork/pepper over the flames till the skin blisters and browns (and in some places, blackens- don’t worry!). when it’s nice and toasty, remove it from the flame (and turn the flame off!) and take it off the fork, and let cool enough to handle. Then cut in half, remove the insides, and lay out flat. Quarter it, then cut julienne style (thin strips).

If that’s too involved for your taste, you can buy a jar of roasted peppers…but it’s not the same!

Here’s the part where you round up about 2 cups’ worth grilled or roasted chicken. This can be freshly cooked or leftover.

Pesto sauce –

1	1-1/2 cup finely chopped italian flat-leafed parsley (NOT the curly parsley)

˝ cup pine nuts, finely chopped. If you can’t locate them or it’s a bit out of the budget, you can use almonds!
Ľ cup grated parmesan
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp lemon juice

Now that that’s all organized, have ready the pot that the pasta was cooked in and water drained from. Toss in the cooked chicken, the vegetables, and the pesto sauce. Toss all together and simmer over med heat till flavors are combined, about 4 minutes... This goes well with a glass of white wine!