Collard Greens Stir Fry with Fried Tofu

Fall greens from last year are at the end of their lifecycle, flowering and going to seed now. If I am not too lazy, I hope to save the seeds and use it again this year.

After the cold winter, it is refreshing to see the hardy annual greens in the garden survive and thrive till they give up: Kale, Chard, and Collard greens. Arugula has flowered and gone to seed as well. Time to dig up the patch and start afresh...

Anyway, I have been incorporating these greens from the garden in my cooking lately. Collard greens is a special favorite thanks to their sturdy leaves and their tender stems that cook up easily.

Some collard greens from the garden, plus  carrots, and bell peppers, along with hunks of onion-flavored fried tofu come together in this simple stir-fry. Use any favorite stir-fry sauce, I tend to go with whatever is handy to throw together and am in the mood for, and I don't measure exactly.

Spring onion and garlic shoots have been popping up, fresh and happy as ever so I liberally garnish the dishes with these beauties.

Bui's Natural Tofu is my go-to store for getting tofu that I enjoy.
(Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with Bui's Natural Tofu)


Ingredients
Onion flavored fried tofu (pictured in buinaturaltofu.com)
Carrots
Red and green bell peppers
2 cups chopped collard greens, stem and all

Flavoring:
Braggs Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce, if preferred)
Tamari
Sesame oil
Rice vinegar
Mirin
Agave nectar or Grape Molasses (or, just brown sugar is fine)
freshly grated ginger
minced fresh garlic

Preparation

1. Heat some sesame oil in a pan, add the ginger and garlic, and stir fry till aromatic, then add the bell peppers, carrots and collard greens
2. Combine the rest of the ingredients for the stir-fry sauce, adjust flavors to taste and keep handy; usually, I make more than needed and save the rest for another day
3. When veggies are slightly tender, add in the sauce, stir fry, and finish cooking.
4. Garnish with spring onions and toasted sesame seeds

Halibut Stir-fry

Over summer, some fresh-caught Alaskan Halibut got frozen and put away to relish later in the colder months of the year.

This seemed like a good time to thaw some small pieces and cook them up with an interesting sauce and some stir-fry veggies.

I went with colorful peppers and onions for the stir-fry as I had a good batch of them handy from the farmers market. The stir-fry sauce is an impromptu made-up one, which is how most of my stir-fry sauces are, where I don't bother to measure accurately, just adding a bit of this and a dash of that and calling it good when the proportions seemed right.

Ingredients
Tender quick-cooking fish pieces
sesame oil
colorful pepper and onions sliced

Stir-fry sauce (approx.):
1 Tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp grated ginger
2 tsp minced garlic
4 Tbsp distilled white vinegar
1 tsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp sambal oelek
2 Tbsp Bragg liquid aminos
4 Tbsp seaweed dashi stock or vegetable broth
cornstarch and water as needed for thickening

Preaparation

1. Marinate the thawed fish pieces in some of the stir-fry sauce, saving the rest for stir-fry
2. Heat some sesame oil in a wok, add the peppers and onions and stir-fry a bit, then add the marinated fish and the remaining stir-fry sauce and cook till fish is done
3. Serve warm 

Stir-fried Portobello Mushrooms

A simple stir fry with some custom-made marinade/sauce. Snap peas, peppers and onions add body and flavor to the meaty texture of the portobello mushrooms.

Ingredients for marinade/stir-fry sauce:
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
½ tsp coconut sugar (or agave nectar)
½ tsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp tamari
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp grated ginger
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp water

Stir together the marinade/sauce ingredients and pour over the veggies, allow to marinate for 10 minutes or so. Then, heat a cast iron skillet or wok to high heat, add a tablespoon of sesame oil, then add in the marinated veggies with all the marinade; stir on and off till crisp-tender.

Serve on a bed of arugula, or with brown basmati rice.