I don’t mind being in the kitchen in the summer as we have central air conditioning and I limit what I prepare in the oven. As a matter of fact, I just made Amy’s Oh’s Very Best Cookie and Chocolate Sugar Cookie doughs. Then I baked off one sheet pan at a time of each flavor and refrigerated the rest to bake off at a later time.
 
I stopped in at Pastosa Ravioli in Manasquan this morning and picked up a ball of fresh mozzarella. It was the perfect day to pair this with New Jersey tomatoes from Matt’s Farm Market in Wall Township.  As I selected a ball of mozzarella, I could feel the warmth through the wrapping indicating it was just made. As I was paying, I congratulated one of the owners on their fifth anniversary of being open in Manasquan. As I was leaving, he stopped me and handed me a complimentary loaf of prosciutto bread. What a wonderful surprise!
I sliced the tomatoes and mozzarella and drizzled on extra-virgin olive oil. On half of the platter, I added a chiffonade of fresh basil and on the other, chopped fresh oregano. I had just listened to a food podcast when the guest mentioned a friend in Italy recently posted the same dish on social media, but used oregano. I gave it a try and it was wonderful. The earthy, minty notes was pleasantly intriguing versus the savory, peppery taste of basil. The prosciutto bread was scrumptious. It had lots of diced prosciutto throughout, moist and tender crumb. An absolutely wonderful lunch.
 
On another warm day, I prepared a salad for dinner. Earlier that week, I made Grilled Chicken Dijonnaise boneless cutlets for my husband’s lunch. I chopped two and added them to a tossed green salad with lettuce from my Dreyer Farms CSA box, along with chopped tomatoes, coarsely grated cheddar cheese and dressed with Garlic Scape Dressing from the garlic scapes from an earlier CSA box. I toasted Italian bread to round out a tasty supper…yum!
 
My daughter is growing bok choy in her garden. It’s a hearty green that keeps reproducing. She recently gave me some. I did a web search and found a recipe by Katie Webster from her blog called “Healthy Seasonal Recipes,” for Ginger Pork Stir-Fry with Bok Choy. For the recipe you’ll need coconut oil, scallions, fresh ginger, ground pork, Chinese 5-Spice powder, Sambal Oelek or Sriracha, salt, baby bok choy, sliced water chestnuts, lime juice and maple syrup. At the table you can add additional soy sauce, tamari, coconut aminos, Sambal Oelek or sriracha.
 
The recipe starts by adding oil to a large, heavy bottom sauce pan and sautéing scallion whites and ginger. Once fragrant, the pork is added and stirred making it into crumbles and cooked through. The 5 Spice, Sambal Oelek (or sriracha) and salt are added to the pan and incorporated into the mixture. Next the bok choy, water chestnuts, lime juice, maple syrup and scallion greens are mixed in until everything is heated through. You can serve alone, over white rice or as Ms. Webster suggested cauliflower rice (paleo friendly) or with Chinese egg noodles.
 
The stir fry was delectable. The sauce’s complexity was both savory with a hint of brightness from the lime juice. The contrast in texture between the bok choy and water chestnuts gave a lovely mouth feel. The addition of the sriracha, which I used, against the sweetness of maple syrup offered a sweet and spicy taste.
 
If you mise en place your ingredients, you can have this on the table in 15 minutes. This is a great weeknight meal to keep handy when the kids return to school or for those evenings when going out to eat isn’t an option.
​Ginger Pork Stir-Fry with Bok Choy
By Katie Webster
“Healthy Seasonal Recipes” website
March 15, 2021
 
Total time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
 
“This super speedy 15-minute ground pork stir-fry is mixed with fresh ginger, baby bok choy, scallions and Chinese Five Spice seasoning. Serve it over cauliflower rice for a paleo friendly meal, or toss with Chinese egg noodles.”
 
Ingredients
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon coconut oil
1 bunch scallions, chopped, whites and green parts divided
1 tablespoon finely grated or minced ginger root
1 pound ground pork
2 teaspoons Chinese 5-spice powder
1 teaspoon Sambal Oelek or Sriracha, or more to taste​
½ teaspoon salt
2 baby Bok choy, cores cut out, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 8-ounce can chopped sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon maple syrup, preferably dark
Soy Sauce, tamari or coconut aminos for serving
Additional Sambal Oelek or Sriracha for serving
 
Instructions
  1. Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed skillet or wok over high heat. Add scallion whites and ginger, and stir fry until fragrant, 30 to 90 seconds. Add pork, and cook, crumbling with a spatula until the pork is completely cooked through and crumbled, 4 to 5 minutes.
  2. Dust 5 spice, Sambal Oelek (or Sriracha) and salt over the pork and stir to coat.
  3. Add bok choy, water chestnuts, lime juice, maple and the reserved scallion greens and stir to combine. Cook, stirring until steaming hot and mixed together, 2 to 3 minutes.
 
Notes
Substitute one half of a medium Bok Choy for baby bok choy if unavailable.