Broccolini and Snake Bean Stir Fry

I got some good broccolini as it is in season. I also had some snake beans that I had bought to cook with potato for a dry curry as usual. Some days I just need to take it easy and working hard over a hot hob is not welcome specially when the outside temperature is pretty high. I ran over the list of veggies I had in my fridge and freezer and decided that I would use the broccolini and the beans. If this was not enough, I would take out some of the mixed frozen vegetables to add into it. Once everything was chopped, I did not need to add the other vegetables. But just for those interested the vegetable mix I have is French beans, broccoli, snow peas. Just as I started out flexibly with the vegetables, I also made up the other ingredients as I went along.  I would add a half inch of fresh ginger cut into matchsticks the next time. The end result could not have been better. I had this stir fry with a pile of creamy mashed potatoes. Some left over stir fry was reheated and had as a filling of a sandwich the next day. It is nice to have found a different veggie dish that I like. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Ingredients

• 2 bunches of broccolini (generally about 8 stalks per bunch)
• 1 bunch of snake beans (generally about 10 – 12 beans per bunch)
• 1 medium onion
• 3 – 4 cloves of garlic (you can have more of less according to your taste or indeed omit it as well)
• 1 table spoon of pine nuts
• 1 teaspoon of crushed wattle seeds (I used the wattle seed tea which is coarse rather than powder)
• 1 tablespoon of hemp seeds
• 1 ½ tablespoons of green chillies sauce (I used Byron Bay Jalapeno Chilli Sauce which is tangy and not very hot. You can adjust this to your taste)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons of Olive oil for frying

Method

• Chop the broccolini and the beans at an angle to about 2 inches long pieces. I kept the tender tops of the broccolini separately from the stalks.
• Finely slice the onion and garlic cloves.
• In a wok or large heavy frying pan heat up the olive oil.
• Once the oil is really hot, add the onion and garlic and stir.
• As it gets semi cooked add the pine nuts.
• Stir the nuts and onions a couple of times and ad the beans and the broccolini stalk first.
• Add the salt at this time.
• Once they begin to soften add the broccolini tops and continue to stir.
• Add the chilli sauce and pepper
• Stop cooking when there is still a little crunch left in the vegetables.
• Put it out in a serving dish and sprinkle the wattle seed and the hemp seeds as garnish.

Papaya Salad

I often see green papayas in the fruit and veg shop and think one day I should try some. When I was a kid, I used to visit family friends and grandma there used to make papaya salad…… I dimly remember. However, I am not sure how exactly she made it. I have friends who make it and also seen some recipes but really needed to get over the inertia and buy some. One day while chatting to a friend online we got to talking about what was cooked for dinner and papaya salad was one of the dishes. I got a quick rundown on the ingredients and the method. Of course, not having written in down I had to rely on memory and these days it is not as good as it used to be. Did another recon of the food websites and got a better idea of what basics were and created my own from the ingredients that I had at home. Also, I cannot use the soy sauce that was identified in some recipes as I am allergic to it. Neither do I use palm sugar or fish sauce hence the adaptation of dressing ingredients. I must say it turned out nice, tangy and crunchy with a hint of heat.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of shredded green papaya
• 1 medium carrot shredded
• 1 medium onion finely sliced
• ¼ cup finely sliced long beans
• 1 ripe tomato (I used the roma one) again finely sliced
• 1 table spoon of roughly chopped fresh coriander leaves
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar (you can use honey as well. I tried using that as well once)
• 2 – 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. (again, I tend to taste and see if it is right as people can tolerate different levels of sourness.)

Method

• Shred and slice all the vegetables and put in a bowl.
• Put the sugar, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a small jar and shake to mix well and dissolve the sugar completely.
• Then pour the dressing over the papaya, carrots, onions and tomato.
• Stir well and garnish with the coriander.

When served immediately the salad is nice and crunchy and dressing light on it. You can keep it for a few hours in the fridge and the dressing has a pickling effect and acquires a different dimension. I had some left over and sat it in the fridge for later and found this delightful change.