Brad's Blueberries... and more bok choy

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

The strawberries are finished now, but I've got my eye on another berry these days -- blueberries. These are the ones in Brad's plot, seen from my point of view as I peer longingly through the fence. The birds and I, we've been watching these blueberries get plumper and plumper by the day. As much as I like strawberries, blueberries are my absolute favorite berry on the planet. (Well, of the berries I've tried at least).

I was surprised when Brad planted these in his plot last fall. For some reason, I thought blueberries only grew well in cooler places. I figured they wouldn't have a chance in Washington's heat, but apparently he knew what he was doing. And he really knew what he was doing when he planted this bush just out of my arm's reach. Oh, the temptation!


In other news, it's Bolting Vegetable Night #2. Today's bolting bok choy was a big one, so I decided to do it up right with an interesting-sounding recipe called Ballistic Baby Bok Choy and Fried Tofu. Here is the recipe, which I found at Orlando Organics.

8 oz. firm tofu
3 Tbs. corn oil (I used canola.)
1 tsp. chile powder (I used 1/4 tsp., because I wasn't sure how ballistic this was going to be!)
3/4 lb. baby bok choy, chopped (I used big bok choy.)
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 scallions, sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, julienned
2 Tbs. water
2 Tbs. soy sauce
1 dried shitake mushroom, rehydrated and sliced (I used button mushrooms.)
3/8 cup coarsely chopped water chestnuts
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. cornstarch or arrowroot mixed with 1 Tbs. water
2 cups cooked rice


I was so eager to taste it that I forgot to set it over the rice. Ah well, it tasted great, even without the rice. It had just the right amount of heat. Too ballistic and it would have been all over for me and my sensitive taste buds.

I really liked the red bell pepper in this recipe. The only thing I would change would be to omit the water chestnuts. With all the other veggies being fresh, I really didn't care for their canned taste. But I will definitely keep this one in my roster of choy recipes.