Cooking - for a new lifestyle (Our Test Kitchen)

2 servings 2/3 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, cut into 1x5 cm strips (200g) 1-1/3 cup snow peas 1 green pepper, cut into thin strips 1 onion, coarsely chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed 2 tbsp sherry (optional) 2 tbsp cornstarch 2 tbsp soy sauce, low-sodium 2 tsp sugar 4 slices of gingerroot (6g) 3 tbsp canola oil salt and ground pepper Slice the chicken breast into strips.  Mix with the soy sauce, sherry, cornstarch, sugar and 2-3 slices of ginger.  Chill for at least an hour in the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to the lowest setting. Prepare the vegetables.  Heat 1/2 to 1 tbsp of oil in a frying pan or wok.  Add the garlic, onion and pepper, cook 2-3 minutes until they start to soften, then set aside on a warmed serving plate in the oven. Add 1/2 to 1 tbsp of oil to the frying pan.  Add some salt, and then immediately add the snow peas.  Stir constantly for 2-3 minutes since they cook very quickly.  Put the snow pe...

I picked up some okra at the Horton Market on the weekend. I've never tried okra before so I was curious. I found a stir-fried okra recipe on about.com and decided to give it a try. Here is the original recipe: 2 cups fresh okra, washed, trimmed, thinly sliced 1 large tomato, peeled and sliced into 8 thin wedges 1/4 cup green onions, sliced, white and green 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice 1/4 teaspoon leaf thyme, crushed 1 teaspoon salt dash pepper 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 2 tablespoons butter Prepare all vegetables as indicated and have ready for cooking. In a small bowl, combine lemon juice, thyme, salt, and pepper. Heat oil and butter in a wok or large skillet. Add vegetables and seasoning mixture all at once. Toss and cook for 5 to 8 minutes. Serves 4 Now here is what I did: I prepared the okra as directed. I didn't peel the tomato. I used diced red onion. I have all kinds of herbs and spices but couldn't find thyme anywhere. I have a funny feeling ...

1 lb (454 g) firm tofu, drained 1/4 cup soy sauce 2 tbsp hoisin sauce 1 clove garlic, minced 1/2 tsp sesame oil 1/4 Asian chili paste or hot pepper sauce 2 tsp vegetable oil 2 cups sliced shitake mushroom caps or cremini mushrooms 1 green onion, sliced 1 tbsp gingerroot, minced 4 baby bok choy 1 sweet red pepper, diced 1/2 cup vegetable stock 1 pinch salt 1 pinch pepper Place tofu on large plate.  Cover with second plate and weigh down with 2 large, heavy cans.  Let stand for 10 minutes; drain.  Cut in half horizontally. Meanwhile, in shallow baking dish large enough to hold tofu in single layer, whisk together soy and hoisin sauces, garlic, sesame oil and chili paste.  Add tofu; turn to coat.  (This can be done up to 8 hours in advance and refrigerated until you are ready to complete the meal.)  Bake in 350F oven, turning once, until golden, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, brush large nonstick skillet with vegetable oil; heat over medium-h...

This should have been titled garlic with brussel sprouts. Although not my favourite (I actually LIKE brussel sprouts) this was loved by everyone else. I used 14-16 small brussel sprouts. (although larger ones are easier to work with the smaller taste less bitter) 1 tsp garlic 2 tbsp veg oil leeks or green onions chopped So as usual, you will trim off the bottom and remove the first 2-3 outer leaves. Place in salted water and boil until tender (NOT MUSHY!) Drain and cut in 1/2. In a small pan, place oil and garlic at med/high heat. Toss in onions/leeks. Stir fry for a couple minutes, then add sprouts. Fry only until thouroughly mixed. Then turn off heat. We actually reheated this one and they were VERY well received. Personally I would reduce the garlic to 1/2 tsp. Nice change. "Bon Appetit!"

The idea of this is you can prep everything ahead of time and clean the kitchen. You will only have a few bowls to wash in the end. In a pot boil enough rice for your diners. When rice is done to your taste, rinse quickly in cold water **This will stop further cooking (and cut down on stach and stickiness). Set aside until dinner time. In same pot you cooked rice, on med heat 2 tsp vegetable oil about 1/2 cup of thin soup noodles 1"ish (or broken spaghetti) about 1/2 cup chopped almonds, cashews, pecans or pistachios Essentially you are going to fry these noodles creating vermicelli! Watch carefully and when you start to see colour, remove from heat or you will have VERY well done noodles....) and cool/drain on a paper towel. Set aside until it is dinner time. On a large plate dice up a cheap steak into small cubes **You can use chicken, pork or sausage as well Set aside until it is dinner time In bowl #1 diced carrots, corn, water chestnuts **Any hard core veggies that need extra...