Farmer Market Mondays!

I've been seriously craving white rice with tasty chinese/asian stir-fry recently.  At the end of the day, I'm still a noodle-slurping, rice-shovelling, soy sauce lovin' girl at heart.  Western dishes and pastas and big hunks of protein to carve on your plate are tasty but still not my favorite things to eat on a daily basis.  So, even while loading up on late season heirlooms (50 cents/lb pricier this week than last!), I was inevitably seduced by the asian veg stand.  Beautifully young, light green and glossy, not-too-bitter baby bitter melons and tender dark green leafy bunches of chinese broccoli were calling to me.  In my bag they went.  Along with a splotchy enormous bouquet of intensely aromatic basil.

Check it out:

(left) Sirloin Steak Stir-fry w. Bitter Melon, Orange Peppers, and a smattering of Habanero Pepper

(right) Chinese Eggplant w. Basil, Garlic, Soy Sauce/Sugar/Lime

I am a pro at making Chinese eggplant with basil.  I perfected this when I was stirfrying enormous quantities of it for my friend, Monisha's wedding rehearsal dinner.  The trick is, to saute on very high heat with just enough oil and tons of garlic..and then adding small amounts of water to aid the softening process.  Cover with lid for a while, before taking it off so that it doesn't continue to steam.  You want the eggplant so get cooked through and soft without adding tons and tons of oil for it to absorb into a greasy mess.  Then 2 minutes b4 it's done cooking, add soy sauce, a spoonful of sugar, a tsp or so of lime juice and continue to adjust the flavor until it's balanced to your taste.  The eggplant at this point should be pretty dry in the pan and caramelized in some places.  Add a fistful of freshly picked basil for about a minute and turn off heat. Stir until fully wilted.  The aroma of the dish should be knocking you dead.

(repeat) Israeli Couscous w. Roasted Grape and Orange Sweet Tomatoes, Kalamata Olives, Basil, Scallion.  This was such a tasty dish I had to make it again.  Esp while the tomatoes are still good.

In the very background, note the yellow and pink streaked sunset-y slices of heirloom resting on a small plate. this heirloom is called a "Pineapple." this tomato seriously tasted as sweet as candy. def more fruit than veggie tasting.  My cousin, Jess, did not love it bc it wasn't tomato-y enough for her...which I took to mean not acidic enough. There is no tangy acidity to balance out the sugars.  I enjoyed eating these sweet slices with a smattering of coarse sea salt sprinkled on top to sort of pique the flavor a bit.

Roasted Grape/Orange Sweets w. Garlic for our snacking pleasure.