Cook from your garden
Ingredients:
• 2 cups of low-fat chicken broth
• 1 cup of brown rice
• Three quarters of a cup of white sugar
• 1 tablespoon dry white wine or water
• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
• Half a cup water
• 1- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• Half or one cup thinly sliced pork loin / chicken
• One quarter cup thinly sliced celery
• Half a cup thinly sliced carrots
• Half a cup of green and red peppers, cut in 2 cm pieces
• Half a cup broccoli pieces, cut in 2 cm pieces
South Africa is blessed with a wonderful climate, allowing even city dwellers to grow vegetable gardens and fruit trees. Growing your own fruit and vegetables is not only rewarding, it is healthy. It is also a great skill to teach children. Even if you live in a small space, consider options such as growing vegetables in pots or old car tyres. Once you reap the rewards of your hard work, there is nothing more rewarding than to use your harvest in some delicious recipes.
Here are two recipes that you can adjust easily to use the fruit and vegetables you cultivated in delicious dishes.
Sweet and sour rice and vegetables
( serves 4)
There is nothing like cooking with vegetables harvested from your own garden. But what to do with them? With this recipe you can give your locally produced vegetables an oriental flair. As much as this recipe calls for either pork or chicken, if you prefer a vegetarian dish, just leave out the meat.
Prep time: 15 minutes | Cook time: 15 minutes Instructions
1. Put broth and rice into large saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover and cook over low heat for 45 minutes until broth is absorbed and rice is tender. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
2. Put sugar, white wine / water, white wine vinegar, soy sauce and tomato sauce in a small saucepan, heat to boiling. Stir the corn starch into the water until smooth and dissolved. Add to the sugar mixture, heat over low heat and stir until thickened. Keep warm.
3. Slice and dice all vegetables before starting to cook. Heat an empty wok or 30 cm non-stick skillet until hot, not smoking. Add the oil, stir to coat pan, then add the meat, stir to brown. Remove the meat, keep warm. Add the carrots, celery and onions, cook for 1- 2 minutes. Add the peppers and broccoli, cook for 3- 5 minutes, stirring carefully.
4. Add the sweet and sour sauce and meat to the vegetables, stir to coat meat and vegetables with the sauce. Cover and bring to a simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Serve on brown rice.
You can leave the meat and replace the broth with a vegetable broth to make this a delicious vegetarian option.
24