Kay Wheeler Moore

Welcome to my blog

Hello. . .

The Newfangled Country Gardener is for anyone who has a garden, would like to have a garden, or who simply enjoys eating the garden-fresh way. I don't claim to be an expert; in this blog I'm simply sharing some of the experiences my husband and I have in preparing food that is home-grown.

About the author

Kay Wheeler Moore is the author of a new cookbook, Way Back in the Country Garden, that features six generations of recipes that call for ingredients that are fresh from the garden. With home gardening surging in popularity as frugal people become more resourceful, this recipe collection and the stories that accompany it ideally will inspire others to cook the garden-fresh way and to preserve their own family food stories as well. The stories in this book center around the Three Red-Haired Miller Girls (Kay's mother and aunts) who grew up in Delta County, TX, with their own backyard garden so lavish that they felt as though they were royalty after their Mama wielded her kitchen magic on all that was homegrown. Introduced in Kay's previous book, Way Back in the Country, the lively Miller Girls again draw readers into their growing-up world, in which a stringent economic era--not unlike today's tight times--saw people turn to the earth to put food on the table for their loved ones. The rollicking yarns (all with recipes attached) have love, family, and faith as common denominators and show how food evocatively bonds us to our life experiences.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

This fresh celery recipe is beyond weird, but what a favorite it turned out to be!

It had to be the weirdest of the weird--a recipe for Stir-Fried Celery. Celery is a stretcher, an enhancer, a crunch- and texture-provider for other dishes. Why would anyone build an entire recipe around chopped celery? Loser, I thought as I eyeballed it more carefully. And for a stir-fry? Celery is an ingredient that goes into a stir-fry to complement other veggies. But this recipe had nothing else added except low-sodium soy sauce, white vinegar, and sesame seeds. Now really.

So what dish at dinner last night got the most rave reviews? Not the Mustard-Lemon Glazed Tilapia that I spent far more time cooking for the entree. The Mustard-Lemon Glazed Tilipia, I might add, only sprang alive when I put the Stir-Fried Celery on top as a relish.

The Stir-Fried Celery was utterly amazing! In previous blogs I've mentioned the guilt factor when I end up having to throw away a bucketful of limp celery stalks because of non-use. This recipe gobbled up the vast majority of the celery in my fridge's veggie bin.

But the taste! Hubby served his over some fresh corn-off-the-cob. I liked mine over the tilapia. But by itself the dish clearly was a stand-alone. By now I should have learned never to look askance at any recipe provided by my little booklet, "Celebrating a Healthy Harvest", that I cite frequently. Always, always, somehow, the folks at the Chickasaw Nutrition Services (who dreamed up the booklet) manage to have a success story.

Weirdest of the weird--still a correct assessment. But I couldn't have asked for a more tantalizing side dish.


Stir-Fried Celery

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch fresh celery, washed
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons white vinegar
sesame seeds

Chop celery in 1/2-inch slices. In a heavy frying pan or wok heat oil over medium heat. Stir-fry celery for 1 minute. Add soy sauce and vinegar. Continue to stir-fry for 6 minutes or until desired tenderness. Place in serving bowl. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Makes 4 servings.


Posted by at
Labels: , , ,

1 comment:

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)