A couple weeks ago I received 14 baby bok choy in my basket from the co-op. I have seen regular bok choy. I have heard of bok choy in Asian cooking. Maybe I have eaten it in some Asian food I have consumed. I have never prepared bok choy. I can't say I have even thought of preparing it. Once you are confronted with 14 heads of baby bok choy you quickly try to figure out different ways to prepare it. Two or three heads you probably only need one way to prepare it as they are small but 14 heads. . . you could get sick of it pretty quickly if it were prepared all the same.
For those of you wondering, bok choy is also known as Asian cabbage and can be prepared and eaten the same way you would eat cabbage. I found several recipes for salads but found the easiest way to get the bok choy eaten was to add it to our romaine salads or grill it. The first time we grilled it we cut it in half, washed it thoroughly, dried it, brushed half with olive oil and half with peanut oil, and PE then grilled it until the edges started to char. They were okay prepared that way. They seemed to be missing a little something. The second time we grilled them using the recipe at the bottom of the post. Much better. Very delicious. I think we could use the oil method and add some seasonings and it would turn out better.
One week later and we only have four heads left. I consider that quite the accomplishment. I guess I could freeze it and save it for soups (I heard it was good in soups) but we will probably just continue to eat it with our salads.
This last week was the first time we purchased a basket two weeks in a row. Previously we have been purchasing a basket every other week. With the warm weather and an attempt to eat better we had eaten most of the items from two weeks ago within that week. In reality, if our family of 4 1/2 (Bug is only at our house on weekends during the school year and every other week during the summer) were to eat the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables daily we should have no problem eating everything in a basket each week. I am willing to guess we would need to purchase additional items to supplement the basket.
In addition to the introduction of new fruits and vegetables I have really enjoyed the variety of fruits and vegetables we receive. Here is a listing of what I can remember receiving the last two weeks.
Week 1
Bok Choy
Romaine Lettuce
Tomatoes
Russet Potatoes
Apples
Blackberries
Peaches
Bananas
Red Grapes
Week 2
Romaine Lettuce
Red Potatoes
Apricots
Apples
Coconuts (Yes, plural. No, I am not going to cut myself.)
Celery
Broccoli
Green Beans
Bananas
Red Grapes
This was the first week we didn't eat out of the tote I bring the fruits and vegetables home in. (I am lazy sometimes.) As soon as we got home I washed the romaine lettuce, tore it into bite-sized pieces, and put it in a container with some bok choy. I washed the celery, cut the leaves off, cut the bottom off, cut the celery into 3" sticks and placed it into a container with water (Moo was very excited). I put the leaves in a freezer bag (we will use it when we make chicken stock) and put the ends in a container for the chickens. I washed the broccoli, removed the stems, and put the heads in a container. I put the stems in a freezer bag (not quite sure what I am going to do with them). I could have made broccoli slaw (like you can purchase in the grocery store) from them. I washed the green beans, snapped the ends off (put them in the container for the chickens), and put them in a container. All of the vegetable containers went in the refrigerator for quick and easy preparation and eating later on. I washed the grapes and put any gross looking ones in the chicken container and put them in the refrigerator. I didn't wash the apples or apricots figuring PE and I take ours to work and would wash them after transporting them and the kids can wash them as they eat them.
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Grilled Bok Choy
from allrecipes
Print Recipe
1 (2 lb) head of bok choy
1/4 cup melted butter
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp seasoned salt (such as LAWRY'S®)
1 tsp ground black pepper
Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat, and lightly oil the grate. In a bowl, mix butter, garlic powder, paprika, and 1/8 teaspoon of black pepper. Slice the bottom off the head of bok choy, and remove and clean the stalks. Sprinkle seasoned salt and 1 teaspoon of black pepper over both sides of the stalks. Lay the bok choy stalks on the preheated grill. Brush with seasoned butter mixture, cover the grill, and cook until the bok choy stalks show grill marks and the leaves are crisp at the edges, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the bok choy, brush with butter mixture, cover, and grill the other sides. Brush with any remaining butter mixture, and remove to a platter to serve.
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