Harvest

My morning harvest.  The big tomatoes are huge!  They are 5-6 inches wide.  I made white bread so tomato sandwiches are on the lunch menu.  I think there is nothing better than a mayo and tomato sandwich on homemade bread.

 

I pulled some beets.

And harvested my carrots.  They sure are small and it was a real labor of love to clean them. I will show you how I prepare the root vegetables tomorrow.

The last of the peaches are turned into smoothies.                                                                  

I picked the small amount of snap peas and made a low cal General Tso chicken.  Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

• 2 -3 pounds boneless chicken thighs or breasts, cut in strips
• 1 egg + 2 tbsp water whisked together to make an egg wash
• 1 cup flour
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper cayenne pepper
• 3 tbsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 4 tbsp rice wine vinegar (white wine vinegar is fine in a pinch)
• ¼ cup water
• 2 tbsp toasted sesame seed oil
• ½ tsp salt salt
• 2 tsp corn starch
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 3 tbsp freshly grated ginger
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup wate

 

Instructions

1. Combine the 1 cup flour, ½ tsp black pepper, ¼ tsp cayenne pepper, 3 tbsp ground ginger, 2 tsp salt.
2. Dip the chicken pieces in the egg wash then dredge them in the flour mixture.
3. Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet and lightly drizzle the tops with a little more olive oil.
4. Bake at 375 degrees F for about 25-30 minutes. Flip the pieces at half way through the cooking time.
5. While the chicken is baking, prepare your sauce. Don’t walk away from this sauce; it gets very hot when making the caramel base and can burn easily so pay careful attention while cooking it.
6. In a small bowl, mix together the 4 tbsp soya sauce, 4 tbsp rice wine vinegar, ¼ cup water, 2 tbsp toasted sesame seed oil, 2 tbsp hot chilli paste or sauce, ½ tsp salt, 2 tsp corn starch, 3 cloves minced garlic and 3 tbsp freshly grated ginger. Set this mixture aside.
7. In a medium saucepan boil together the 1 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup of water.
8. Boil this over medium heat, watching constantly until the caramel starts to turn a light amber color and you can begin to smell the caramel. When it reaches this stage, give the other ingredients in the bowl a quick stir to make sure the corn starch is dissolved then add it all at once to the hot caramel. (Careful: This mixture is very hot!)
9. Be careful at this stage because this sauce can foam up considerably for a few seconds and it is very hot. Simmer for only few minutes and remove from the heat and allow to cool down slightly.
10. Toss the sauce with the cooked chicken pieces and serve over plain steamed rice or Chinese noodles.