On The Fridge

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Dinner in 30 Minutes

Hot and Sticky Vegetable Stir-Fry With Honey and Ginger

4 servings

While lots of stir-fry recipes feature snappy, crisp vegetables, this one heads into tender territory. The combination of carrots, sweet potato, mushrooms, snow peas and asparagus gets a quick turn in a spicy sauce that lives up to its billing.

Toss in 8 ounces of thawed cooked shrimp, or serve with noodles or steamed rice. Adapted from "Balancing Flavors East & West," by Tom Kime (DK Publishing, 2006, $30), who is the executive chef at the Cutting Edge School of Food and Wine in Sussex, England.

For the sauce:

2 medium cloves garlic, crushed

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger root

1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce, such as mae ploy

1 teaspoon hot chili sauce, such as sambal oelek

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

Juice of 1 medium lime (about 3 tablespoons)

For the stir-fry:

2 medium carrots

1 large sweet potato

1 cup oyster mushrooms (optional)

6 slender asparagus spears, tough ends trimmed

1 tablespoon peanut oil

15 to 20 snow peas, strings trimmed

8 ounces cooked shrimp, thawed (optional)

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves or parsley

For the sauce: Combine the ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

For the stir-fry: Wash, peel and cut the carrots and sweet potato into 1/4 -inch sticks. Tear the mushrooms along the gill lines into evenly sized strips, if using. Cut the asparagus into snow pea-size lengths.

Place a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat and heat the oil until it shimmers. Working in batches, if necessary, stir-fry the carrot and sweet potato sticks for 2 minutes, until they have darkened slightly and become fragrant. Add the asparagus and mushrooms, if using, and cook for 2 minutes. Increase the heat to high and add the snow peas and the sauce (and first batch of stir-fried vegetables, if necessary). Cook, stirring constantly, for a minute or two until the sauce comes to a boil and the vegetables are well coated. (At this point, add the shrimp and toss to heat through, if using.) Season with salt and pepper to taste. (Discard the garlic, if desired.) Divide among individual plates and sprinkle with chopped cilantro or parsley. Serve hot.

Per serving: 136 calories, 2 g protein, 26 g carbohydrates, 4 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 1 g saturated fat, 135 mg sodium, 3 g dietary fiber

Recipe tested by Bonnie S. Benwick; e-mail questions tofood@washpost.com

-- Bonnie S. Benwick

SO MANY QUESTIONS . . . {vbar}A Further Conversation From Our Weekly Online Chat

Baking disruptions: Years ago, many mothers told their children not to jump on the floor or roughhouse while a cake was baking for fear that it would "fall" (not rise properly), and they warned not to open the oven door until cakes or cookies were at least close to being done because the air would change the texture of the baked goods. These days, you don't hear that. In fact, I'm noticing that cooking/baking instructions tell you to open the oven door to rearrange cakes and/or cookies.

Leigh Lambert: There's some truth to the old warning, says Shirley Corriher, author of "CookWise" (William Morrow, 1997). "This can happen if the cake is fully risen and it hasn't had time to set. If the proteins haven't cooked, jarring or shaking of the cake could cause it to fall," she says, but adds, "it would take a lot."

As for the rotation requirement, Corriher (whose "BakeWise" is due for publication in fall 2007) says she usually bakes cookies one sheet at a time and doesn't turn it. Opening the door to rotate a sheet can cause a 50- to 100-degree drop in temperature within one minute. For those whose ovens have hot spots, Corriher's remedy is to place a pizza stone on the oven rack under the cookie sheet. That will even out the hot spots, obviating the need for sheet rotation, and will keep the heat from dropping as quickly when you do need to open the door.

SHOPPING CART {vbar}Small And Festive

· For party people with an eye on 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.: Cocktail napkins with 19th-century depictions of the White House. Packages of 20, $3.50 to $4.50, include a brief history of the image. Available in the gift shops at the White House Historical Association, 740 Jackson Pl. NW, 202-737-8292, and White House Visitor Center, 1450 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 202-208-1631.

· For splashy drinks: Adding 24-karat gold leaf to holiday beverages and foods is easier with Angel Tears, tiny water-soluble gelatin capsules in which flakes of the gold are suspended; 2.67 ounces (refrigeration required), sale price $78, available from Beryl's Cake Decorating and Pastry Supplies (mail order and pickup), P.O. Box 1584, Springfield, Va. 22151; 703-256-6951; or order online at http://www.beryls.com.

· For one-stop wrapping: the Holiday Treats Kit from Chronicle Books contains a recipe booklet and enough paper and cellophane bags, tags, string and stickers for 20 tiny gifts; $19.95, available at some Books-a-Million stores and by order from Barnes & Noble stores and several online purveyors.

Rachael Ray Gets the Word

Prolific phenom Rachael Ray -- with 13 cookbooks, a lifestyle magazine, three television programs and branded cookware, appliances and cutlery -- has officially become a wordsmith. One of her catchphrases will be immortalized in the 2007 edition of the Oxford American College Dictionary. That would be EVOO, short for extra-virgin olive oil.

"It's C-O-O-L," Ray writes us in an e-mail. Unlike "yummo," another of her favorites, EVOO "is not a made-up word anymore," she writes. She calls the term "a time-saver. It's a mouthful to say extra-virgin olive oil over and over again," especially when it is your "most important kitchen ingredient."

Early this month, Erin McKean, editor in chief of Oxford University Press, presented Ray with a certificate, saying: "We look at thousands of words every year, and very few of them get in. It has to be useful to people, and we see people using EVOO."

We're thinking "Oh, my gravy" is bound to be considered next.

-- Walter Nicholls

TO DO

TODAY:"Healthy Holiday Entertaining." Sponsored by Wegmans. $10, refundable with a Wegmans gift card. 6-7 p.m. 11620 Monument Dr., Fairfax. 703-653-1600.

THURSDAY: Winter solstice wine dinner. $100 excluding tax and tip. Reservations required. 7 p.m. Equinox restaurant, 818 Connecticut Ave. NW. 202-331-8118 or http://www.equinoxrestaurant.com.

-- Leigh Lambert

SEND NOTICES to: To Do, Food, The Washington Post, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071, orfood@washpost.com, 14 days in advance.