The Farmer's Market and a Stir Fry

I'm trying to go meatless 3 nights a week, which isn't easy for a mostly carnivorous family like mine.  Any day now, I tell my friends, my daughter, Mad, will go vegetarian; she already despises people who wear fur and leather.  (It is very difficult to find shoes without even a trimming of leather unless they are Converse All Stars, flip flops or Crocs - and she won't wear crocks any more).  However, like Michael Pollan, Mad feels that humans were born omnivores, and an omnivorous diet includes meat. She feels that we need meat for our health, perhaps even for survival, but that with all the synthetic fibers out there, we do not need to, as she likes to say, "slaughter animals for FASHION."

I'm afraid to say, that my desire to go meatless several times a week has more to do with the deficit in my own (synthetically produced) wallet, as opposed to say, animal rights or green concerns.  Ok, it also has to do with my preference for organically and humanely raised meat, and the fact that such meat costs, well, let's just say, a lot.  So we're cutting back which is lovely because this cutting back coincides with the opening of the brand spankin' new farmer's market in my township.

Last Thursday I bought these beautiful red spring onions, some garlic scapes - which are the tops of the garlic bulb (and which I discovered can be tough if you don't cut the pointy tops off) - some parsley, some chervil and a ton of fresh basil.

This is what I made with it all.  The girls ate it up - which is just a complete miracle in my opinion (please, no one tell them about the fish sauce).

Farmer's Market Stir Fry

TBLSP of oil - I used peanut but you can use grapeseed if you like
1 bunch of red spring onions - or scallions - trimmed and sliced
1 bunch of garlic scapes - trimmed and chopped

1 tsp fresh ginger (or more to taste)

2 cloves of garlic

3 cups of cooked white rice (I soak it then cook it because you want it very soft, not at all al dente)

1/3 cup fish sauce

juice of 1 lime

2 eggs, lightly beaten
about 1/4 cup of fresh basil

On the table:
Chinese chili sauce
soy sauce

I don't own a wok - (I do have a birthday in July coming up...) - so I use a large skillet.  Place this over a very high heat and get the pan as hot as you can.  Swirl in the oil, then throw the onions and garlic scapes in and stir around quickly.  When the onion and scapes are wilted throw in the ginger and garlic, but don't let them cook too long because they burn quickly.  Throw in all of the rice, then add fish sauce and the lime juice.  Let this cook down about a minute.  Add the eggs.  Let the eggs sit in the pan for 30 seconds to set, then stir it all up very quickly.  Add the basil, and you are done.

Plate it up, adding a little fresh basil.  At the table I like to add a few drops of chili sauce (Smith adds a LOT of chili sauce.)  My Mad, who is a salt-aholic adds soy sauce, but I feel the fish sauce is salty enough for my taste.

No pictures (sorry) - I never think to charge the battery soon enough.