One wonderful way to use up leftovers is to make a stir-fry. And a fabulously delicious and nutritious stir-fry is fried rice (home made anyway). We used up scrambled egg from breakfast; rice, a bit of vegetables and a few scraps of pork from dinner. This is adaptable depending on what you have left over or in the fridge. Ours was colorful with plenty of yummy vegetables and delicious flavors from the ginger, soy, sesame and garlic. It is also quick to cook— it’s just chopping that takes any time.
It’s best to use cold rice for this, so if you need you can always cook the rice then chill it before adding it to wok (or in my case, my Dutch oven).
Fried Rice
2-3 cups jasmine or basmati rice, cooked and chilled
pork, chicken, shrimp or tofu (I used about 6-8 oz pork)
2 eggs scrambled, chilled
handfuls of chopped vegetables:
broccoli, asparagus, peppers, mushrooms, carrots, cabbage
½ cup peas (defrost if frozen)
½ cup edamame (defrost if frozen)
½ med onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1½ inch piece ginger, grated
1½ Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp sesame oil
2½ Tbsp canola, sunflower or grapeseed oil
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
sea salt (if needed) & ground pepper
handful of cilantro, chopped
Blanch for a couple of minutes any vegetables that need longer cooking time like broccoli, carrots and peppers. Set aside and chill. Add the canola oil to a wok, sauté pan or other appropriate pan, and once hot add the onion cooking for few minutes. Add the garlic and meat until almost cooked through. Add remaining ingredients except rice and cilantro. Let vegetables soak up flavors then add rice (breaking apart and lumpy bits). Stir often and adjust seasoning (soy, sesame and pepper) to taste. Cook on medium-high heat for about 3- 5 minutes. You’ll want to make sure you don’t overcook the vegetables so they lose color or nutrients. Stir in cilantro. Serve immediately and enjoy!
My kids loved this. The colors are vibrant, the taste is yummy and there’s a few of their favorite vegetables and a couple of not-such favorites they might actually eat since it’s all blended together.
When I was back in New Zealand last year I was lucky enough to be treated to some fabulous food at some of NZ’s premier restaurants— Logan Brown, The Mattahorn, Martin Bosley. While we were eating at Logan Brown (yes, I had the Abalone Ravioli and loved them!) we were served a dry spice dip with bread and olive oil. I was so enamored of the dip and when I inquired about it, they gave me the recipe! Score! 
One of my girlfriend’s kids calls chickpeas (garbanzo beans) “bottoms” because they kind of look like bottoms/bums/heinies.
This picture doesn’t really do it justice. I was having camera trouble and this was the best I could do. 
Portugal
Lately I’ve been thinking often of my second home, the homeland of my mother and her family— reconnecting with old friends via facebook and linkedin, the Christchurch Earthquake and now my close friend’s father’s death (in Wellington) just the other day. Well, all these thoughts turned into my contribution to our cooking club’s Global Cuisine Night. I made Pavlova, the national dessert of NZ for the first time. 
Friend’s son’s plate after he’d devoured the fish!
