Of Falls And Food

      I took a fall in the shower yesterday morning -- rinsing out hair conditioner, I got a foot off the tub mat without noticing.  Off the tub mat and on the drain side, so what was underfoot was a nice slick of conditioner and water.  Shifted my weight and the loss of control was immediate and irreversible.  I went into the shower curtain (on a friction-fit rod, pulled the whole thing down on my back and whacked my shins into the edge of the tub.

     It could have been much worse.  As it was, I was a little bit figuring out what happened and had some clean-up to do before I washed away the rest of the super-duper, why'd-they-discontinue-the-kind-I-liked* hair gunk.  Fiddling with the gimcrack curtain rod took even more time and it's still not quite right.

*  *  *

     With a start like that, the day pretty much required a better ending.  I had some boneless pork chops and wanted to do something vaguely stir-fry.

     With two pork chops, a Lucy Rose apple (it's redder on the inside than the outside!), eight scallions (green onions, and more would have been better, but I cheated), four "baby" carrots (they're not), King Trumpet mushrooms, eight small-to-medium multicolored sweet peppers (usually sold in a bag), five or six Shishito peppers and a dollop of savory umami paste you can have some fun.  I can, anyway.

     I cut the pork chops into half-inch cubes (you do not need to measure) and dropped them into a big zip-type plastic bag that had some soy sauce, a little balsamic vinegar and a bit of garlic powder in it.  Once the chops were chopped, I closed the bag and shook it until the pieces were well-coated.  Then the meat and whatever liquid remained went into my Always pan, over medium heat.

     Apple next.  The lovely color of the Lucy Rose was a surprise to me.†  The flavor was fantastic!  (Had to take a sample to Tam, in fact.  At first, she wasn't sure what it was.)  I sliced and peeled it, and cut the slices crosswise into small triangles.  They joined the pan on top of the meat.

     I washed and prepped the scallions, cutting them into short segments.  Gave the pan a stir, added the scallions, and gave it another stir before putting the lid on.

     Diced up the carrots into quarter-inch pieces, and added them.  King Trumpet mushrooms followed -- cut off and quarter the tops, cut the thick stems into rounds and toss them in.  I hadn't had them before but they're mild, with a nice texture.

    The little sweet peppers take more prep time -- I cut off the tops, winkled out the core and seeds, and sliced them into slim rings in two batches.  Time spent here is not wasted; pork needs awhile to cook.  I added a little water to the pan, too.  You don't want it to be too dry; pork will get very dry in a hurry if you let it.

     Killed a little time refreshing what I remembered about thickening up stir-fry sauce; gave the pan a sniff and decided to lump in a dollop of savory umami paste (this stuff just showed up at the grocery, in three or four versions and is well worth having around) and a little granulated onion (cheating, but useful).  Then it was on to the Shisto peppers.  As near as I can tell, if you are looking for a little gentle heat, look for a bag of them with some that are showing color, yellow-to-orange.  The greener they are, the milder.  But even the hot ones aren't super-hot; it's just a little zing.

     Shishitos don't take much prep or cooking -- cut off the top and slice them into rings.  If the core is really thick, you can remove it, but unlike most peppers, it's not at all bitter.  Into the pan they went, lid back on.

     Thickening up the sauce calls for a teaspoon of cornstarch mixed into cold water, then some soy and vinegar, not a lot of either.  It'll turn tan.  Pour it in, stir and keep stirring over medium heat until it's as thick as you like; if it gets too thick, add water.  Once I was happy with it, I shut off the heat, nuked a bag of rice, and rang the dinner bell.  Savory, mildly spicy, just a hint of sweet.  Tam and I liked it a lot.
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* Garnier Fructis "Brazilian Smooth," which is supposedly a hair-straightening shampoo and conditioner.  What it does for me is tame my frizz to smooth waves -- not the advertised effect, but exactly right.  They dropped it and there's no direct replacement.
 
† Readers will be unsurprised that my reaction to an unfamiliar new fruit or vegetable, even just a new variety at the grocers is to buy one and see what they're like.