The weather here has suddenly plunged from 80 degrees two weeks ago to practically freezing. The first frost means the last of many vegetables at local farms, and last week we got the final batch of fresh green beans in our CSA bag. I discovered during our sushi experiment that my toddler loves sesame seeds, so that was the inspiration for this fast and easy Sesame Beef Stir-Fry. Perfect served with leftover sushi rice, or any rice or grain you have on hand.

Recipe: Sesame Beef Stir-Fry

Ingredients:

1 1/2 – 2 lb. flank steak, sliced into 1/2 inch thick slices

Marinade:

• 2 T honey
• 1 T rice wine vinegar
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/4 t dried ginger
• 1/4 t black pepper
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/4 c low-sodium soy sauce

Sitr-Fry:

• 1 T canola oil
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 lb. green beans, ends trimmed
• 6 radishes, thinly sliced
• 1/4 t chili garlic sauce (more to taste)
• 1 t toasted sesame oil
• 1 T sesame seeds

Instructions: Whisk together marinade ingredients and pour over flank steak in shallow baking dish. Cover and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes. Heat wok or large saute pan over medium high heat. Add oil, then cook beef slices until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Remove to a plate or bowl and cover to keep warm. Add garlic and radishes, cook 2 minutes, until radishes soften. Add green beans and cook 2 minutes more. Return beef to pan and stir in chili sauce, sesame oil and sesame seeds and remove from heat. NOTE: For heat sensitive younger eaters, you may wish to separate their portion before adding the chili sauce. Makes 4 servings. Enjoy!

This weekend we made only a quick stop at the West End Market, a rare break from the market-hopping marathons I’ve been filling our summer weekends with. Then again, we were just at the new Old Town market on Wednesday, although we were restrained there with just a few peaches and apples purchased. Since two of my favorite peach vendors were there, D&S and Bigg Riggs, I intended to do a taste-test. I have a theory that Southern Maryland peaches are addictive because they are planted on former tobacco land … but I have not had a chance to test them against WV and PA peaches at the same time. And since the toddler devoured both our Bigg Rigg’s peaches before we left the market, my taste-off plans were thwarted for now. My sherbet (below) did use a combination of supersweet Harris Orchard peaches from Southern Maryland, a variety they described as lower-acid and therefore sweeter tasting, and Papa’s Orchard donut peaches from Pa., which are his sweetest variety. Of those two, Harris was clearly in the lead.

Last week saw limited cooking in the FoodieTots house, as my mega-cold/sore throat dragged on for a second week, and was topped off with an oven deciding to quit working. Talk about a foodblogger’s worst nightmare – especially with the toddler’s 2nd birthday just around the corner! Here’s hoping we can get it fixed in time… We are also about to leave town for a week, so we spent the weekend cooking up as much of our lingering CSA and market produce as possible. One night, I cooked a rather unappetizing roasted eggplant salad — the oven only broils which resulted in over-roasting of the veggies. Fortunately dinner was salvaged with a fresh tomato, green bean & mozzarella salad over quinoa*.

The husband on Sunday whipped up a tasty peach teriyaki stir-fry of buffalo hot dogs, tomatillos, green beans and peppers. The sauce was garlic, fresh peaches and soy sauce* — again all served atop quinoa with grilled corn on the cob on the side.

And since the broken oven thwarted my peach blackberry cobbler plans, I broke in the new ice cream maker instead with a Peach Berry Sherbet – yum!

* quinoa and soy sauce were non-local.

wood ear, originally uploaded by foodietots.

I was overwhelmed by the variety at the mushroom lady’s stand last week at market, so grabbed the Wood Ears because MamaBird had recently mentioned them. The description noted they were good in stir-fry, so I put together this dish with the bunch of white radishes I just couldn’t pass up. The husband isn’t a big radish person, but ate this without complaint.

About Wood Ear Mushrooms
Wood Ears look a bit like giant, wrinkly ears, growing out of trees, hence the name. They are mild flavored, firm and chewy when fresh, but soften when cooked. Often used in Asian cooking, they are also believed to have medicinal (blood thinning) benefits.

Recipe: Stir-Fried Wood Ear Mushrooms

Ingredients:
1 pt. wood ear mushrooms, tough spots removed
1 bunch white radishes, thinly sliced
1 shallot, thinly slices
handful spring onions or chives, cut into 1″ pieces
approx. 1 t freshly grated ginger
2 T butter
1/3 c dry white wine
2 T soy sauce
kosher salt & pepper

Instructions
Melt butter in saute pan over medium-high heat. Add shallot and radishes and cook until radish begins to brown, about 5-6 minutes. Add ginger, spring onions, wine and soy sauce, cover and reduce heat to medium low. Cook about 8 minutes, until liquid is absorbed and mushrooms are tender. Add a pinch of salt and pepper.

Served with arugula salad and grilled buffalo steaks.