Prominent nutritionist dies

I saw in the Chicago Tribune today that Robert O. Nesheim died. As a nutritionist and Vice president of Research and Development with Quaker Oats for over 30 years, he helped develop Life and Cap'n Crunch brand cereals. After retiring from Quaker Oats in 1983, he worked for the Advanced Healthcare Division of Avadyne Inc in California. Continuing his work in nutrition research, from 1983-1998 he was on a committee which developed guidelines for the military.

Born on a farm in Illinois, he had a bachelor's degree in Agriculture; Master's in Animal Science; and Doctorates in Nutrition and Animal Science -- all from the University of Illinois.

I trust the nutritionists developing food products for today are as well-qualified as mr. Robert Nesheim was!

applesauce

At the family farm we have apples ripening -- starting to get that streaked-with-red, good-to-eat look!

My recipe for fresh applesauce:

• Pick some apples. (The fruit can range from somewhat green to very ripe.)
• Wash the apples.
• Core the apples
• Peel the apples, if you wish.
• Cut into slices.
• Sprinkle with lemon juice or fruit color preservative such as:
• Put all the sliced apples in a big pot on the stovetop.
• Add a little water.
• Cook over low heat, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.
• When the apples are cooked and texture resembles applesauce, remove from heat and taste.
• Add a little sugar and cinnamon, if you wish.
• Cool mixture to room temperature.
• Serve, refrigerate, or freeze.

Always popular!

skinny wheat bread wraps

Here's something different -- a wrap recipe derived from sheer necessity!

(Turned out we had no corn tortillas, no flour tortillas, -- in fact, no flat bread of any sort and a meal to prepare. What to do?)

Here's our solution:

• For each wrap, get out one slice whole wheat sandwich bread.

• Use a rolling pin to carefully roll each slice of bread flat. Make it completely skinny. These are the skinny whole wheat bread wraps.
  

• Spread the skinny bread wraps with cream cheese and mustard.

• Sautee 1/2 yellow onion and 1/2 pound ground beef until the onion is translucent and the beef is cooked and crumbly.
• Sprinkle cooked ground beef and onion mixture on prepared skinny bread wraps.

• (Or omit beef and use sauteed vegetables for vegetarian version.)
  

• Lay a Kosher dill pickle spear on top of each prepared skinny bread wrap as a surprise element.

• Roll it up.

• Secure with a toothpick, if you wish.

Delicious!
***

Review:

5 forks for flavor
4 forks for attention-getting presentation

Ice cream soda

This is mega easy!

• Put your favorite ice cream into soda fountain glasses. (I used New York Vanilla.

• Add flavoring, if you wish. (Vanilla, chocolate syrup, fresh fruit, jelly or jam.)

• Pour club soda into glass until it is full

• Serve immediately!

***

Review:

There is no way to review a recipe that disappears instantantly

Stuffed chicken roll

An elegant chicken breast stuffed with Provolone cheese and pecans:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

For 4 servings:

• Buy 2 halves boneless, skinless chicken. (I bought fresh chicken breast from Hy-Vee grocery store which had been pre-seasoned with tomato, basil and garlic.)

• Slice each chicken breast half horizontally into thinner halves. I ended up with 4 thin halves of chicken breast.

• Flatten each thin piece further by placing it loosely inside a piece of Cling Wrap and rolling with a rolling pin.

• Take each flattened piece of chicken breast out of the Cling Wrap and place on plate.

• Put 1 piece of Provolone cheese on the chicken breast.

• Sprinkle a few pecans on top pf the cheese.

• Roll up the chicken breast with filling.

• Secure with a toothpick.

• Place the rolled chicken breasts in a shallow baking dish.

• Add about 1 cup water and 2 cups fresh celery.

• Cover with foil and cook in preheated 350 degree Fahrenheit oven 45 minutes or until done.

***

Review:

4 forks for unusual and enjoyable to make
3 forks for flavor (my diners aren't into unusual-looking cooking. They tended to not eat the filling because they didn't know what it was.)
4 forks for presentation

Grape snack

Fresh fruit is good tasting and great for health -- especially during the summer months when it is easy to find and the prices are more economical.

So I took a picture of the grapes in our fruit bowl and checked into the health benefits of grapes.

The National Grape Cooperative owns Welchs . There is a lot of information at both websites about the numerous health benefits of eating grapes and drinking grape juice.

Concord grape growers have a lot of pride in their industry. The Concord Grape Association website provides even more detailed studies on the many health benefits of eating Concord grapes.

I try to keep some handy in a bowl on the counter for easy snacking in our household.

cold roast beef sandwich

Plain food for plain folk. A summertime staple:

• Get out two slices sandwich bread per sandwich.

• Spread one half of each sandwich with mustard.

• Spread the other half of each sandwich with mayonnaise.

• Layer each sandwich with:

lettuce or fresh spinach,

roast beef slices,

provolone cheese

dill pickle slices

Serve on highly decorated paper plates.

Enjoy!

Chocolate chip pecan cookies

Okay, . . . these are really great cookies by one great cookie chef: Boo. She claims to have made at least fifty batches of these infamous cookies within recent history, all to grand applause.

She more-or-less follows the recipe on the back of the Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate Chip package. But i think her great secret is in the timing of the cooking process: not too long and not too short.

The end result is a firm cookie, but not at all crisp. The innards are soft and the chocolate is gooey. The pecans were sort of tossed in as an almost afterthought. I thought they added a lot!

Review:
5 forks for excellent flavor
1 fork for presentation (Who cares how they are presented? These are chocolate chip cookies we're talking about! Dig in!)

Egg salad conversation sandwich

For 3 servings:

To make sandwich filling:

• Boil 5 eggs until done. (Cover eggs with cold water in saucepan. Heat to boil. Cover with lid and turn off heat. Let stand 20 minutes.)

• Drain the water. Peel the eggshell from eggs.

• Place diced shelled eggs in mixing bowl

• Add chopped dill pickles (1 whole dill pickle, chopped, per serving)

• Add chopped 1/2 cup chopped pecans

• Moisten mixture with mustard and pickle juice

***

To make sandwiches:

• Toast sandwich bread (2 slices per serving)
  

• Place lettuce leaves on toast. Top with egg salad.

• Assemble sandwiches and cut in half.

• Quickly print conversation starters on skinny slips of paper.

• When no one is looking, toothpick a conversation starter on each half of sandwich, with the print facing down.

Serve sandwiches. As diners eat, occasionally refer to printed conversation starters -- to start
or maintain an amicable conversation.

Bon appetit!

Garden tomato salad

Today is truly glorious! The first tomato was harvested from our home garden!



Recipe:

• 1 custard cup per serving

• Line each custard cup with:

1 lettuce leaf, torn into bite-size pieces

• Place a scoop of cottage cheese on each bed of lettuce

• Top with slices of:

garden tomatoes


Nothing beats the taste of fresh garden produce.

chicken Tchaikovsky sandwich

Chicken Tchaikovsky Sandwiches are the perfect complement to Asparagus Soup (see my last post).

Recipe:

Chop or shred:

cold, cooked skinless boneless chicken
(1/2 chicken breast per sandwich)

Mix with:
chopped dill pickles
mustard

chopped pecans

Serve on whole-grain sandwich bread.

Best appreciated with good company and Tchaikovsky playing in the background.

Enjoy!!

asparagus soup

This quick and easy soup received rave reviews. In spite of the summertime weather, diners went back for refills. Why was it such a hit?

I think it was entirely due to Tchaikovsky. I set the table, poured drinks, served the food, lit a couple votive candles -- and tuned the music to a classical mix. It happened to feature Tchaikovsky.

The conversation immediately turned to the dining experience with many happy expressions of enjoyment. Although pleased, I knew it wasn't really about my experimental-style cooking. It was about Tchaikovsky.

Try eating this soup with a sandwich on the side and the famous Polish composer's music filling the atmosphere and see if you agree. Let me know if Tchaikovsky is the "missing ingredient" in your home cooking . . .

Recipe for Asparagus Soup (makes about 6 servings)

• Put together in a blender: 2 cups cold cooked fresh asparagus and the water it was cooked in. (I used leftover refrigerated cooked fresh asparagus from the night before)
  

• 1 teaspoon olive oil

• 1 can Campbell's brand beef noodle soup

• additional cold water, if needed, to have enough soup for 6 servings

• 2 teaspoons corn starch

• Blend.

• Pour soup from blender into saucepan.

• While stirring constantly, heat thoroughly. The cornstarch will thicken the soup.

• When heated, put a lid on the saucepan and remove from burner.

• Serve immediately.

***

Review
5 forks for taste
4 forks for appearance
5 forks for presentation

better cherry cobbler

This is a redo on the fresh fruit cobbler fiasco of a few days ago.

Pretty simple.

Take the stems and stones out of about

• 1 quart (4 cups) fresh cherries.

Mix with

• 1/3 cup small pearl tapioca

sprinkle with

• 1/3 cup granulated or brown sugar

Mix all the ingredients thoroughly together.

The hard part (for impatient cooks like me):

• Let stand for 15 minutes so the tapioca can start absorbing some of the cherry juice.

Pour into pie plate.

Cover with pie crust from box mix. (I didn't have sufficient counter space to roll out the dough, so I patted it out between my hands and assembled an air-tight crust --in pieces.)

Cook in pre-heated 350 degree F oven until crust is golden brown.

Tasted pretty good.

allspice cinnamon chicken

Faced with the necessity of cooking something in the kitchen while generating graphic designs in the basement, I opted for a throw-together-and-forget-about-it baked chicken.

Simple.

For 6 smallish summertime appetites (each serving = 1/2 chicken breast).

Put in a baking pan --

• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

cover with

• orange juice

sprinkle generously with

• cinnamon and pumpkin pie seasoning (or allspice)
  

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit one hour or more.

oatmeal raisin cookies

Kelly made delicious oatmeal raisin cookies the other day -- the old fashioned way. She used the recipe on the top of the Quaker brand Rolled Oats box (cylinder).

I sort of like the Quaker huge cylinder packaging. It reminds me of the enormous grain elevators Quaker Oats has at its plant in Cedar Rapids, IA.

Okay, now I am really conflicted: Quaker Oats, which I associate with healthy wholesome living is owned by PepsiCo in their Food and Beverage division. PepsiCo is primarily a soft drink, to my way of thinking. Certainly not your good-for-the-physique kind of food . . .Well, I will definitely take some time getting used to the bigger picture of Quaker Oats.

Anyway, Kelly used a familiar, tried-and-true recipe and whipped up some delicious cookies!
We tried to make them last, but the whole 4 dozen were gone . . . gone . . . gone in no time at all.

peach cobbler redefined

I got off to a good start. Fixed a fresh peach cobbler in a clear glass pie plate.

It was simple:
3 or 4 peaches sliced,
a little water,
a little brown sugar,
cinnamon

Topped with pie crust from a box, patted flat between my hands. I arranged the crust on top of the filing and put the pie in the carefully pre-heated 350 degree F oven.

While we ate sandwiches for lunch, I checked on the cobbler. Definitely looking good! Needs fifteen more minutes, I told myself.

So I went back to graphic design on my computer in the basement. And forgot about the cobbler. Really. Didn't think about it again for two hours -- when I went upstairs for something and smelled a very sweet smell.

The cobbler was burnt to a blackened crisp. Nothing left worth photographing.

"Well, at least it smells good!" said Boo.

Which reminds me, didn't I say the aroma of good food cooking fills me up as much as eating the food?

Guess it is true . . .

relationship between aroma and taste

Yes, good food cooking aromas make me feel full -- before I have had anything to eat! I found that a doctor in Chicago researches olfactory experiences, including satiation. His name is Dr. Alan R. Hirsch. More information about food, smells, and experience can be found at this website: www.smellandtaste.org

Warm colors, anyone?

We have fallen into a lot of yellow cooking these days:

Yellow squash, yellow sweet corn, orangey-red carrots, peaches that span the spectrum of red/orange/yellow. Even preferring to buy yellow-fleshed watermelon.

Anyone else experiencing the "yellows"?

Split carrot soup

I started the split carrot soup yesterday, let it rest in the refrigerator overnight, and finished making it today. It's really easy.

For about 12 servings:

• Put 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts in a big pot on the stovetop and cover with plenty of water. Add poultry seasoning to taste. Also add a little olive oil.

• Add 2 pounds of baby carrots to the chicken and water.

• Start simmering.

• Simmer until the ingredients are cooked thoroughly.

• Cover and house in the refrigerator overnight.

• The next day remove the chicken meat from the soup. Reserve a few cooked carrots. Blend the cooked carrots and broth.

• Cut the chicken breasts into bite-size pieces.

• Dice and saute half a yellow onion.

• Combine the blended carrots, the reserved carrots, the sauteed onion, and the cooked chicken pieces in the big pot again. Add more poultry seasoning and a little salt, if you like.

• Cook thoroughly -- about 30 or 40 minutes.

• Serve warm with garlic bread and milk.

*

Review:

5 forks for unexpectedly sweet flavor
3 forks for appearance

Macaroni and cheese

Simple. Great. Food everybody loves.

Adjust quantities to match the number of people you are serving.

I cooked about 6 servings with these proportions:

• Pour:

10 ounces macaroni

into rapidly boiling water.

• Cook for the amount of time recommended on the box (about 9 minutes, in my case).

• Drain well.

• Add about 3 ounces grated Cheddar cheese to the warm saucepan with the warm, drained spaghetti. Cover the saucepan.

• Wait about 4 or 5 minutes while the cheese melts.

• When you are tired of waiting, add about 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese to the mac and cheese mixture. Cover again and wait.

• After a few minutes, stir the mac and cheese around with a fork.

• If it seems too dry (because you did such a good job of draining the macaroni), warm up a little bit of milk in the microwave (about 20 seconds for 1/4 cup refrigerated milk) and stir it into the macaroni and cheese mixture.

• Serve with fresh ground black pepper. Delicious!

(Re: food safety and the tomatoes in the photo: Canadian origin, hydroponically grown, purchased with vine still attached.)

Does aroma of cooking food = happiness?

What do you think? Do you feel full before you ever sit down to eat if your home is scented by the smell of food cooking?

It seems to be the case for me. When the house is full of delicious cooking smells, I literally lose my appetite . . . that is, I feel full and happy.

Doe anyone else have experiences like that?

Small unsweetened fruit pies

Fruit pie in the summer is always a big hit around here. Last night's pies were cooked in pot pie foil pans, making individual servings.

First:
I used a boxed pie crust, adding water to the dry ingredients and mixing in a bowl, per the box instructions.

• 
  

Then I rolled out two small pie crusts for each pie -- enough to make five little two-crust pies. It turned out that I had enough pie crust mix for one extra round for a crust. That round became our only turnover. (Eleven pie crusts rounds total.)

Meanwhile, Guy sliced:
2 apples
1 peach
15 seedless red grapes (approximately)

He mixed them in a bowl with:
2 or 3 tablespoons tapioca
powdered cinnamon to taste
powdered allspice to taste
a splash of lemon juice

Then he divided the fruit mixture evenly amongst

the 6 small pie pans lined with a bottom crust.

I put on the top crusts, trimming off the excess crust overhanging the edge of the pie pans, and cut two slashes in the top of each pie for steam to escape.

• 

The sixth pie, with only one crust ,was treated like a turnover. After the fruit was added to the single crust lining the pan,I folded the excess crust back over the top of the filling -- sort of wrapping it up.

We cooked the pies on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree F oven.

When they start smelling great and turning brown, the pies are done -- about 20 -30 minutes, I guess.


Review:

5 forks for delicious taste and creating demand for more fruit pies!

Tortilla pizza burrito

First a disclaimer:

I truly cook to survive. It is not an interest, a passion or even an art for me. But my family must eat, and I am the designated chef (unless others are demanding equal time in the kitchen).

Several times each day I scan the shelves of the pantry and refrigerator, looking for something to serve at the next meal. I greatly appreciate those moments when other members of the household jump into the kitchen and create something new!



Kelly came up with this recipe and shopped for the ingredients for Tortilla pizza burrito. Guy assembled, cooked, and served the finished product.

*

Tortilla pizza burritos are extremely versatile. Them can be eaten warm or cold. If they are heated, they can be cooked in the broiler of the oven or heated in the microwave. Guy chose to use the microwave approach to save food preparation time.

For each Tortilla pizza burrito:

• Put 1 large flour tortilla on a glass plate.

• Spread with canned tomato sauce or salsa.

• Sprinkle with plenty of freshly grated mozzarella cheese.

• If you are not a vegetarian, add a few slices of low-fat turkey pepperoni.

• If you are a vegetarian, add your favorite pizza toppings (green pepper, olives, onions, etc.)

• If you like the pizza-style look of the unfolded Tortilla pizza burrito, warm it up in the microwave for 2 and 1/2 minutes.

The tortilla pizza burrito shown above, half-eaten!

• If you prefer a burrito-style dish, fold the stuffed tortilla and heat it in the microwave for 2 and 1/2 minutes

(Special thanks -- to Mrs. K who left a comment on this blog describing how to wrap a wrap . . .!)















Delicious and surprisingly filling!

batter bread 2 and french bread

Guy followed up his amazing batter bread 1 with (what could be better?) more batter bread 2. Then he made two loaves of French bread, too.

The Batter bread 2 used the same recipe as before (from Esther H. Shanks' Mennonite Country-Style Cooking). We still have no bread loaf pans, so he cooked the Batter bread loaf in a stoneware baked-bean casserole pot. The finished shape of the loaf is beautiful, although it occurs to me that the loaf resembles a giant muffin.




Here is a photo of the giant loaf of Batter bread 2 as well as the two loaves of French bread. The French bread recipe was also from Esther H. Shanks' Mennonite Country-Style Cooking.

The French bread is decorated with slashes and poppy seeds sprinkled onto brushed-on egg whites.

The bread tastes every bit as good as it looks!

Batter bread

Guy's cooking is flourishing! He made a batch of batter bread the other day and it didn't last 12 hours in our house before it was devoured. The source of the recipe was Esther H. Shanks' Mennonite Country-Style Cookbook.

We had no loaf pans, so Guy shaped the bread onto a cookie sheet. When it came out of the oven, he made sure to spread the loaf with plenty of butter.


The resultant loaf tasted very good -- both hot and cold. Some of us ate it plain, others spread cream cheese on it.

Review:

5 forks for flavor
5 forks for presentation

Baked plum chicken delicious!

We just had our first meal of Baked plum chicken. It is really good!

I accidentally cooked it longer than I had intended -- about one and a half hours. Tasted great!

Everyone had seconds and there was concern that leftovers be available for snacking later.

***

Review:

5 forks for flavor

Baked plum chicken -- In the works*

*"In the works" recipes are dishes I just made up and am cooking right now--

even as I write this blog entry.

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Half the fun of cooking is that delightful feeling of not knowing (yet) if a newly devised dish will work!

I just assembled something that I think will be tasty. It is baking right now, so here is how it is made:

• In a 9 x 13" baking dish, place:

2 pounds chicken breast, boneless and skinless (They were on sale this week!)
1 1/2 cups white rice
3 cups water
1 boy choy stalk, finely sliced
6 or 8 prunes, sliced
1 tablespoon butter or oil (omit if the chicken breast has skin)


My dilemma with this concoction was how to season it. I got out the curry powder and rediscovered the good old poultry seasoning. Opened each container and reminded myself of the flavors. Hmmmmmmmm . . . They both smell good!

I opted for the poultry seasoning this time because I think it will go with the prunes/plums better than curry powder. Maybe I will try this recipe next time with curry powder instead.

• Sprinkle with poultry seasoning.

• Bake at 350 degrees F for about an hour.

• 
  

(You can tell it is done when the chicken is not
pink inside and the rice has absorbed all the liquid.)

• 
  

I will keep you posted when I find out if the resulting meal is a success or not!

One of the best cookbooks ever

Thought I should mention that I rely heavily on my own first-hand experience in the kitchen and on a small collection of very well used cookbooks.

One of my favoritecookbooks is Mennonite Country-Style Recipes and Kitchen Secrets by Esther H. Shank. My copy was published in 1987, but newer editions are available. I can vouch that the recipes are pretty easy to make --from easy to find ingredients. My family has enjoyed some of the recipes so much that they become family favorites.

This cookbook would make a great present for young people cooking on their own for the first time.

Chili spaghetti

Chili spaghetti is a hearty entree for a hungry crowd. It is also a great way to use up leftover chili from the previous day.

Chili may be made with or without meat. When I use meat, I use 1 pound lowfat ground meat for every 4 servings.

In a large stove-top pot, brown the ground meat with onion and sweet peppers, both red and green if you like. (If you are making vegetarian chili, simply omit the meat.)

When the ingredients are sufficiently sauteed, add your favorite canned chili beans to the browned, ground meat (or the sauteed onion and sweet peppers, for vegetarian chili). Add canned diced tomatoes or tomato sauce. Canned sweet corn or hominy is good to add, too.

Season to taste with salt, pepper, and chili powder.

Before serving, cook pasta per package directions. Drain pasta and mix with the heated chili.

Serve onto shallow bowl plates with Parmesan or cheddar cheese topping.
chili spaghetti makes a great entree for meals with diners arriving throughout the evening.

Serving suggestion:

Great with hot corn bread!

Custom sliced pickle salad

Nothing beats this easy salad for refreshment on a hot summer day!

For each diner, slice one chilled large whole dill pickle. Sprinkle the sliced pickles on a couple cool leaves of fresh, crisp lettuce. Serve immediately.

Toasted turkey bagel sandwich

I am posting a lot of recipes today -- accumulated over the last week or so as we cleaned out our storage unit. There was a ton of physical labor -- lifting, hauling. Lots of mental/emotional investment, too, in the give away, throw away, put away sense.



This recipe was a mega popular meal after one such arduous day:

For each diner --

• toast a plain or onion bagel

• 1/2 bagel open-face with cheddar cheese (until the cheese is melted and the bagel slightly browned)

• 1/2 bagel open-face with sliced, seasoned precooked turkey breast

Serving suggestion:

I served these simple sandwiches with custom sliced pickle salad.

Seasoned tortilla crisps

A quick easy snack
or accompaniment to a light meal!

• Preheat broiler.

• Line cookie sheet with aluminum foil.

• Pour some vegetable oil on the lined cookie sheet. (I prefer sunflower seed oil.)

• Place one corn tortilla per diner on the oiled sheet.

• Sprinkle with lemon pepper seasoning.

• Broil on each side of the tortillas until warmed through.

• Serve in a bread basket on the table.

Recommendations:

The best lemon pepper seasonings I have found are:

Tones green label salt-free lemon pepper seasoning

Basically has citric acid (lemon) and pepper. No onions.

Mrs. Dash's salt free lemon pepper seasoning

A mixture of onion, citric acid, pepper and other seasonings. A more complex flavor.

Fresh squash and tomato rice medley

Summer squash and zucchini squash are abundant this time of year.

So I made a simple meal (serves 3) of:

White rice (simmer, covered, 1 cup rice + 2 cups water until water is absorbed)

In a separate saucepan I cooked a couple small, sliced summer squashes and a small sliced zucchini squash in a little bit of water.

Also washed, sliced, and added a fresh tomato (from Canada, on the vine, hydroponically grown, to follow the CDC's recommendations on tomatoes this summer) to the cooking vegetables.

When all was cooked, I served the rice in small shallow bowls and put the cooked vegetables on top. As a decoration and a touch of dairy, I put small chunks of cheddar cheese on the hot rice and vegetables. Served with fresh plums and spicy tortilla crisps.

Ramen bok choy

Okay, a success! After yesterday's abject failure, I tried bok choy (three servings) again. This time, I stir fried chopped fresh bok choy in canola oil with:

6 largish fresh white mushrooms
6 chopped strips of turkey bacon
1 handful of roasted sunflower seeds
a quick dusting of garlic powder
an even quicker dusting of powdered ginger

Meanwhile I cooked three individual serving size packages of ramen noodles in boiling water for about three minutes. I drained the ramen noodles, and divided them among three shallow bowls.

I reheated the stir-fried mixture, added three eggs, and stirred the eggs (plus cooked ingredients) until the eggs were totally cooked. Then spooned the hot stir-fry mixture over the ramen noodles.

For color and complementary flavor, I accompanied the stir-fry with fresh plums.

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Review:

My diners had the option of further seasoning their stir-fry with soy sauce, fresh ground black pepper, or with the powdered seasoning pre-packaged with the ramen noodles.

• The soy-sauce-seasoning diner said the dish was excellent! He figured out the "crunchy things" were sunflower seeds and commented favorably on them.

• The other diners opted for some of the ramen noodle pre-packaged seasoning as an additional flavoring, as well as a bit of fresh ground pepper. They agreed that the ramen noodles were too dry -- perhaps too well-drained before the stir fry was added.