Cooking At 43° North: Leftovers for dinner

“Don’t know why / There’s no sun up in the sky / Stormy weather.” – “Stormy Weather,” by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler

I have been humming that song for the past six or seven weeks off and on. The humidity is off the charts. My garden is overgrown and the buds on my flowers are begging for consistent sunshine. I have read a lot — so much that the librarian knows me by name when I run into her at the supermarket. Television? When it comes to TV, I am not a steady viewer. Commercial TV never really appealed to me. I miss the quality Walter Cronkite would deliver in 30 minutes. Gosh, I remember running home from school to catch “American Bandstand.” My sick days were spent watching “I Love Lucy” and Julia Child’s “The French Chef.” Today? Well, as Springsteen sang in 1992, “57 channels and nothin’ on.” (Only today it’s 570 channels and there is still not much on.)

I remember when I relocated here some 25 years ago. People would ask me, Maine? Why Maine? Isn’t it cold there? I would always reply that the seasons offer their own charm but there isn’t a better place on Earth to spend summers than in Maine. So far this summer? It’s not exactly the charm I was referring to.

One might think this is the perfect time to experiment with new recipes and explore new ideas. However, the humidity and persistent cloud cover have stifled my urge to head into that part of the house. In other words, my get-up-and-go has got up and left. But I still watch Julia Child’s reruns on PBS every evening. That feeds my desire to get back into the kitchen.

Perhaps I will return in full force in the fall, when the humidity returns to a normal level once again. In the meantime, I go lightly in the meal preparation department. This is where Donna Frisoli came in.

Donna runs day-to-day operations for Harpswell Community Television. She grew up in Rumford and her family spent summers in Harpswell. Returning to Maine after college, she became employed by her community’s government access channel. She learned about the work by Harpswell Community Broadcasting Corp. to build a local power TV station and became involved in that project. By 2001, Harpswell Community Television had hired her, and the rest is history.

I am personally grateful for Channel 14. It kept us up to speed during the pandemic, when no one was going anywhere. We knew exactly what was happening locally. It’s the one station that keeps us all informed and connected in Harpswell. It’s local access television, “for the people, by the people.”

Donna offered me a recipe that can be prepared easily, won’t heat up the kitchen, is healthy and consists of whatever you have on hand. With the bounty from the garden, along with farmers markets in full swing, fresh vegetables are plentiful. Whatever meat you have left over in the fridge you can add to this recipe, or you can leave meat out. Whatever you choose will pretty much work.

This recipe originated from Donna’s father. Donna remembers that her father kicked in to make supper for the family on occasion when her mother was too exhausted to cook. Donna loved it best when her dad added red hot dogs.

You can make any quantity you wish — enough for a single meal or enough to serve a family. There are no set amounts. However, the rice in this dish should be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge for a day. Be sure the meat or seafood you use has already been cooked.

AIME’S LEFTOVER STIR-FRY

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons oil (I used light olive oil)

5 cups chopped vegetables (I used broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, bell peppers and scallions, along with shredded cabbage and 2 minced garlic cloves)

3 cups cold cooked rice (white or brown)

2 cups meat, cut up (shrimp or scallops work too)

3 eggs, beaten

1 tablespoon candy ginger, chopped (optional — I used 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger)

Chopped nuts (optional)

1/4 cup soy sauce (I substituted teriyaki sauce with a tablespoon of sesame oil)

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a large skillet (or wok) over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of oil, then the garlic and all the other vegetables. Stir often, until the vegetables are tender, about 4 minutes.

Add meat and continue stirring until meat is warm. Add rice and stir until all is heated through.

Make a well in the middle of the pan. Add 1 tablespoon oil, then the beaten eggs. Scramble eggs and then fold into the mixture.

Add ginger and soy sauce. Salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with scallions. Makes 4 servings. Enjoy!

For those without access to fresh vegetables, Sharing tables are open with free fruits and vegetables every Wednesday throughout the summer. See hah.community for locations.

Cooking at 43° North, a program of Harpswell Aging at Home, brings Harpswell residents together for cooking programs, in person and online. Watch the Anchor calendar for listings.

HAH always needs cooks for its Meals in a Pinch program, which provides nutritious meals to seniors in need of emergency assistance. For more information, contact Julie Moulton at 207-330-5416 or juliemoulton28@gmail.com