Stir Fried Broccoli and Baby Bok Choy

So it has been months, and still I'm wearing a splint (a long thumb spica splint made out of thermodynamic plastic to be exact) on my right wrist, which is my dominant hand.  This splint has gotten old, filthy, and scratched up over all this time and no matter what I do, I can't seem to get it clean.  People are now starting to notice and it's slightly embarrassing.  I actually tried to cover it up by wrapping it with an ace bandage the other day, but that just caused the plastic to dig into my pinky, which became extra painful so that's not an option.  Besides it being an eyesore, it also makes doing things a bit more difficult.  Sure, in many ways I have been able to adapt, but I'm pretty much over it now. I had hopes of being able to cast off this splint by now, but alas, I was just at the hand doctor and that hope has been dashed; I have to wear it for another six weeks.  Well, five more now.    I guess it's not all bad; the skin on my palm has never been softer (since it's hidden under about 1/8" of plastic) and the carpal tunnel symptoms that I was having are gone.  Look for the positives right?  Well I'll have to keep looking hard.  Oh and in case I didn't mention, if I'm not feeling better by my next follow-up, the doctor will consider surgery.  

Anyway, I think I digressed from my point.  The splint has made it difficult to do things like using a knife or taking something out of the oven, so I haven't been able to really cook things.  I've come to rely on things that are quick and easy, and quick and easy isn't always very friendly to the IC bladder. In about 1 month of time, I've experienced two seperate painful flare ups.  The first one was most likely due to having to take two very strong antibiotics for an infected cat scratch but the second was definitely diet related, so I knew I had to step up my game.  I searched for recipes that seemed quick and easy when I stumbled upon this recipe.  I was weary about the amount of sesame oil in this recipe, but it seemed like it would be easy for me to make, so I knew I should give it a try.

I say I was weary about the amount of sesame oil in this recipe because I've had experiences in the past where just a few drops of it were enough to overpower a dish.  I like sesame but not when it becomes the only thing that you taste.  In this recipe, that doesn't seem to be an issue.  Don't get me wrong, there is still a very strong sesame taste here, but there are other favors that come through too - favors like baby bok choy.

I've never had bok choy in any form before, baby or other, and I was excited to try it.  The first obstacle, of course, was buying the vegetable.  Andrew and I stood in front of the cooler section at our local farmers market for a good five minutes or so before we decided to take what we thought was baby bok choy, which actually turned out to be escarole (things weren't labeled well).  Not wanting to repeat the "these radishes are actually beets" fiasco that I had last year, I had luckily thought to use google and realized our blunder before we got too far away from the cold vegetables.  So small crisis averted, we left with our baby bok choy.  

I liked it too!  To me, the baby bok choy was very celery-like in taste, but a little watered down.  The flavor was very light, which may be one reason why it paired so well with the spotlight-stealing sesame oil.  I guess I felt that it just helped to balance everything out.  This was my first time cooking with shallots too, though I have definitely been exposed to more shallots then bok choy. I found the shallots to be a bit sweeter then their larger onion counterparts and I suppose that it is this quality that lends it to being safer for the IC bladder then straight up onions.  When I do cook with onions I always make sure to cook them really well as the IC diet lists always caution against raw onions.

All in all, I really enjoyed this recipe. It came together quickly and easily, even without full use of my dominant hand. It also inspired me to look closer at the  vegetables that are available to me to find more unique fruits and vegetables that I have never tried before.  I'm feeling adventurous!  

Though I have been limited on cooking, I do have a few recipes that I have been working on, so keep an eye out for new, original dishes coming soon!  In the meantime, enjoy this recipe and check out Vegetarian Recipes for Interstial Cystitis, where I found the following recipe.  Enjoy!!

Ingredients: 

*Green = Bladder Friendly foods; *Orange = Foods to try wih Caution; *Red = Foods to Avoid

*1 Cup broccoli florets
*1 bunch baby bok choy
*1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
*1 small shallot 
*2 garlic cloves
*sea salt and *fresh pepper (to taste)
*1 tsp sesame seeds 

Method: 

"In a frying pan or cast iron skillet with a lid, heat up sesame oil on a very low heat ( I did it on heat 2 on my stove).  Wash and chop broccoli and add it to the pan.  Peel and thinly slice shallot (if using), add it to the pan. Simmer a couple of minutes, removing the lid to stir.

Smash and chop garlic, add to the pan.  Cook another minute or so, stirring regularly. 

Wash bok choy, chop stems and add them to the pan, saving the leaves.  Simmer another minute or so, then add the leaves, a pinch of salt and pepper, plus a little extra sesame oil if desired.  Press the leaves to the bottom of the pan.  Stir, cooking for another minute or so until they are just wilted. 

Remove from heat, sprinkle with sesame seeds (if using) and serve."

Serves 2

*Nutrition Facts are obtained using the MyFitnessPal app and are based on a 2,000 calorie a day diet.  Due to manually entering ingredients, please allow some room for human error.*