Stir-fry dished in a bowl on Monday, January 6, 2025 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Saying yes to a move to Baton Rouge in the spring of 2016 is among my life's victories. We were drowning in snow after 24 delightful years in West Virginia, and my husband had a great job offer here. He and I visited Louisiana together at the peak of Chamber of Commerce weather while fresh strawberries perfumed the air.
Sign me up!
Our moving van, stuffed with decades of possessions, arrived to unload in the midst of the August 2016 flood. We stepped out into the community to assist with cleanup, and a local business owner asked me if I had a job yet. My instant answer was, "I'm going to see which way my compass points."
When I left West Virginia, I was a freshly minted "Food Revolution Hero/Ambassador of Change," per the award-winning English celebrity chef Jamie Oliver who had an extended stay in the state.
His goal of improving the health of the community would be made sustainable by the locals continuing his mission of providing scratch-cooked meals in the schools and offering cooking classes around the clock in makeshift kitchens around town. The process was documented in Jamie Oliver's "Food Revolution," a docuseries that aired on ABC.
I cleared my calendar to catch a front-row seat to the action.
A street that runs through the center of Huntington, West Virginia -- home of Marshall University -- hosted the cook-a-thon where 1,000 people cooked-in shifts, making an ultra-simple, flavorful dish. Anyone familiar with Jamie Oliver would recognize this type of task as "easy-peasy" and simultaneously packed with delicious ingredients that can make a dish in a snap.
Organizers set up end-to-end banquet tables with individual propane burners that were topped with a wok and a chopping board with the ingredients -- a section of prepped aromatics, a handful of colorful veggies, some thinly sliced beef and a bowl of noodles which would ultimately serve as the landing spot for the finished dish. Oliver announced from his stage in the center of the 50 or so workstations exactly how to prepare a stir fry in less time than it takes to order takeout.
"Get the wok ripping hot, drizzle in a bit of oil and chuck in the aromatics," he said.
Oliver continued to tell the crowd what to add when, and then he instructed us to plate it up and pose for a photo before diving in with chopsticks. I stuck around Huntington for the duration of Jamie's residency, embracing the moniker Ambassador of Change with my newspaper column, morning news cooking spots, speaking engagements, a cooking class kitchen and a cookbook I wrote.
The snow chased me from the place I had called home for 24 years. Baton Rouge beckoned with warm weather, the friendliest people and a year-round farmer's market.
It may have taken me a few years and some wild detours to figure out which way my compass points, but I have found my place. I call it landing in the bull's-eye. I am thrilled to share my thoughts and recipes here in a monthly column and hope you will cook along.
Cook-a-Thon Stir Fry
Serves two (scale up as needed -- works best in batches when feeding a crowd)
Recipe from Jamie Oliver
1 tablespoon cooking oil
Handful of chopped green onions, julienned fresh ginger, thin sliced garlic, small jalapeño
4 fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
½ red bell pepper, thinly sliced
6 ounces thin sliced raw beef
2 teaspoons honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Cooked noodles (angel hair or somen, cooked and cooled -- leftovers are great, about a handful per person)
Lime wedges and fresh cilantro for serving
1. Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl the pan to spread out the oil which will thin out as it heats.
2. Add the aromatic green onion, ginger, garlic, and jalapeño and cook 1 minute.
3. Push to the side and add the mushrooms and bell pepper, continuing to cook for a minute or two to soften.
4. Push this to the side (or if minimal room is available in your pan, scoop it out to make room for the beef).
5. Add the beef and stir fry for one minute or until no longer pink.
6. Drizzle in the honey and soy sauce and stir together to lightly glaze the mixture.
7. Add the noodles and cook and stir just until they are heated.
8. Transfer to two warmed bowls and garnish each with a squeeze of lime and some hand-torn cilantro sprigs.
Carrot salad
Recipe is for one serving, scale up as necessary*
The humble carrot is the unsung hero of the produce drawer. They keep for weeks, ready to jazz up any meal as a nourishing colorful side dish. Peel, grate, dress and voilà, carrot salad.
1 medium carrot, peeled and grated on the large holes of a box grater*
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
Toasted sesame seeds for garnish
1. Place the grated carrot in a medium bowl.
2. Toss with the sesame oil, soy sauce, and rice vinegar to lightly dress.
3. Sprinkle with some sesame seeds and enjoy.
*If making a bigger batch of carrot salad, let the food processor do the work. The shredding blade works wonders for carrots. Make extra -- it's great for days. Keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days