pretty by the bay

I’m not big on New Year’s resolutions, but I have a few goals for 2012 – and one of my biggest aspirations is to stop wasting food. I have three terrible habits I’d like to change:

1) Overbuying fresh food and watching it go bad because either I forget it’s in my fridge, or I don’t stick to our weekly meal plan and use ingredients purchased for specific recipes. I’ve gotten better about this since becoming more diligent about meal planning, but there’s still room for improvement.

2) Buying pantry staples or frozen foods and losing them in the abyss of our cupboards and freezer. Right now, I have roughly 4 pounds of dried beans, numerous cans of diced tomatoes, five unopened bags of frozen fruits and veggies, a large assortment of half-full boxes of pasta…the list goes on. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Again, meal planning helps me use what’s in my pantry and freezer, but I can do better.

3) Letting leftovers wither and die in our fridge. I hate leftovers, particularly leftover meat. Corey eats them more willingly, but if he can’t finish every bit of leftover chicken, pork, pasta, etc., we find ourselves transferring food from storage containers to the compost bin. I’m also notoriously bad for storing various recipe scraps – half a can of pumpkin, or the dregs of a container of pasta sauce – and never using them in future recipes.

I invest a lot of time and money into the food we eat, and it’s sad to see it end up in the trash. I got a jump start on my goal this weekend when I found myself with a few ounces of leftover pork tenderloin and some frozen edamame and pineapple that had to be used before they succumbed to freezer burn.

Everything came together in a variation of a fried rice recipe I’ve been making for years. It’s not quite the same as the fried rice you’d order in your favorite Chinese restaurant, but it tastes great, is fairly healthy and is easy to whip up with just about anything you can find in your own freezer and fridge. Here’s hoping we all waste less food in the new year!

Pineapple, Pork and Edamame Fried Rice

inspired by Cooking Light

serves 3 – 4

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

4 oz cooked pork tenderloin (or any leftover meat), cubed

1 small onion, chopped

1 medium carrot, peeled and diced small

1 tsp minced ginger

1 tsp minced garlic

3 tsp canola oil, divided

3/4 c frozen edamame, thawed and drained of excess moisture

3/4 c frozen pineapple, thawed and drained of excess moisture

1 1/2 cups cooked rice (I used brown rice, but white is fine too)

3 tbsp hoisin sauce

2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tsp sesame oil

Whisk the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, vinegar and sesame oil in a small bowl and set aside. Combine the ginger, garlic and 1 tsp canola oil in another small bowl and set aside.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tsp oil and, when shimmering, add the egg and cook like an omelet, swirling around the pan and lifting the edges to allow additional uncooked egg to reach the bottom of the pan. When the egg is mostly set, use a spatula to gently flip it and cook lightly on the other side. Remove the egg from the pan and set aside. (Note: you can also quickly scramble the egg, if you prefer.)

Heat an additional 1 tsp oil in the skillet and add the chopped onion and carrot. Stir fry until the vegetables are softened and starting to brown, about three minutes. Add the pork, edamame and pinapple and cook for one minute. Add the ginger/garlic/oil mixture and cook one minute more.

Add the rice, breaking up any clumps, and cook for 2  minutes. (If you’d like more of a “fried” texture, add the rice to the pan and do not stir.) Chop the egg into small pieces and add to the pan, followed by the sauce. Cook about 30 seconds more until the sauce is heated through.