Befriending Bok Choy

In my Education and counseling class we are required to pick a topic about nutrition and give a quick lesson about it in front of the class. My friend Megan and I were selected as partners and we decided to talk about Bok Choy. Now, if you are like 99.9% of the population, you have no idea what that is. Let me tell you. It is a member of the cabbage family and grows year round. Even in Utah! It's growing season is about 2 months. You can find it in pretty much any grocery store (I say pretty much because we were informed by the produce lady at Smiths here in Logan that they don't have it, rude). It has a very mild flavor as compared to regular cabbage and looks more like lettuce. It is great in stir frys, soups and salads. We gave out samples of a delicious recipe called Slow Cooker Orange beef. Everyone loved it!

Slow Cooker Orange Beef

• 1 1/2 lbs beef round steak, sliced (or beef stir fry strips)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
• 6 green onions, sliced
• 1 small head bok choy, cut in 1-inch chunks

Directions:

1. 1
   Place meat in a zip top bag with soy sauce, ginger, honey and orange juice. Refrigerate overnight.
2. 2
   Transfer contents of bag to 4 qt slow cooker. Add peppers, onions and bok choy. Cover and cook on low 6-7 hours or high 3-4 hours, until meat is very tender. Serve over rice.
   ( I added the peppers, onion and bok choy an hour or two before serving. It was a lot better because the veggies were not mushy, also, I added twice as many vegetables as the recipe calls)