use it or lose it, endgame

Despite it being No-Cook-Wednesday, I couldn't bring myself to eat leftovers for dinner tonight. Truth be told, I really hate reheating pasta. I don't especially like it cold-right-outta-the-fridge, either. Leftover pasta is great for work-lunch because I don't have an insulated lunchbox or anything, so by the time I have my lunch, it's about room temperature - kind of like pasta salad. I can dig that.

Taking a cue from Urban Vegan, I decided to peak inside my fridge and see what needed to be used up tonight or thrown away tomorrow. It really just kind of came together as I went, but I was very pleased with the end result. Mister came home from work about halfway through the cooking process and said, "What are you making?" Pause. "I don't know?"

When I was younger, I was very happy to eat side dishes as a meal: rice, corn, carrots, those weird little Knorr just-add-water side dish packets. Now that I enjoy cooking actual meals, I struggle to add side dishes. I thought about all of this while I was cooking tonight, and it dawned on me that the little mishmash of almost-dead food I was throwing together in my skillet could accidentally be my first side dish recipe! I can feel my cookbook taking shape...
Something else to add to my favorites post: I love eating things with chopsticks. An entire section of my silverware caddy is devoted to chopsticks.

And since Mister wants to know what it is, I have tentatively dubbed it...
Pear & Carrot "Fried" Rice
here is a very rough recipe, to be refined at a later date:
Ingredients
1 ripe pear, diced
1 large carrot, diced
a couple handfuls of frozen edamame (for protein)
about 1 cup cold, cooked Jasmine rice
about 1/2 cup vegetable broth, plus a little extra to deglaze the skillet while sauteing
pinch of salt

heat a large skillet on medium-high heat, then add pears and let them sizzle a little. When they begin to release their juices, stir and add carrots. Allow to cook on medium for about 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. If too much sticking occurs, add a Tbsp of broth. Once carrots and pears are crisp-tender, add edamame. After about a minute, when the edamame is slightly less than frozen, add the rice and broth and stir well. Lower heat to lowest setting and allow to simmer until broth has been absorbed by the rice and the rice is tender. Add chopsticks and enjoy!

By the way - the Phillies just won the NLCS and the world is ending outside my window. You might want to stay off the road.