Stir-Fry

There's nothing I love more than a good stir-fry. It's a great way to use up a bunch of vegetables that are in the winter of their lives. Although it's kind of time consuming to chop all the veggies up, it's so fast once you've done that that it's worth it. Also, the cool thing about stir fry is that amounts aren't important for the vegetables, just throw in whatever you have in your fridge. Here's the stir-fry I made for dinner Sunday after work: 

tsp olive oil

garlic

1/2 cup chicken broth

3 Tbsp tamari soy sauce

dash of sesame oil

dash of red pepper flakes

dash of chili powder

black pepper

1 block extra-firm tofu, cubed

Yellow pepper

Red pepper

Broccoli

Carrots

Shitake mushrooms

White mushrooms

Snap Peas

Chop up all of the vegetables so they are relatively uniform in size. If you're married like me, you are lucky enough to have a wok which you received as a wedding gift, so get that out. Otherwise, find a big pan. Crank up the heat to medium-high, and throw your oil and garlic into that bad boy. I probably used about 4 cloves worth, but if you're not constantly in a garlic frenzy like I am, 2 would suffice. Sauté for a couple of minutes, until the garlic begins to brown. Add your broth, soy sauce, sesame oil, and spices, and cook until the broth gets hot and begins to reduce. Add your tofu (any protein would work, especially chicken or shrimp. I would think that you might use different spices for beef, but I don't really do red meat so I wouldn't know) and cook for a couple of minutes until it absorbs some of the sauce and begins to color. Then add your veggies and cook, stirring often, until they are tender. And you're done! Making some brown rice to go along with the stir-fry is clearly a good idea, but I forgot until it was too late and it was totally delicious on its own.