When you’ve made the commitment to eat healthy and minimize how often you eat out, you have to be honest with yourself. For me, that means owning up to the fact that I don’t always want to cook or I’m just not in the mood to get all chef-y with it. When that happens, I grab a few fresh veggies and the nearest bag of rice to whip up a super simple stir fry.
The best thing about stir fry–aside from the mountains of fresh nutrient rich vegetables–is that you can use whatever is fresh, in season and on hand.
I made a stop at the Farmer’s Market and found a bunch of asparagus and some broccoli, and that got me started since I already had crimini mushrooms, carrots, onion, bell peppers, ginger and garlic in the fridge. And that’s pretty much the whole ingredients list.
I like to start with the ginger in the oil and then add mushrooms and whatever herbs you want to flavor them while the water cooks out. Then add ingredients from longest cook time to shortest until everything is in the pot and reached desired doneness. If you want to whip up a quick sauce you can start with a soy sauce base, and add orange or lime juice, Sriracha or barbecue sauce, sweet & sour and pretty much anything else to satisfy your cuisine craving.
But a fun little thing I’d never heard of before–Ramsons–also made an appearance in this meal. Ramsons are a type of wild garlic but they look a lot like scallions. My mother in law brought me a few bunches and I decided to do what else but…make pesto!
We didn’t have any of the wild garlic but that’s okay because these leaves are SUPER garlicky. Super, super garlicky, but that didn’t stop me from adding half a bulb of roasted garlic to the pesto, along with a few cashews, lemon juice, 2 sun dried tomatoes, hot sauce and a handful of basil. It was tangy, tart, earthy and yes, delicious.
It gave the stir fry a really nice kick with just a couple teaspoons on each plate.
This is another recipe where you can easily choose to cook without oil. Add a little water once the mushrooms start releasing it and keep adding about a tablespoon at a time as needed until the veggies are cooked. It’s not an exact science but if you’re curious, stir fry is a very forgiving dish.
If you decide to use a pre-made sauce for your stir fry, taking a close look at the ingredients list. You might find things like honey, milk powder, egg powder or other conservants you might not want to ingest. If you’re in a bind, my old standby sauce is just equal parts water and soy sauce, a minced scallion, Sriracha and lime juice. Coat the mix with cornstarch and add the soy-water mix, cooking until thick.
Done and done, again in less than 30 minutes!
the-spicy-spatula.com 
One thought on “Simple Vegan Stir Fry”