How Pretty Is This?!

Yes, it's a picture of our dinner. Stir-fry. But isn't it pretty? And it also could mark a turning point for me (dramatic, I know.) Here's the deal: I've never been a big fan of Chinese food. Oh sure, I'll eat it if it's for a dinner party or something, but I would never choose it over Italian or Mexican or other, much yummier food. Probably because the only vegetarian thing on a Chinese menu is a bunch of stir-fried or steamed veggies. Maybe with rice. And I always skip the sauce because you never know what could be in it - I heard once that basically all Chinese sauces are not vegetarian. So...what I usually end up with is plain veggies and plain rice. Which can be kind of tasty, but it never fails that I am starving again an hour after I finish dinner. It's just not substaintial or sustaining.

So...can you guess what is one of Quentin's all-time favorite foods? Yep - stir fry. We got a wok for our wedding and have used it maybe 3 times in 13 years. And yet I still hold onto it because I had visions that I would someday be a "good wife" and make my husband his favorite dish more than once a year. I've been known to buy the frozen stir-fry veggies, heat them up in the microwave, and add rice to it. But yuck. I can't stand frozen broccoli, and I can barely swallow the other frost-flavored veggies.

Well, I decided to conquer my dilemma - either enjoy stir-fry or toss the wok. So today I got a boat-load of FRESH veggies, chopped them up (which only took about 20 minutes), put them in the wok - and viola! Dinner is served. It's pretty, it's healthy, and...it's yummy! Better than frozen for sure!

So...there's cabbage, celery, carrots, zucchini, summer squash, broccoli, green peppers, red peppers, snow peas, baby corn, water chestnuts, and bamboo shoots. And we'll mix in a white and brown rice blend (cooked in vegetable broth - mmmm....) and those crunchy Chow Mein noodles. Quentin likes to top his with soy sauce and/or sweet and sour sauce, but I like mine either "naked" or with Asian Toasted Sesame dressing. Maybe I'll be convinced to make this more often after all!