veggie stir fry

For as long as I can remember, I’ve talked with our kids about caring for our planet. We talk about trash that ends up in the ocean, fossil fuels that weaken our ozone layer, and polar bears who are losing their sea ice. We pick up trash in the neighborhood, bring our own Tupperware to restaurants, and have been known to pull a plastic water bottle or soda can out of a trash can and bring it home to recycle. (I know. That’s disgusting.) And more recently, those darling little environmentalists have corrected my behavior.

“Mom, turn off the car. You’re wasting gas.”

“Mom, you really shouldn’t be using that straw.”

Andrew, who is already drafting plans (very vague plans, mind you) for massive ocean clean ups, is my darling who takes these lessons to heart. In fact, I took him to Party City to buy decorations for his birthday party, and when he realized we were there to buy paper products that would end up in a landfill, he shook his head at me and told me we already had plates at home. We left the store with nothing, and I served dinner to all the guests on our regular dinner plates. Bless.

I continue to read over and over again that the best thing I can do for the planet is to cut back on meat consumption. So that’s what we’ve been doing. Not vegetarians, but we’ve consciously cut back on our meat consumption this past year and aim for 3-4 vegetarian dinners each week. Some recipes are not well received—I’m looking at you Black Bean & Quinoa Tacos—and others have quickly become regulars in the rotation. This Veggie Stir Fry is one of the favorites, and shows up in every monthly meal plan.

Note: I don’t measure the vegetables, and I use this recipe as a way to load up on veggies while also clearing out anything that needs to be used. If you only have 1 pepper, don’t run out to the store for another. If you don't like mushrooms, don’t use them. If your kids really carrots, add six instead of four.

One More Note: And while I’m at it, I don’t measure the sauce ingredients either. (And this is why I’ll never write a cook book.) I add each ingredient with a heavy hand because a good sauce makes everything better.

Serves: 4-6 Total time: About 30 minutes

The Sauce:

• 1/2 cup soy sauce or coconut amino if you’re into that stuff

• 3 TB honey

• 1 TB (minimum!) fresh ginger, minced—I actually use a microplane to grate it.

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• pinch of red pepper flakes

• 2 tsp corn starch

The Stir Fry:

• small spoonful of coconut oil

• 3-4 cups broccoli florets

• 4 large carrots, sliced

• 2 bell peppers, sliced

• 1 red onion, sliced

• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced

• 1 cup snow peas

• 2/3 cup frozen edamame shelled

• 1 small can of sliced water chestnuts

• handful of cashews

• rice for serving

Sauce: Whisk all of sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. 

Sauté Vegetables: In a large pan or wok, heat the coconut oil. Cook broccoli and carrot slices in oil for 5-7 minutes. Then add bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, and snow peas. Sauté for another 5 minutes until softened. Add edameme and water chestnuts for last 2 minutes of cook time.

Add sauce to vegetables: Stir in the sauce with cooked vegetables, and cook for 1 minute with veggies until sauce thickens. Serve with rice and top each serving with a some cashews.

Enjoy!

creamy broccoli cauliflower soup

It’s cold and rainy this weekend in Cincinnati, the crazy in-between weather where we fire up the grill one night and curl up by a fire the next. We contemplate buying watermelon because it’s going to hit 80 this week, but we also turn on the heat because there is a frost warning tonight. We don’t know if our table should have creamy soup or tulips. I say do both.

Soup season is all-year-round for me. Since this one packs 12 cups of veggies, and my family licks their bowls, I will happily make it no matter the weather. Some broccoli soups are so thick I can turn my bowl upside down with no movement. They’re also so loaded with heavy cream and cheese that I feel like I need a Zumba class afterwards, but also know I’d never make it more than 10 minutes. Instead, I made up my own with lots of veggies, including cauliflower which gives it a good creaminess without as much cheese. I don’t measure my veggies exactly and always err on the side of more. Happy spring(ish).

Serves: 6 Time: About 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon plus 1/4 cup butter, divided

• 1 onion, chopped

• 1/4 cup flour

• 2 1/2 cups half & half

• 3 cups vegetable stock plus a few more splashes

• 4-5 cups broccoli, cut into bite size pieces (This is about 3 heads of broccoli.)

• 4-5 cups cauliflower, cut into bit size pieces (This is 1 large head of cauliflower.)

• 2 cups carrots, chopped

• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

• salt and pepper

Special Equipment: Immersion blender (or blender)

Soup

1. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat in large pot. Sauté the chopped onion and set aside.

2. Melt 1/4 cup butter in the pot and sprinkle the flour over the melted butter. Whisk for 2-3 minutes to create your roux. Stir constantly as you add the half & half.

3. Add the vegetable stock and simmer for about 10 minutes.

4. Add the broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and reserved onions. Add a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook over low heat for 20-25 minutes. You want your veggies nearly covered with liquid, but it’s ok if some are not. The veggies will cook down, but feel free to add a splash more of broth if needed.

5. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup. At this point, it is your call how chunky or smooth you want your soup. Blend to you personal liking. I prefer a bit chunky. (If you do not have an immersion blender, you can transfer the soup in small batches to a blender, and be sure to loosen the center cap for steam to escape.)

6. Remove the soup from the heat, and stir in the nutmeg and cheese. Taste and adjust salt as needed.

Enjoy.

butternut squash soup

I know you're all going as fall crazy as I am, so it is with great pleasure that I add to your fall frenzy by bringing this pot of goodness into your lives. Our home will see a giant pot of this soup three to four times every fall. And when I say three to four, I really mean six to seven. I've already made it twice.

It makes my list of top-three-most-requested-recipes from all the happy people I feed it to. I make it for casual weeknight gatherings, bumping fall festivals, Thanksgiving dinner, and if you have a baby or a bad day anywhere between September and December, I will bring you this soup.

Unlike most butternut squash soups, this one stays chunky - no pureeing. In the end, your bowl doesn't look fancy or quite as photo friendly, but I have watched children and grown men plow through three bowls of this goodness.

You have to try it.

It's a recipe worthy memorizing, and with only six ingredients (plus salt) it can be a go-to for nights you are standing in the grocery store desperately coming up with a dinner plan. However, for the sake of complete honesty here, I will warn you in advance of this recipe's one and only downside. It needs to simmer for about an hour. You can get away with 45 minutes but really no less. So just be sure when you're standing in that grocery store, it is 4:00 pm and not 5:45 pm.

Feel free to do all your chopping the night before to cut down on the prep time.

The original recipes calls for 6 tablespoons of butter. I have never used that much. I have no problem dropping sticks of butter into my biscuits, pie crusts, and sugar cookies, but I just can't do it to my soup. Your call.

This recipe serves 4, but you'll probably want to double it.

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 4 cups butternut squash, diced into small squares (You can easily get 4 cups from one large squash, probably more. Adding more is perfectly acceptable.)

• 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced

• 1 medium onion, diced

• 1 large celery stalk, diced

• 6 cups vegetable broth (or chicken)

• Salt

Melt the butter in a soup pot.

Add the squash, carrots, onions, and celery. Stir them all up to help coat the veggies with butter.

Cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, for 8-10 minutes.

Add the broth and season with salt.

Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for one hour.

I stay pretty simple with this soup, but I suppose some grated Parmigiano-Reggiano would make a nice finishing touch. Or better yet, grab a crusty loaf of bread before leaving that grocery store.

Happy fall!

And just in case you're in need of a yummy pile of fall for breakfast, here is the recipe for our favorite pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes!

lentil chili (sausage optional)

I have made this chili a handful of times and usually end up standing over the pot, shoveling spoonfuls into my mouth while I'm supposed to be doing dishes.

It is everything you hope for in a chili -  filling, flavorful, freezable, (I really didn't intend for all my descriptors to begin with f) and easily adaptable to what I feel like or have on hand.

Most weeknight meals in our home are vegetarian, and this one has definitely claimed a spot in my wintertime rotation.  However, this past week I had some chicken sausage links already opened, so I threw them in.  You can't go wrong by adding sausage, but truthfully, this chili is equally fantastic without.

Either way, make this soon.

• 4 links precooked chicken sausage, sliced into coins

• 8 cups vegetable (or chicken) stock, divided

• 1 medium onion, diced

• 1 red pepper, diced

• 2 carrots, diced

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced

• 4 tsp. chili powder

• 1 package of lentils (16 oz. bag)

• 2 (15 oz.) cans diced tomatoes

• a good handful of chopped cilantro (Unless you're making this for my sister-in-law who doesn't like cilantro...what?!?!? Crazy.)

Heat a large pot on medium high heat. 

If you are using sausage, drop that in and let it cook for about five minutes, until lightly browned on both sides. 

Add onion, red pepper, carrot, and garlic.  Cook, stirring frequently until the veggies start to stick to the bottom of the pan - about five minutes. 

Add 3 TB of broth and continue cooking the veggies until soft and lightly browned. 

Add chili powder.  Stir constantly for one minute. 

Add lentils, tomatoes, and the rest of the broth.  Bring to a boil. 

Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, on medium low heat for about thirty minutes. 

Uncover and cook for about ten more minutes.

Stir in cilantro and serve.

Go back for seconds.