Stir Fry

Last nights dinner was Tofu Stir-fry with Orange Chili Sauce served over a bed of quinoa. Stir-fry is soooo good, and so easy.......why don't I think to make it more often? Rob proclaimed that this was the best stir-fry he'd ever had. It was pretty darn good!! Quinoa makes a great base for stir-fry, as it really takes on and heightens the flavor of the sauce.

Our stir-fry was a combo of diced tofu, sliced carrots, sliced red peppers, sliced onions and sliced zucchini,some broccoli florets, and about 4 oz of sliced button mushrooms. I fried the tofu cubes in a bit of olive oil then removed them from the pan, adding the veggies starting with the slowest to cook to the fastest. When the veggies were cooked I added back the tofu and stirred in the sauce. This was heated through and served over the quinoa, garnished with chopped cilantro leaves.

I've made an Orange Chili sauce before, but this one was much better, so I'll post it too! This recipe makes a hot sauce, so if you prefer a milder flavor reduce the amount of chili paste.

Orange Chili Stir-fry Sauce

Juice from 2 medium oranges (I used Cara-Cara oranges)

1 Tbs of Chili Paste with Garlic

1 Tbs brown sugar

1 inch piece of ginger peeled and minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbs Olive Oil

1/3 cup tamari

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together. Pour over stir-fry and heat through. This would also be a great marinade for tofu before baking!!

Vegetable and Soba Stirfry with Orange-Chile Sauce

Well, we had a pretty jam packed weekend, so we did a lot of eating out. Saturday we were busy with yoga class, dance rehearsals, and a bit of shopping that needed to be done. Plus, we'd promised Mairin that we'd go see Santa that night. We ate at Panera Bread after our visit with Jolly Ol' St. Nick. Their Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich is to die for, the cilantro hummus they put on it is incredible, I could eat this sandwich every day and never tire if it.

Sunday was Mairin's Christmas recital and we'd promised her pizza after the recital, so we went to one of or local favorites, Bearno's. The omni's ordered the Mama Bearno's, I had a small veggie that I shared with the girls. Theirs is that American version of pizza, doughy, saucy, and loaded with toppings, that I've blogged about before. Sunday evening, it really hit the spot!!

When I was making my menu and shopping list for the week on Sunday evening I was having a craving for something Asian, and spicy. So, this little stir fry is what I came up with. Turns out stir fry was a good choice for Monday's dinner. I ended up not getting to the store on Monday morning because Stella was sick, I sat in the doctor's office with her for almost 2 hours on Monday afternoon, and it was nearly 7 o'clock before I ever made it home with groceries. So, something quick and easy was what I needed.

Because I knew I was going to be pressed for time getting dinner ready I opted to pay the premium for the stir fry veggie mix that's already washed and chopped. It included broccoli, snow peas, mushrooms, shredded carrot, zucchini, and bean sprouts. I added some sliced onions, frozen shelled edamame and some chopped ginger, and minced garlic. I stir fried the veggies in canola oil, then added in about 4 oz of cooked soba noodles to stir fry for a few minutes, slathered it all in my orange-chile sauce, let it cook for a minute while the sauce thickens and serve it sprinkled with some fresh chopped cilantro.

Orange Chile Stir fry Sauce

Zest from one large navel orange

Juice from 2 large navel oranges

2 Tbs. tamari or other soy sauce

1 1/2 tsp chile paste

1 Tbs. brown sugar

2 tsp. sesame oil

1 1/2 tsp arrowroot powder

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Pour over stir fry during last few minutes of cooking. Stir until sauce thickens. Serve stir fry garnished with chopped cilantro.