Spicy Teriyaki Stir Fry

Tonight was one of those Seattle spring evenings where the sun came out and everyone was outside enjoying the freshness. It was nice feeling the warm sun on my back while gliding up the hill. What with the sun out, I didn't consider the dinner menu until opening the refrigerator to take inventory.

I had a lot of rich food this past weekend. Happy hour #1 on Friday was Caesar salad and sweet potato fries while sitting outside, followed by happy hour #2 with truffle popcorn, Triscuits layered with raspberry jam and brie, olives, and marinated artichoke hearts. Saturday was kale and mushroom frittata and multiple cups of coffee for breakfast, and then a piece of pizza and sauteed kale for lunch. I took a trip to Ikea in the afternoon and had to fuel up with frozen yogurt before shopping. Then dinner was roasted vegetable pizza appetizer, pan-fried chicken, mashed potatoes and roasted Brussels sprouts. Sunday I pulled some frozen rice from the freezer, to slowly realize, while making fried rice, that it was actually barley. So I had fried barley with carrots and mushrooms for breakfast. Roasted cauliflower and eggplant were lunch. And dinner was Mad Men party food with celery stuffed with cream cheese and nuts, deviled eggs, olives coated in garlic powder, and avocado 'dunk'. There was a dash of red wine here and there, a few swear words while assembling Ikea furniture, pacing, deep breaths, and a plethora of Soda Stream water.

It is quite interesting to see my entire weekend's food typed out like this. It also explains the fullness factor today. So a light vegetable stir fry for dinner was in order for balancing things out.

Spicy Teriyaki Stir Fry
Yields 1-2 servings

You can use any variety of vegetables for the stir fry. The great aspect of stir frying is using vegetables already existing in the refrigerator or freezer. I happen to have a lot of zucchini and frozen Asian-style vegetables today, so I used those. But feel free to use what you have.

1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon sweet chili sauce
1 teaspoon hoisin sauce
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
Red pepper flakes to taste
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cups vegetables

Whisk garlic, soy sauce, water, mustard, chili sauce, hoisin sauce, ground ginger, and red pepper flakes together in a small bowl to make the sauce. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute the vegetables until tender. Pour the sauce over the vegetables and stir until coated. Heat for 1 to 2 minutes to slightly evaporate the liquid. Remove from heat. Eat!

Minty Champagne Shooters

It is recipe swap time again. As you can see, it is Wednesday, not the usual day of the swap. We have divided our group in two. Half are still posting the first Sunday of the month, and the other half of us are posting on the second Wednesday of the month...so here we are! Christianna of Burwell General Store has given us an assignment of 'Orange Snowflake Salad' as pictured below.

While it does sound like a pretty interesting experiment, I just couldn't bring myself to buy Jell-O with the bright orange food coloring and cottage cheese. Cottage cheese is on the top of my 'unconsumed food list'. There are a few food items that give me twitches even thinking about, cottage cheese and any seafood are two of them. 

So this week I strapped on the thinking cap to figure out a plan. I knew from the start there is a partially consumed bottle of champagne in the fridge and wanted to somehow incorporate it into the recipe. Jell-O shots were a natural direction to take. But how would I get around the artificially flavored and colored Jell-O? 

A little research proved very educational. I could simply buy unflavored gelatin and use fruit juice to sweeten the shots. A clear-ish juice would be ideal. So maintaining the pineapple component of the recipe, pineapple juice and pineapple chunks would appear. There needed to be a refreshing aspect as well. Mint would do.

So I gathered all the necessary suspects at the grocery and trekked home with a full backpack. And what a trip down memory lane this recipe provoked. The powdery scent of warm liquid stirred into gelatin brought back childhood memories. I was immediately transported to the kitchen table, helping my mom stir the hot water into the bright green Jell-O. Jell-O was such a fun treat as a kid. Watching the liquid turn into a gel was magical. The worse part about it was waiting for it to set. I remember wondering how I would get through the hour(s) it took to set. Barbies, Scooby Doo, bike-riding, and mini trampoline jumping were mild distractions. Somehow I got through. Speaking of which, I need to go check on the flutes...a taste test is probably in order.

Minty Champagne Shooters

Makes 4 champagne flutes

You can take creative liberties regarding the fruit juice and alcohol flavors. Mangoes and mango juice  with fresh basil would be quite nice. Or berries and mint would be refreshing. Whatever you choose will make you happy as you scoop it from the glass.

1 cup pineapple juice
1 cup cold champagne (or sparkling wine)
2 envelopes Knox Unflavored Gelatin
1 tablespoon honey
4 tablespoons pineapple chunks (canned or fresh)
10 mint leaves, finely minced

Heat pineapple juice in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until boiling. Take off heat. Pour cold champagne into a medium bowl. Stir gelatin into champagne and let sit for 1 minute. Pour hot pineapple juice over champagne mixture. Stir in honey. Continuously stir until gelatin is dissolved, 3 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle mint leaves into champagne mixture. Pour into 4 champagne flutes. Stir 1 tablespoon pineapple chunks into each flute. Refrigerate until solid, 1 to 2 hours.

Simple Black Olive Tapenade

Do you ever have that one item in your refrigerator that elicits an 'Ugh' every time you open it? You know you need to use it in some form or another, but other items have somehow pushed themselves to the front. The lowly item that you purposely scan over is pushed to be back left corner behind the two week old cranberry juice? That such item of mine was a mostly-full jar of Kalamata olives. I have been avoiding them for a good three weeks. There is no really good explanation for it either. I actually really like Kalamata olives.

Somehow they have forced a deep groan out of me ever time I see them. I even think about them on my walk to work sometimes. I think up all these great ideas of what to do with them: slice them on top of pizza, sprinkle into an omelet, or finally today, make tapenade. What a simple solution to an unnecessarily nagging problem. Puree them with parsley, capers, garlic, balsamic vinegar and you have yourself lunch for a few days. So if you too have that jar of olives longingly scooting itself closer to the front of your refrigerator, pull it out and  puree it with other said ingredients for an ridiculously easy spread.


Simple Black Olive Tapenade
Makes about 1 cup

This spread is so easy and you likely have most ingredients on hand. Simply puree. Serve with crackers, as a sandwich spread, or an omelet filling.

1 cup Kalamata (or any variety of black) olives
1 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons drained capers
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Drop all ingredients into a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. You may need to occasionally scrape the sides and puree again to ensure a uniform texture.

With daylight saving today, it was a luxury to come home after a trip to Ikea, and be able to shoot pictures outside at 7pm. It makes a world of a difference to take food outside and use natural light.

Fresh Basil and Mushroom Salad

I was power-walking home today, and as I carefully ran across the street, my polka dot umbrella blew itself inside-out. That is quite a tricky situation to maneuver in the midst of crossing a busy street in the rain, while carrying a heavy purse and wearing mittens. Today is one of those Seattle days where the cloud cover is so thick, that it is hard to image the sun is actually shining in other parts of the world. I just want to get indoors as quickly as possible and drink a warm mug of something and put on my slippers. I tend to drink more coffee on days like today, which would explain the other million people doing the same thing. You just crave the warmth of the mug in your hand and the community-based urge to get out of the cold and into the roasted bean-scented havens.

Enough about coffee. I could go on forever. I actually have a true sadness for people who don't drink coffee. I am sure some people feel the same way towards me and my seafood repulsion. But still...

...Back to the blown-out umbrella. I was walking home thinking about my Food Group dinner party happening tomorrow night. It has been months piled on months since we have gotten together and I am so looking forward to seeing everyone. I have a packed schedule up until the party starts, so I took advantage of a two hour window of time tonight to go to the grocery, get ingredients and wine, and prepare my dish. I am still on my mushroom honeymoon. I have been craving garbanzo beans and Great Northern beans the last few days as a result of talking with my vegetarian brother the other night. Last night I made a teriyaki stir fry with garbanzos. So tonight I chose white beans to boost the protein levels of the materializing mushroom salad. A little basil, a little lemon juice, and a few other ingredients and we have ourselves a salad. Now all I have to do is grab my container and hop in my car tomorrow. I will wear a hood.

Fresh Basil and Mushroom Salad
Makes about 6 cups


Definitely (and carefully) use a mandoline to cut the mushrooms if you have one. If not, thinly slicing with a sharp knife will be just fine too. The fresh basil gives the mushrooms and beans a nice refreshing hint. Serve alongside a fried egg or chicken sausage. Or bring to a potluck. It will surely fit in with everyone.


20 fresh basil leaves, cut into thin ribbons
1 garlic clove, minced
2 lemons, juiced
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 can Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
10 crimini mushrooms, very thinly sliced

Whisk the basil, garlic, lemon juice, mustard, salt, and pepper together in a bowl. Slowly drizzle olive oil into the mixture while simultaneously whisking. This will form an emulsion. Toss the dressing in with the beans and mushrooms.

Cauliflower with Spicy Peanut Sauce

As you may have noticed through the less frequent posting schedule, I have been super busy lately. So busy that by the time I get home at night, I usually cook a quick 'repeat' dinner. I was thinking on the bus ride home tonight how I haven't made a new recipe in weeks. My normal is to come home and make some sort of roasted vegetable and protein for dinner. I usually make enough to bring with me to work the next day. But all in all, I make very similar dinners every night and therefore my blog has suffered.

So this post is in honor of my fall back sauce. After continuous nights of roasted vegetables with olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, I remember 'Alli's Peanut Sauce'.  This is an ever-evolving sauce made primarily from the condiments in my refrigerator door. It is a tad different every time I make it, so this post is representing tonight's menu.

Sometimes I use real ginger, and sometimes ground. Sometimes I use sesame seeds, and sometimes I skip them. Sometimes I use vinegar, and sometimes I forget vinegar. Sometimes I rhyme slow, sometimes I quick.


My take home message is this: experiment with your ingredients. Add more or less of certain parts. If you want extra heat, add some Sriracha. Use lemon juice or vinegar for some tang. Pour in extra soy sauce for a saltier flavor. This is a very forgiving sauce, so let it be an open canvas.

Cauliflower with Spicy Peanut Sauce
Makes 2 servings

This dish is a nice complement to a protein, such as a fried egg or baked chicken. Add brown rice to the plate if you want another hearty dimension. Please experiment with all the different flavors going on too.

1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/8th teaspoon ground ginger
Red pepper flakes to taste
1/8th onion, diced
1 tsp olive oil
2 cups cauliflower, chopped

Combine garlic, peanut butter, chili sauce, soy sauce, water, hoisin sauce, Dijon mustard, ground ginger, and red pepper flakes in a small microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 20 seconds so all the ingredients heat through. Remove from microwave and whisk into a smooth sauce. Set aside.

Heat a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Pour in olive oil and heat for a few minutes. Add onions and saute until translucent, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the cauliflower and add a little bit of water. Cover pan and cook until cauliflower is almost falling apart, about 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and pour in sauce. Stir the cauliflower until fully coated. Serve immediately.