Broccoli-Cashew Stir Fry

I'm never ordering Chinese Food again after making this dish! When I've ordered it in the past and have been reassured that the dish doesn't contain MSG, I'm still skeptical since MSG is present in so many more forms than just Monosodium Glutamate. I always order some type of vegetable dish and this is the perfect, natural substitute. You might wonder why I order Chinese Food at all since that's probably one of the biggest MSG offenders.  Well, I'm only human and I like Chinese food, so I occasionally take my chances (and usually regret it, although I always ask for no MSG!). Not anymore! This is my go-to dish from now on.   Since I'm always stocked up on brown rice and an assortment of fresh veggies, this dish is really easy to make in a snap!

Adapted from Taste of Home:

Broccoli-Cashew Stir Fry

(yields 4 servings)

Ingredients

4 cups cooked brown rice

2 tbsp water

2 cups broccoli crowns (stems removed)

1 small red pepper, chopped

1 small yellow onion, chopped

2 large carrots, shredded

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp cornstarch

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

3 tbsp soy sauce (homemade)

1/4 tsp ground ginger

3/4 cup cashews

Directions:

Prepare rice according to directions.

While rice cooks, in a large stock pot saute broccoli, peppers, onions, carrots and garlic in water over medium heat until tender (around 5-7 minutes)

While vegetables are sauteing, combine cornstarch, vegetable broth, soy sauce and ginger in a bowl.  Stir until blended.   Gradually stir mixture into stock pot.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened (around 2 minutes).

Reduce heat to low, add cashews and stir to combine.  Cook until heated through. Serve with rice.

Chinese Fried Rice w/Homemade Soy Sauce

When I moved out on my own and into my first apartment in my early 20's, I wasn't much of a cook.  I relied heavily on pre-packaged foods and I ate out a lot.  I remember calling my grandma one day to ask her how she made egg salad.   Yup, I really had no clue.  Maybe I knew that the eggs went in boiling water, but I certainly didn't know for how long, or what to do after that!

Then there was my very first cookbook that my sister got me called "Help! My Apartment Has a Kitchen".  This is a great starter cookbook and was just what I needed at the time. My how far I've come!  I recently went through my cookbook collection and came across the poor thing hidden in the back behind all of my newer, vegan cookbooks with their long and fancy recipes.  There's a time for those types of recipes, and then there's a time for simple ones.  That is just what this cookbook offers, simple recipes that are easy to follow.  I remembered a really good recipe I used to make from it for Chinese Fried Rice and thought I'd pull the book out of its dark corner and adapt that recipe today!

Chinese Fried Rice

Ingredients

1 tsp water

2 cups cooked *brown rice

1 medium onion, finely chopped

3 small carrots, finely chopped

3/4 cup frozen peas

2 tbsp *soy sauce 

Dash of pepper to taste

*You want to use leftover cooked brown rice in this recipe.  If you use brown rice that was just made, the recipe will come out stickier and not taste as good.
*I used homemade soy sauce (recipe to follow). 


Directions:
Chop onions and carrots either by hand or in food processor.  Place large frying pan over medium heat.  Add 1 tsp water.  Saute onions and carrots in water for about 5 minutes, or until the veggies are soft and the onions are translucent.  Add rice, peas, soy sauce and pepper.  Stir continuously for about 5 minutes, or until the rice is hot.  
If you'd like to make this recipe with eggs, simply scramble one egg first, shred it up and set it aside.  Add scrambled egg at the very end and distribute throughout mixture.


The Soy Sauce recipe is from Savory Seasonings:

Soy Sauce
(makes 1/3 cup)

Ingredients

1/4 cup water

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

2 tsp molasses

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp ground ginger

black pepper to taste

Directions:
In a saucepan, over medium heat, stir together all ingredients.  Boil gently until liquid is slightly reduced.


I'm not a huge soy sauce fan and don't normally use it, but it's really what gives the rice its flavor for this recipe.  I wanted to make my own because I don't like the additives in most bottled versions.


The fried rice recipe is very easy to make and the possibilities are limitless.  You can pretty much add whatever you want to the rice, as long as you stick with the basics.

Who needs take-out? :-)

Moo Shu Stir Fry Wrap (and a plug for Garden of Eatin'!)

I adapted this recipe from a cookbook called "Pure and Simple: Delicious Whole Natural Foods Cookbook: Vegan, MSG Free and Gluten Free" by Tami A. Benton. This was the first recipe I tried since getting this cookbook about a week ago. Although I was a bit nervous at just how pure and simple this recipe really seemed, it did not disappoint (more on that to follow)!
  

Moo Shu Stir Fry Wrap

Ingredients

2 tsp Peanut Oil 

1 tbsp ginger root, grated

2 garlic cloves, minced

5 cups cabbage, thinly sliced

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 cup sweet onions, thinly sliced

2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 tbsp water

salt & pepper to taste

Tortilla wraps 

Directions:
Saute ginger & garlic in peanut oil for about a minute.  Add cabbage and red pepper and saute for 2 more minutes.  Add onions, lemon juice, water, salt and pepper.   Serve ingredients over tortillas and top with salsa.

I was very pleased with how this recipe turned out!  It was really tasty.  It tasted just like an egg-roll with Mexican flare!  It may sound like an odd combination, but the flavors go really well together!  Who knew?

I paired this recipe with chips and salsa.  I use Garden of Eatin' Organic Yellow Tortilla Chips and Trader Joe's Organic Tomatillo & Roasted Yellow Chili Salsa.   Click on the names for ingredient information.

Ideally, I like to make my own salsa and avoid anything with citric acid, which has the potential to contain free glutamic acid when derived from non-organic corn, but I'm assuming in the salsa the citric acid is naturally derived from the tomatoes.   Any thoughts?  When I don't have any made or am pressed for time, overall I'm satisfied with the ingredients in Trader Joe's salsa.    

As for the chips, I really, really like Garden of Eatin'.  I can't recommend enough that you support them with your wallet. Not only do their products contain natural ingredients, but they're also one of the few companies I've come across that actually list on their products that the product is "Non-GMO", or "not genetically modified".  Since the FDA has yet to agree to force companies who use genetically modified ingredients to reveal such on their labels, Garden of Eatin' is being proactive by letting us know that they do not.  They don't have to do that, they just want to!  They make it easier for us consumers to make more informed decisions about what exactly we're putting into our bodies.  Their corn chips are made out of organic corn and therefore, free from genetic modification.  They only contain three ingredients and they're very crisp, flavorful and not too salty.   While I'm not familiar with all of their products, I have been pleased with the ones I have tried thus far.


If you'd like to join me in telling the FDA to "label our food!" please click here to sign the petition that calls upon the FDA to label genetically modified food.