Stir Fried Beef and Vegetables

Stir fries are great because they are simple, quick and versatile. Choose your protein and veggies (or skip the protein), add a few pantry ingredients, and voila... dinner is served!

My favorite combination for a stir fry is beef with some crunchy green vegetables. My preferred vegetable for this stir fry is broccoli and that is generally how my mom used to make it. However, because my husband doesn't like broccoli, this dish has been modified in our household and is now made with celery, bok choy, green beans, zucchini and just about every other green vegetable that you can think of.

In this recipe, I am using a mixture of celery and baby bok choy. Use whatever vegetable you like and use a quantity suitable for 2 servings.

Chinese Rice Porridge (Congee)

This is the most fragrant and therapeutic dish ever. I grew up with this rice porridge. In a lot of households, when you are sick, your mom makes you chicken noodle soup or hot water with lemon. In our house, it was congee. Whenever I was sick, this plain porridge made with chicken stock and a little green onion was the perfect remedy for a cold.

However, I don't only eat this porridge when I am feeling under the weather. I love to make a big pot of it at home, especially in the winter, to cure those winter blues. I also enjoy eating congee in Chinese noodle houses. So much so, that I struggle whenever I go to a Chinese restaurant as I am faced with the dilemna of ordering noodles or a bowl of this wonderful concoction. 

Panzanella Salad (Italian Bread Salad)

When people think of salads, they often think about them as accompaniments rather than main courses. However, there are a lot of ways to make a salad a hearty and filling meal. For example, you can add protein like meat, fish, nuts, beans or eggs or you could add a starch like rice, potatoes or pasta.

Today, I am making a Panzanella Salad which is essentially an Italian bread salad. The bread adds a heartiness to this salad making it a great side dish or main course. The bread is also toasted, giving nice texture to the salad while soaking up some of the tasty dressing.

I love this salad because it is full of some many amazing flavours. The salty anchovy adds great depth to the dressing, the olives or capers add tanginess and salt, and all the veggies and basil add a freshness that elevate this from just a simple salad with croutons to something spectacular.