Stir-Fried Veggies x2

This weekend I found myself with a produce overload, the result of some impulse buying of beautiful fruits and veggies.  What can I say?  It's spring in Southern California.  So, given the goal of efficiently and tastily using as much produce as possible, as well as an interest in getting to know my cookbooks better, I hit the index of Vegan Planet.  Now, Vegan Planet is still my absolute favorite cookbook, but the recipes I chose this weekend were a bit unenlightening--a fact I would have noted, were I just browsing rather than trying to find the most useful recipes.  These are dishes I might have thrown together without a recipe, and were I not following a recipe, I might have been more inclined to tweak them as I went along.  Nevertheless, these recipes were good, and they were tweaked.  The first dish originally called for other greens and no zucchini, and it was to be served in the hollowed out shells of the eggplants.  The second dish called for tofu, pea pods, more traditional noodles, and fewer vegetables overall.  

 

Stir-Fried Greens, Eggplant, and Zucchini

(adapted from Vegan Planet's "Stir-Fried Watercress in Japanese Eggplants")

Ingredients

1 TB canola oil

1/2 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Japanese eggplants, halved lengthwise and sliced

2 zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced

 1 large bunch dandelion greens, cleaned and chopped

1 unit (head?) bok choy, cleaned and chopped

1-2 TB tamari

red pepper flakes

toasted sesame oil

sesame seeds, toasted

Instructions

Heat oil in large frying pan.  Add onion, garlic, eggplant, and zucchini; saute until veggies start to brown.  Add greens and tamari and cook until greens are wilted.  Turn off heat and add red pepper, sesame oil, and sesame seeds.  Serve over rice.  Serves 4.

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Quasi Lo Mein with Cabbage and Ginger

(adapted from Vegan Planet's "Tofu and Vegetable Lo Mein")

Ingredients

6 oz long noodles (linguine, lo mein noodles, etc.--I used whole wheat spaghetti)

2 tsp toasted sesame oil

1TB canola oil

1/2 onion, chopped

2.5 c cabbage, shredded

2 carrots, diced

1 bell pepper, seeded and diced

1.5 c green peas, thawed (if frozen)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced

2 TB tamari

Instructions

1. Cook noodles, drain, coat with sesame oil, and set aside.

2. Heat canola oil in frying pan or wok.  Add onions and cabbage and cook 1 minute.  Add remaining vegetables and continue cooking; add tamari and continue cooking until veggies are tender but still firm.  Turn off heat and mix with noodles.  Serves at least 4.