Tasty Tuesday - Stir Fry

We eat stir fry almost on a weekly basis since its quick, easy, and provides a ton of vegetables. Stir fry is also a really good way to get rid of any leftover veggies you might have in the fridge that may be starting to go bad. I will provide my favorite stir fry sauce recipe with some suggestions of what to stick in it. But ANYTHING GOES!

Buckley Stir Fry

1 can chickpeas, drained, rinsed, and patted dry
sesame oil
1/2 onion, sliced
an array of vegetables, many colors (i.e., squash, spinach, bok choy, asparagus, broccoli, zucchini, bell peppers, carrots etc, etc)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
zest and juice of one lime
2 tbspns hoisin sauce
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
1 tbspn grated ginger
a handful of toasted, chopped cashews
you can also add tofu*

Have all your ingredients prepped and within arms reach of the stove. Heat a splash of sesame oil in a large pan, or wok over medium high heat. Add the onions and a pinch of salt and cook until they start to soften. Add the chickpeas. It is important to dry your chickpeas after you rinse them because they will get nice and brown and crusty. Cook chickpeas, stirring occasionally until they start to brown and crust. Throw in all your vegetables, ginger, and garlic. Cook for just a minute or two, until the veggies are bright colors. Do not overcook! Then add the red pepper, cashews, lime zest, lime juice, and hoisin sauce. Cook for 20 or 30 more seconds stirring constantly.

This should yield a giant pan full of bright crisp hot vegetables.

*If you add tofu, you are going to want to use firm tofu, pressed, and add it to the pan first. When it starts to brown (see caramelized tofu recipe on how to cook firm tofu) then add the onions and chickpeas.

Nutrition: Chickpeas are an excellent source of folate, which we all know how important that is. Along with the cashews, they also supply the protein. The rest of the nutrition depends upon what vegetables you use, but trust you will be getting a nice array of all vitamins and minerals!

For my meat eating friends - I'm sure this would be good with chicken too, if you cook the chicken first in the pan and then follow the rest of the recipe.