Bruschetta and Stir-Fry

Appetizer, Bruschetta: Olive oil coated bread, toasted with tomato, basil, and garlic

Stir-Fry: A conglomerate of vegetables and sirloin mixed with Asian sauces, served over rice

Woah, time to take a deep breath- it has been a long night of cooking. I'll miss some sleep due to this meal but no worries, this is all in the name of nutrition! Just kidding. It's just me looking to stuff my face with more delicious food.

Tonight started out well, with delicious Bruschetta to get me going as I chopped away at the millions of vegetables going into my stir-fry. Using the french bread left over from the french onion soup last time, I coated it with olive oil and baked it with garlic, basil and tomato. Delicious!

Dancing and singing around my small kitchen, I had a lot of fun making the stir-fry. This time I remembered to prep over half the vegetables before applying any heat to the pan. That, combined with the bruschetta and white wine saved me a ton of stress. And into the frying pan went everything!

I got a little creative here, and combined a few recipes. It didn't turn out as I expected, but hey -  I'm learning here. I put in: sirloin tips, an orange and its peel, a bell pepper, snow peas, some white mushrooms, broccoli, julienned hot peppers, bok choy, half a tomato (left over from bruschetta), ginger, and garlic. For sauces, I mixed sesame oil, tamari sauce, hoisin sauce, and some white wine.

It smelled delicious, but eventually needed to be boiled down a bit. All the vegetables released a large amount of water, and I didn't add enough sauce for the enormous 2-skillets worth of food I was making. I enjoyed the result, but I'll do some tinkering with the leftovers. Notes for next time: be cognizant of the flavor of the vegetables I add. Peppers and tomatoes will add sourness to the sauce. Combined with wine and orange juice, this may be too much. If I'm going for a citrus sauce, I'll have to go all-out and reduce fruit juice until it is rich with flavor, and then sweeten or salt it to taste. If I'm going for a savory sauce, skip the flesh of the orange, and keep the peel in. I learned some valuable lessons on water, and flavors today. We live and we learn, but most importantly, I have a full belly. :-)