savory sunday // asian stir fry

Today I'm gonna show you how I make the most amazing vegetable stir fry. First off, feel free to add in chicken or shrimp -- both are great. But with as many veggies as I got this time around (they're all so fresh and ripe and beautiful right now!) I didn't think I needed any more ingredients.This recipe is super easy and fast, but you need a helper (kid? man? wife? partner?) who chops the veggies with you. Unless you love chopping veggies, then knock yourself out. I like to split the work. I guess what I'm trying to say, is this is a great "date night but we're staying in" dinner.First, what you'll need. Let's be clear that all of this is changeable, but this is how *I* like it. If you hate almonds? Use cashews (delish!) or peanuts. Hate broccoli? Leave it out. You get the idea. OK, so here's my list:• four carrots, peeled and chopped• a very small head of broccoli broken into florets (sometimes I just buy them from the salad bar because I'm lazy)• one medium red onion, sliced• a handful of snow peas, cleaned (or snap peas or regular peas or green beans)• one yellow squash, sliced• a nub of ginger, minced (see mine up there? I used 3/4 of it)• one red pepper, sliced• one large handful of basil, minced• one large handful of cilantro, minced• roughly 1/3 box of linguini• roughly 1/2 bottle of San J thai peanut sauce (YUM)• 1 cup nuts (I like almonds or cashews)Start by boiling the water. While you wait for it to heat up, better get chopping. We have a lot of cleaning/slicing/dicing to do.Once your water is boiling, throw in the linguini. You want to cook it al dente (a touch under-cooked) so that it doesn't get mushy when you reheat it later with all the veggies.Oh, how I love mincing ginger. Nothing smells better in this world. OK. Maybe butter and onions cooking together. But man, I love me some ginger.I start out with a few tablespoons of olive oil and cooking the onions and ginger on medium heat first. I want to make sure the onions are nice and soft by the time we finish.Once the onions are just beginning to soften, I throw in the next "longer cooking" veggies -- the broccoli, carrots and red pepper. Hey! You might want to check on that pasta. Once it's cooked, drain it and run under cold water.After 5 minutes of those cooking, add in the snow peas, squash and other faster-cooking veggies along with your almonds (or cashews or whatever). When this stuff is almost done cooking, toss in the rest of your fresh herbs.Ok, now things are bright, colorful and smelling divine. At this point add in the cold pasta and about half the bottle of peanut sauce. Mmmmm.....I just take this time to stir it all together and let the flavors meld a bit on low heat before serving it up in bowls. How yummy does that look!?This recipe makes 8 servings at 259 a serving.And for your internet share of the day, how about these recipes for ice cream sandwiches?! YES, PLEASE!