Beef Stir Fry Over Rice and Blackberry Rocket Salad

As an experiment I tried out cooking at the office today. Amazing stove, very little counter space. The lack of counter space is perplexing to me because there could be plenty if things were put away into drawers, like the tea collection on the counter could become a tea drawer. Perhaps I will take the initiative to make that kitchen more usable through reorganizing and labeling with a label maker.

Onto the food, stir fry is an amazingly versatile dish that is fun to play around with. Have vegans, cut out the meat and add extra firm tofu, have someone who loves mushrooms, pop those suckers right on in, want chicken, no problem, rice noodles make your taste buds sing, in they go. The secret is to cook over high heat with an oil with a high smoking point (I used sesame oil because I wanted an extra bit of chinese flavor, but olive oil would also work) and to constantly stir. What this means is that you prepare everything ahead of time and when the stove is on, just toss everything together and stir it so nothing burns. If serving for only a few people, a wok is a wonderful thing because it keeps the oil at the bottom and allows for very quick cooking without drowning the food in the oil. There are industrial sized woks, but I happen not to have one, so I just used a large pot and made extra sure to stir like I meant it.

Beef Stir Fry Over Rice
Serves 12

Ingredients:
2 Tbs sesame oil
2 Tbs minced ginger
1 clove garlic minced
1.5 lbs beef cut into strips (I found "stir fry beef" but try to stick to thin cut loin if your store doesn't have this)
2 cans water chestnuts, drained
2 cans bamboo shoots, drained
2 cans baby corn, drained
4 handfuls snap peas
3 baby bok choy, chopped
2 yellow bell peppers, seeded and chopped
2 green bell peppers, seeded and chopped
1/3 cups stir fry sauce
1 package of chopped extra firm tofu

Preparation:
1. In a large pot or giant wok, heat oil over high heat. Add ginger and garlic, cook until fragrant.
2. Add rest of ingredients, stirring constantly until the meat is cooked all the way through.
3. Serve warm over rice.


Blackberry Rocket Salad
Serves 12

Ingredients:
2 boxes of rocket
2 packages of blackberries
1 cup sliced almonds
rose vinaigrette to taste

Preparation:
1. Dress the rocket with the vinaigrette so that the leaves are coated, but you salad isn't drowning in dressing.
2. Layer on top berries and nuts.