Yellow Squash And Onion Stir-Fry

As you may know, Bruce and I are in the thick middle of writing a book named after this very blog, a step-by-step plan to get off processed food. It's a slow plan that asks rather quietly for some dramatic changes. Nothing crazy like "throw out the sugar" or "no more fat" in the first week, but a plan that gently accomplishes more profound things in smaller ways.

I wanted to post a sneak peak at the recipes. Actually, this online version of the summery stir-fry has been tweaked from what's in the book--a little more complicated here, a little more "foodie." But it's certainly in the spirit of the book--even with the Chinese condiments in tow.

I'm a great fan of steamed yellow crookneck squash and sliced onions, a very down-home dish. My mom would make it in the summers and I've always had a hankering for it when the weather heats up. Bruce and I talked about it as a possible recipe for the new book, but it seemed too old-fashioned and a bit too simple. So he gussied it up. By way of China. To make it a vegetarian lunch I've had several times in the last few weeks.

Here goes:

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Mapo Dofou

One man's comfort is another man's. . . .

Not sure. Anyway, I am sure that this dish is one of mine--even if the name means something like "pockmarked grandmother's tofu." Doesn't sound very promising, eh? My grandmother steered clear of smallpox. And Baptists. But that's another story.

Anyway, I'm crazed about Mapo Dofou. It's one of those go-to meals around here. Because of the wedding.

Mine, to be exact. Bruce and I were officially married this past weekend. Nothing big: just the two of us, a rabbi, her partner, and some homemade gravlax with cream cheese on rye toast for brunch. You see, I've now been married four times. Three of them to the same person: Bruce. What am I, Elizabeth Taylor? First, a commitment ceremony in Maine in 1999, then a legal civil union in Connecticut in 2007, and now this legal, full-blower marriage. Whew. Bring on the diamonds--and the comfort food.

Like this:

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Moo Shu Vegetables

The longer I've been in the food-writing business, the more I'm convinced that we professionals have got it backwards. The veggies shouldn't be the side dish, the afterthought on the plate's edge. They should be the center.

No, I'm not going back to being a vegetarian. (Some day, I'll tell you about my fall from grace with a steak off the grill.) As Bart Simpson says, "I love the taste of death." But there's no gainsaying that veggies deserve a much bigger place at our tables. We need to eat lots of vegetarian meals, not only for our hearts' sakes, but also for the planet's.

Problem is, in America we tend to think of vegetarian meals as a bunch of steamed, mushy broccoli on a plain plate. Simply put, "Gack."

So here's a meal that's flavorful and healthy--and vegan, to boot. Bruce even left out the egg, sometimes traditional in Moo Shu preparations. He also cut down the oil to make sure the dish wasn't some calorie-fest. We ate it straight (as it were), no rice necessary--but I can see how a little sticky rice or even medium-grained brown rice would be quite the thing.

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