Spring Vegetable Stir-Fry

Three weeks until the Pilsen apartment. I have the furniture situation mostly handled: a bed frame from Facebook Marketplace for forty dollars, a mattress from a warehouse sale that I have rented a Zipcar to pick up next weekend, a kitchen table and two chairs from the Goodwill on Pulaski. The table has a small burn mark on one side that I will put against the wall. The chairs do not match each other but they are both sturdy. I have a lamp. I have the cast iron. I have everything important.

Met with the school social worker via phone this week — getting to know the team before August. Her name is Ms. Okafor and she has been at the school for six years and she has strong opinions about family engagement that align exactly with mine. She said "The parents of our kids have been burned by systems before. Trust has to be earned differently." I said: I know. She said "How do you know?" I told her about Ms. Reyes and about the families I met during student teaching. There was a pause and she said "Okay. Good."

Made spring vegetable stir-fry this week — asparagus, snap peas, bell pepper, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, over rice. The asparagus was on sale at Jewel, a dollar forty-nine a bunch. Total cost under three dollars for two servings. Fast, green, exactly what April tastes like.

Blog post this week: "Five Meals I Made When I Was Barely Holding It Together." The Nar-Anon lentil soup. The butter pasta. The shakshuka. The roasted chicken. The egg salad sandwich. I wrote about what each one meant — not just the recipe, but the context. Why these specific things were the right food at the right time. It got two thousand shares in the first day. Something about naming the specific food of specific hard times resonates with people. I think everyone has their own list. I just published mine.

Between the apartment logistics and that first phone call with Ms. Okafor, I needed a meal that was fast and uncomplicated — something that didn’t ask anything of me except ten minutes at the stove. The asparagus at Jewel was a dollar forty-nine a bunch, and that was all the invitation I needed. This stir-fry is what April tastes like when you’re building something new: bright, green, a little sharp from the ginger, and exactly enough.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 8 minutes | Total Time: 18 minutes | Servings: 2

Ingredients

1 bunch asparagus (about 1/2 pound), trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 cup sugar snap peas, strings removed
1 bell pepper, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon neutral oil (vegetable or canola)
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
1 teaspoon sesame seeds, for garnish
2 cups cooked white rice, for serving

Instructions

Prep the vegetables. Trim the asparagus and cut into 2-inch pieces. Remove strings from snap peas. Thinly slice the bell pepper. Mince the garlic and ginger.
Heat the pan. Heat the neutral oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat until shimmering.
Cook the aromatics. Add the garlic and ginger and stir constantly for 30 seconds until fragrant.
Stir-fry the vegetables. Add the asparagus and cook for 2 minutes, then add the snap peas and bell pepper. Stir-fry for 3 to 4 minutes until the vegetables are crisp-tender and bright green.
Add the sauce. Pour in the soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice vinegar. Toss everything together for 30 seconds until evenly coated. Add red pepper flakes if using.
Serve. Spoon over cooked rice and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Nutrition (per serving)

Spring Vegetable Stir-Fry — The Taste of Starting Over in April