Traditional Look, Spectacular Taste

It's almost the holiday season.  And I have two weeks of school left.  And I have one week of insaneness until final exams.  That about sums up my life to the T.  I had to write three essays and take two tests on Thursday, and that was quite a pain.  Yesterday, when I was chopping an onion for dinner, my hand started to sieze up because of all the furious writing I had been doing.  I feel like I am so tired - I have almost fell asleep standing up, which is rather pathetic.  I honestly wonder how people pull off all-nighters, because I think 10.30 is my cuttoff point.  But then again, I'm just unusual in that respect.  School is the reason that this blog is getting neglected, and it's getting quite depressing.   I would much rather read and write about food that Louis IXV.  Cooking is much more exciting.

Especially when I stumble across a gem of a stir fry like this one.  It's fantabulous.  Absolutely one of the best stir frys that I have ever made.  No clue why, either, which kind of stinks, but I ended up hogging most of it for myself, and would not let M eat the leftovers, because it was just THAT good.  This is actually pne stir fry I might make again, because I rarely repeat a stir fry.  It will hold a special place in my heart, that is for sure.   It has just the right combination of sauce ingredients and veggies, and is quite warming and will perk up any day.  I wouldn't mind having some right now, and it's seven in the morning.

I say it looks traditional because it really does.  That's the first thing that popped in my head when the plate came in front of my nose at dinner.  I guess that's because it has all these old-school stir fry veggies, and the "beef" only helps that image.  But really, I think that it does not really matter what it looks like, and the taste blowed me out of the water. 

Traditional-Looking Vegetarian Mutton Stir Fry

Serves 4-6

Adapted from The Book of Yum

4 carrots, coined
1 tbsp grated ginger
5 cloves garlic, pressed
1 lb crimini mushrooms, sliced

3 cups broccoli florets

2-3 cups green cabbage, shredded
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 cup-ish edammame
2 large baby bok choy
12 oz fingerling potatoes, cut in half and boiled for 9 minutes, until tender
1 lb. vegetarian mutton, defrosted and cut into bite-sized pieces
Sauce:
3 tbsp agave nectar or honey
2 tbsp chili garlic sauce
¼ cup hoisin sauce

2 tbsp cornstarch

2 tbsp Better Than Bullion Vegetarian Beef Bullion
¼ cup soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

Heat a wok over high heat with a bit of water. Add the carrots, ginger, and garlic, and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté for another minute. Add the broccoli, and then after a minute add the cabbage and green onions. Sauté for a couple more minutes and add the edammame and bok choy. After another minute add the sauce, potatoes, and mutton. When the sauce has thickened and the stir fry is hot, serve over rice.  Add extra salt and pepper, if desired.