Vegetable Fried Rice

Is anyone else experiencing a cooking low right now? I’m feeling uninspired and I blame it on the current season. Just weeks ago I was still giddy over garden goodness and content with fresh salads, light vinaigrettes combined with the occasional grilling.

The grilling is still interesting, and for that matter I could bake and bake, but I am stumped for main courses to cook. Nothing sounds good at all.

While part of me is saying – it’s still summer, enjoy fresh and light meals, another tiny voice which grows by the day is saying – fall is right around the corner. I think about pumpkin, casseroles, stews and dumplings, and then I realize it is still much too hot for all that heavy food. As a result, I got nothing.

How will I combat this problem? Well, I’ve decided that I will devote much of the month of August to making other people’s recipes. I’ve been pulling out the cookbooks and revisiting all the great food blogger recipes I have bookmarked.

Otherwise I’m going to try to combine the two seasons – light and summery with filling and comforting. That is how I decided on Vegetable Fried Rice.

My mom made the best fried rice when I was growing up. I’ve made it myself before, but after enjoying it last week I have no idea why I don’t make it more often.

I used a variety of vegetables from our garden and tossed in some shiitake mushrooms. (Those came from Indiana.) The eggs are from friend nearby who has her own chickens and runs a small sustainable homestead at Wonder of Life Farm.

The rice is white. Why? Well, because I love white rice. I eat plenty of whole grains on a regular basis so I have no issues with including white rice from time to time. Brown rice has its place, and feel free to substitute it here, but when traveling all around Southeast Asia I rarely saw it eaten. White rice is more traditional to me so that is what I stick with.

This dish didn’t pull me out of my cooking blahs completely, but I think it was a good start. Now I’m off to check out some more cookbooks, two of which I hope to review for you next week.

Vegetable Fried Rice

1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small candy onion, diced
½ cup shiitake mushrooms, chopped
1 small zucchini, diced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
½ orange bell pepper, chopped
2 Anaheim peppers, sliced
3 cups cold, day old rice
2 eggs
3 tbsp tamari

In a large, deep skillet heat the oil and add the garlic and onion. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and zucchini and cook about 2 minutes more. Finally add the peppers and continue to cook until all vegetables are tender.

Add the rice and stir to incorporate, heating the it through. Push all of the ingredients to one side of the pan and add the two eggs to the empty side of the skillet.

Break the yolks with your spatula and allow the eggs to cook for 30 to 60 seconds. Once they are almost cooked through, stir them into the rest of the rice, distributing the egg evenly.

Stir in the tamari and you are ready to serve. Add salt and pepper to taste if you desire. I find the tamari is enough for me. Serves about 4.