a really good meal.

I wanted to share one of our favorite go-to dishes that I've been making a lot of lately. It's sort of a different take on a stir fry, but without a lot of the traditional Asian flavors you would expect. This one is made with lots of lemon juice, garlic, toasted pecans, walnuts, and pine nuts, and whatever veg you prefer. This weekend, I made it with broccoli, fresh shitake mushrooms, and zucchini. Top it with some fresh chopped green onions or minced shallot, and a little swig of sriracha, and you've got yourself a really good meal. I made mine vegetarian, but I also love this dish with shrimp or grilled chicken.

Veggie Rice Bowl with Lemon & Nuts

Serves 4

1 cup short grain brown rice

2 cups water

3 T olive oil, divided

1 large head of broccoli

1 cup shitake mushrooms, roughly chopped

1 cup zucchini squash, cut into large chunks

1 lemon, juiced

2-4 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup each of walnuts, pecan, and pine nuts, toasted

salt + pepper to taste

green onions, diced

dash of sriracha hot sauce (optional)

Cook the rice and the water in a rice cooker or over the stove until nice and tender. 

In a large wok or frying pan, saute the broccoli over medium-high heat until it starts to lightly brown. Add in the shitake mushrooms, zucchini, garlic, half of the lemon juice, and salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, toast all the nuts either in the oven for 7 minutes at 350 degrees, or in a small pan on the stove over medium heat. Once the nuts are nice and toasty, let them cool and then give them a rough chop.

Once the veggies are cooked through, add in the warm rice and turn the heat to low. Squeeze the remaining lemon juice, one T of olive oil, and more salt and pepper to taste. Add in most of the chopped nuts, saving a handful to sprinkle over the top. 

Serve with chopped green onions, more nuts, and a hit of sriracha sauce. 

And now for some cute doggie pictures. 

My second-in-command man, Mater James The Boxer spent the whole weekend with just me while Jason was in Boston visiting a friend. I love this dog. He has such a serious, thoughtful face like he's really trying very hard to understand everything I say because he really just wants to talk, you know? There is a human inside that dog body, I have no doubt about it.