15, Jul 2007
Stir-fried Shiitakes, Carrots, and Celery

I was making grilled chicken and salad for dinner and wanted a good flavorful vegetable side. This one was simple and came out pretty good. I’d just finished drying the jalapeno guts left over from my stuffed peppers, so I used those along with black pepper, cumin, and fennel.



Ingredients
5-6 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
1 celery stalk, sliced
black peppercorns, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, dried jalapeno pepper seeds (or cayenne powder)
olive oil, red wine vinegar, soy sauce

Directions
grind the spices and seeds. heat some oil in a pan on medium-high. add the shiitakes, sprinkle with the spice mix, and stir-fry for a couple of minutes. if the pan dries out too much, add a splash of vinegar or soy to keep it from burning. add the carrots and celery. keep cooking, adding spices or a little of the vinegar or soy to keep it just from burning — don’t add so much it gets soggy. cook until the mushrooms are soft but the carrots and celery are still a bit crisp (or however you like it).
Verdict
perfect! a nice little side dish. actually, it kind of ended up as an appetizer, since the chicken was taking too long. but that was good too.