Meal No. 346: Stir Fry Cashew Beef with Peppers

I mentioned in a recent post that I had been to look at a house on Summit Street that I have long coveted. It's one of those ginormous monstrosities that'd be ridiculous to own, overwhelming to fix up, and a nightmare to try to pay for. But it would also have some huge payoffs and would resolve for me some of the things that I'm less happy with about the Roediger House.

But what it wouldn't give me is the kitchen that I now have here.

I love stepping into the kitchen to sit by the fireside and have morning coffee and think ahead to the evening's meal. I read through recipe magazines and cookbooks and research the latest specials at the Harris Teeter and make a shopping list and think about a dessert. Often, that's after a night of expected (or unexpected!) guests that I'm glad to have over, and we will have spent a lot of the evening in--you guessed it--the kitchen. I'll be able to think back on the good memories of that previous evening while I rinse out the bottles for recycling or clear the crumbs from a late-night snack or dessert.

And of course I truly enjoy making meals, pulling things together after some afternoon prep time, reaching for spices and utensils and condiments all close-by and comfortably placed in cabinets and drawers.

Tonight was no exception.

While many of my stir-fry meals go all official with specific Asian condiments and such, and I use a wok and make sure it's lubed with peanut oil, tonight's dinner was a family-friendly quick-prep cashew beef with peppers. Alongside, I had whole steamed green beans. The flavor was right on the money and it all went well with a Great Lakes Eliot Ness and the first episode of the third season of True Blood.

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"Classic Cashew Beef," from Sherri Melotik [WI]. Taste of Home, June & July 2011, p. 43.