Winter comfort stir fry

This winter is so cold. It gets dark by mid-afternoon, everything’s gotten so expensive, and the news is depressing ... isn’t there anything positive, uplifting? Well, what about a good meal?

Unlike the one referred to in the classic Alka-Seltzer ad, here’s an idea for a tasty, healthy, economical home-cooked meal, suitable for an individual or a dinner party.And a more than ample serving will cost less than a greasy burger and fries at a fast food restaurant!

I try to buy all the ingredients from my favorite food market: meat, vegetables, rice and a special Asian black pepper sauce.

The end result is a stir- fry dish that combines meat, vegetables, and rice, creating a whole greater than the sum of its parts.

Here is a meal with ingredients for eight people.

While this dish could be made with another meat, I prefer beef. Any high-quality steak will do, but I usually use about a pound and a half of filet mignon. It sounds expensive, but it’s delicious, and you can usually use every bit, unlike most cuts.

I slice the filet mignon up into tiny pieces so that every bite of the finished product has some of the beef in it.And with about 3/16 of a pound of beef per serving, one gets more meat than in a commercial hamburger.

In a wok, I brown the cut meat for a minute or so in a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil making sure not to overcook it. Then I set it aside until the vegetables are nearly cooked and then stir it into the mixture.

I like to use a variety of vegetables. I start with two or three good-sized onions which I slice and then further chop up into small bits. I cook them over high heat until they start to brown, then remove them, adding them back to the wok when the vegetables are nearly done.

I try to get the best vegetables I can find, in season if possible.I typically use four or five different vegetables, all cut into small pieces.I try to find a happy medium between tiny, indistinguishable bits and huge hunks. Some reliable favorites are asparagus, string beans, sweet orange and yellow peppers, carrots and red cabbage. I even check my refrigerator for leftovers that might be good in the mix and I always try to have something colorful such as carrots or peppers.

Some folks like the stir fry vegetables al dente, some prefer more fully cooked; but it usually works best if all are cooked about the same amount. I cook the vegetables fast over high heat but stand over them to avoid overcooking and take frequent test bites. It’s better to undercook rather than overcook, especially if some of it is to be reheated and eaten the next day.

Rice inevitably makes the dish tastier and a more balanced meal. Most any high quality variety will do, but I prefer — when I can find it — wild rice for its greater flavor. And although some might find it decadent, I add a moderate amount of butter. The rice, of course, is cooked separately according to manufacturer’s directions and added to the overall mix only when served.

A final ingredient which helps bind the whole dish together and is tasty is a small amount of a specially prepared Asian black pepper sauce. It can be applied in small doses to individual portions and should be stirred in well.

I cook everything but the rice in a standard wok with a top that speeds and evens out the cooking, but a good size fry pan will do fine. The final stir fry tastes best served hot.

One more thing. How about a compatible dessert? Try homemade applesauce. Cut up several apples, discarding the cores but keeping the skins. Cook the pieces until soft and squeeze through a food mill made for the purpose and voilà, fresh apple sauce.

Enjoy!

Architect and landscape designer Mac Gordon lives in Lakeville

Latest News

Geer Village announces ‘strategic partnership’ with Integritus Healthcare

Geer Village Senior Community in North Canaan announced its partnership with the Mass.-based Integritus Healthcare on Aug. 7. Geer will remain the operator of the facility’s programs and services but joins the umbrella of 19 entities at Integritus Healthcare.

Photo by Debra A. Aleksinas

NORTH CANAAN — For the first time in its more than 95-year history, the nonprofit Geer Village Senior Community will soon operate under a new management contract, although it will remain an independent organization.

A joint announcement of a “strategic partnership” between Geer Village and Integritus Healthcare, a 501 (c) 3 charitable organization and post-acute healthcare industry leader based out of Pittsfield, Mass., was made on Aug. 7.

Keep ReadingShow less
Deputies respond to political dispute at Fountain Square

AMENIA — Dutchess County Sheriff’s Deputies broke up a political dispute between two Amenia residents at Fountain Square in downtown Amenia on Tuesday, July 15.

Kimberly Travis of Amenia was conducting her daily “No Kings” anti-Trump administration protest at Fountain Square at 1:15 p.m. when Jamie Deines, of Amenia and candidate for Town Board in the Nov. 4 election, approached her.

Keep ReadingShow less
East Twin Lake
finds new hope 
as hydrilla fades

Gregory Bugbee, associate scientist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES), where he heads the Office of Aquatic Invasive Species (OAIS), was a guest speaker at the Aug. 2 annual meeting of the Twin Lakes Association.

Debra A. Aleksinas

SALISBURY— A fierce and costly battle to halt the spread of hydrilla in East Twin Lake may have finally paid off.

All but three remaining small patches, one near the shoreline at O’Hara’s Landing Marina and two others in deeper water as boats exit the marina and head out, have been destroyed by this summer’s treatment with the aquatic herbicide fluridone, which began on May 20. None of the remaining plants are thriving.

Keep ReadingShow less
Lisa Mae Keller

LIME ROCK — Lisa Mae Keller of Lime Rock, Connecticut, passed away peacefully at her home on July 26, 2025, following a yearlong battle with cancer. Lisa remained at home between lengthy stays at Smilow Cancer Hospital – Yale New Haven. Throughout Lisa’s ordeal, the family home was a constant hub of love and support, with friends and relatives regularly dropping by. Their presence lifted Lisa’s spirits and helped her stay positive during even the toughest moments. The family remains deeply grateful to the community for their unwavering kindness and encouragement.

Born on June 2, 1958, in Bridgeport to Mae and Robert Schmidle, Lisa graduated from Newtown High School in 1976. Lisa first attended Ithica College to pursue a degree in fine arts concentrating on opera. Drawn to a more robust and challenging curriculum, Lisa transferred to Whittier College, Whittier, California earning a Bachelor of Science degree. It was in 1988 that Lisa met and married Robert (Rob) Keller in Newtown, Connecticut. Together, they embarked on a remarkable journey. The couple started small businesses, developed land in Litchfield County and welcomed in quick succession their sons Baxter and Clayton. The growing family discovered the long-abandoned historic Lime Rock Casino in 1993, while attending a race at Lime Rock Park. The couple found it difficult to commute for work while raising a family and restoring a vintage home. Lisa persuaded her husband that chimney sweeping was a noble profession, leading them to purchase the established business, Sultans of Soot Chimney Sweeps. She later leveraged her role into ownership of the largest U.S. importer of vintage Italian reproduction gun parts. Even as her entrepreneurial ventures expanded, Lisa continued managing the pick, pack, and ship operation for Kirst Konverter, though she sold the remainder of the business prior to her illness. Lisa will be remembered for her business acumen, community service, and being a trained vocalist with the Crescendo Coral Group of Lime Rock. Lisa tended the extensive gardens around the home and curated an art collection that adorns the walls within. Baking cookies was a passion. Countless cookie packages were sent world wide to each son and their military friends while deployed. It is still undetermined in the Keller house whether the Army or Marines leave less crumbs. At Christmas, the Lakeville Post Office staff would post over 80 packages of cookies to lucky recipients, while receiving a tray for their effort. Unable to bake cookies in her last year, Lisa selflessly compiled and self-published “ Pot Luck at The Casino”, a 160 page book of all of her favorite recipes, sent to everyone on her cookie list. It was a true labor of love.

Keep ReadingShow less