A Story More than a Recipe: Cooking with Arran

May 10, 2011

By Jo Cooper

My son Arran came up with an incredible recipe (or the start of a really, really good one) last night. He said he felt like cooking something sort of Asian, but didn’t really have in mind what he wanted to do, exactly. So I asked, what about a stir fry?

We walked around Whole Foods. He grabbed some ginger and shitake mushrooms, and several bright red peppers…I picked up a beautiful little head of savoy cabbage and some organic broccoli rabe… Some scallions were added to the cart. Several aisles down he chose forbidden rice, the dark, lustrous rice that cooks quickly (we were hungry, and getting more so by the minute). One final addition to the cart: flax tempeh, which Arran looked askance at, but assured me that if I wanted it included, it should be done. I wanted!

Once home, the chopping began and Arran began stir frying in coconut oil, adding the veggies, some powdery coconut flakes, garlic, turmeric, sea salt, tamari… and in the end presented a colorful stir fry on a bed of forbidden rice with a fried egg on top! The flavors were deep and rich– and warm, like comfort food. Just right for a spring evening on the chilly side.

Sorry I don’t have a shot of the presentation Arran made, but of the leftovers I had for lunch, with baby arugula and grape tomatoes. Eaten room temp, they made a perfect meal.

Thank you, Arran!