Beef and Vegetable Stirfry

There are times when I find myself eating the most random, not-post-worthy foods. Lately, it's been a variety of vegetables with cheese, most likely because that's about all I have in my refrigerator. I even ate popcorn for dinner one night. What can I say, it sounded good! And it was good! My favorite way to make popcorn is to put 1/4 cup of kernels in a brown paper lunch bag, fold the end over a couple times and then microwave using the popcorn setting. Once that's done, I melt some butter in a little dish and pour that over the popcorn, then liberally salt. I absolutely love salt. My theory (unproven by anyone) is that I have low blood pressure and the salt doesn't hurt. Honestly, each time I've had my blood pressure taken, even when very nervous, my blood pressure is on the very low end of the healthy spectrum. I'm not complaining.

Tonight I figured it was time to make something that can actually be called a meal and not randomness-on-a-plate. Trader Joe's recently opened a store in Portland. While I find their pre-packaged produce and too many aisles of prepared foods a little off putting, there are some things I enjoy there. For example, cheap wine, good cheeses, and those cheddar cheese puffs (I try not to buy those too often). I felt that I was getting in a rut at my regular grocery store, so I stopped at Trader instead and actually picked up some of that pre-packaged produce. In all honesty, tonight dinner started with, "I should use that beef I picked up at Tendercrop Farm." Then I spied the tiny zucchini and thought, "If I cut those in half, I bet they would be great in a stirfry." I picked up a red onion, decided to use some of the random vegetables in my fridge, and then grabbed a bottle of wine. (Hey, I was already there...)


Beef and Vegetable Stirfry 
2 tbsp oil
1 lb cubed beef, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
1/2 tsp sichuan peppercorns
1 tbsp oil
1 red onion, peeled and cut into wedges
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced thick
1 tbsp oil
6 tiny zucchini, trimmed and cut in half (not lengthwise)
1 summer squash, trimmed and sliced thick
1 1/2 c sugar snap peas
1 c tiny baby carrots
4 tbsp Chinese bean paste (the kind that is salty and sweet)
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp raw sugar

Place 2 tbsp oil in a heavy frying pan and place over medium-high to high heat (you'll want the pan to stay very hot, but not so hot that it burns things).
When oil is hot, add beef and stir until cooked through, adding the sichuan peppercorns a couple minutes before it's done.
Place beef in a large bowl.
Add 1 tbsp oil to pan.
When oil is hot (only a couple seconds if your pan is hot enough), add onion and bell pepper and stir until cooked, but still crispy.
Put onion and bell pepper in bowl with beef.
Add 1 tbsp oil to pan.
When oil is hot, add zucchini, summer squash, peas, and carrots and stir until cooked, but still crispy.
Mix the bean paste, rice vinegar, salt and sugar in a small bowl and pour over vegetables.
Add beef, onion, and bell pepper back to the pan and stir to coat.
Remove from heat and place in a large serving bowl and serve.