Simple Stir-Fry

The Chef: Joseph

The Menu: A mostly Asian-food-inspired lunch, with one notable Irish twist. Joseph cooked up a savory blend of curried amaranth and red quinoa, over which he served a very deliciously garlicky stir-fry of snap peas, broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, water chestnuts, and tofu. It's always a treat to get vegetable gyoza, and today's dumplings had a lovely gingery bite. Finally, our plates were completed with some very colorful mashed potatoes.

The Goods: Huzzah! Mark your calendars! Today was officially the first day of 2009 that found us dining al fresco. The added sunshine certainly boosted our spirits—we hear that's one of the side effects of absorping vitamin D. Since we're in such good moods, a little treat seems in order. A number of you guys have commented that you'd like to see recipes on this here blog, and while the brutal truth is that we very rarely use recipes to create our lunches, we also don't want to leave you hanging. So, please enjoy our Simple Evening Pasta recipe, which makes such a lovely meal that it graces the cover of our current issue!