Wise Happy Buddha

Saturday is my day. The day I drink coffee on the terrace — alone, bake bread, go to farmer’s market. The day I write, read, take long showers and watch neighbourhood shops get their deliveries early in the morning. That day I cook and share meals. But have you ever wondered who is tasting my food in a first place?
My partner and I share existence for more than five years now. I have friends I shared my life with for more than a decade, and my primary family is my life. Given that we come from the same or very similar background could make you think we love the same things and aspire the same ambitions. But that is not the case. More often than not we are quite different and sometimes we don’t understand each other. And by now you might assume I am not the very first vegan on this planet to be confronted with cultural bias and complete misunderstanding of my personal choices and actions. You know how they say it — “You must eat meat!”
But do we really must anything? What is a must? For me it was this crazy idea to start a vegan diet for a month challenge and prove that going out of the comfort zone is easier than we think. In my previous blog I was writing about discipline and focus. Now I am writing about ethics and inner peace.
THE HAPPIEST PEOPLE ARE GIVERS, NOT TAKERS
Our physical wellbeing and our psychological balance are closely connected. We strive to stay centred by everyday practices that keep us healthy and focused. However, sometimes, our thoughts tend to occupy our energy flow and we stay blocked. Unable to give, yet to receive. Therefore I decided to cook for my friends and share what I have to give —comfort food and positive energy. Comfort food can be an amazing coping mechanism, so if you are eating your emotions — make it healthy!
It was Saturday. I went to the farmer’s market for some fresh groceries. Drugarice & drugovi, that Saturday her majesty Quick Fix Stir Fry was born! I will call it Comfort Zone Meal.

Ingredients:
tomato / paprika / zucchini / mushrooms / garlic / onion / carrot / broccoli / lemon / ginger / tofu / sesame seeds / soya sauce / salt / pepper / rice / pineapple* (optional)
Preparation time — 1/2 hour / serving for 4 people
Sastojci:
paradajz / paprika / tikvice / pečurke-po izboru/ beli luk / crni/crveni luk / šargarepa / brokoli / limun / đumbir / tofu sir / susam / soja sos / so / biber / pirinač / ananas* (po ukusu, nije obavezan)
Vreme pripreme — 1/2 sata / za 4 osobe

Know how:
1.Dice and marinate tofu cubes with salt, pepper and lemon juice for min of 15 minutes (multitasking can save a ton of time, so do this first and than keep dicing veggies)
2. Dice & slice veggies nicely (my personal preference is larger dices for fast cooking veggies and mushrooms, and smaller dices for veggies like carrots and potatoes which require longer cooking time. I like them half-processed because they stay crunchy and preserve more nutrients)
3. Mince garlic with spices and grinded ginger (I go with fresh one), or just simply blend it together in order to have smooth mixture for the last phase of cooking (you don’t want your garlic and spices burned)
4. Preheat pen/wok/pot (whatever you have, or any kind of round-bottomed cooking vessel, although a nice wok is a very useful tool to have in the kitchen) over high heat until a drop of water evaporates instantly
5. Let tofu fry in a preheated wok for 5 min, until golden. This way you will avoid squashy tofu dices without any taste
6. Give a small stir of oil (go with any kind of high smoke point oil such as soybean oil, vegetable oil or canola oil). I use sunflower oil (Smoke point (refined)232 °C). Please, do not use extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil or butter/margarine for frying, it will burn quickly and is very dangerous to consume after
7. Put all veggies and mushrooms into preheated wok, pour half a cup of water, squeeze half of lemon juice and mix in
8. After 10–15 minutes of cooking, add minced garlic with spices and give it a good stir
9. As soon as the veggies are almost cooked, add diced tofu and chopped pineapple
10. To finish, mix soy sauce with some pepper, sesame seeds and spoon of cornstarch (optional) and pour into wok . Stir in with rice, then transfer to a serving dish.
Tip: Use reduction technique (cook rice until boil, than drain and once again add water, cook until finish) to get delicious rice you can serve in the middle of the plate (see photos)

Priprema:
1.Iseći tofu na kockice, držati u marinadi (so, biber, limunov sok) bar 15 minuta (multitasking štedi vreme te je najbolje držati tofu u marinadi dok se ostalo povrće priprema i secka)
2. Iseći povrće i pečurke na kockice (moj izbor su veće kockice za povrće koje se brže dinsta, a manje kockice za povrće kome treba više vremena, kao što je šargarepa i krompir). Volim kad je povrće manje obrađeno jer zadržava svežinu i većinu hranljivih sastojaka
3.Usitniti beli luk, narendati svež đumbir (može i u prahu) i izmešati sa začinima. Blendanje je brži i jednostavniji način da se svi sastojci sjedine — dobija se pasta koju treba dodati u završnoj fazi kuvanja (treba voditi računa da beli luk i začini ne izgore)
4. Zagrejati šerpu, tiganj ili wok (šta god je dostupno, iako je wok veoma koristan i treba ga imati u kuhinji). Tiganj testirati kapljicom vode, ukoliko odmah ispari, spreman je
5. Pržiti tofu u tiganju oko 5 min, dok ne dobije zlatnu boju. Idealan način da se izbegne gnjeckav tofu sir bez ukusa
6. U tiganj u kome se przio tofu dodati malo ulja (bilo koje ulje sa visokom tačkom gorenja, kao što je sojino ulje, suncokretovo ili uljane repice). Ja koristim suncokretovo ulje (ne koristiti ekstradevičansko maslinovo ulje, kao ni kokosovo ulje, margarin ili puter zato što brzo izgore i nisu za konzumaciju nakon, a mogu biti veoma opasni)
7. Iseckano povrće i pečurke staviti u zagrejan tiganj, naliti pola čaše vode i nacediti sok pola limuna, dobro promešati
8. Nakod 10–15 minuta povrću dodati beli luk sa začinima i nastaviti sa kuvanjem uz povremeno mešanje
9. Pred sam kraj povrću dodati tofu i ananas (jelo je odlično i bez ananasa ukoliko ga nemate ili nije po ukusu)
10. Pred sam kraj kuvanja, u odvojenoj činijici pomešati soja-sos, biber, susam i kašiku gustina, zatim sipati u tiganj. Pomešati sa prethodno obarenim pirinčem i služiti.
Napomena: Pirinač obariti tzv redukcionom metodom (pirinač i vodu prokuvati, prosuti ključalu vodu i dodati novu, kuvati do ponovnog ključanja, ocediti i služiti)

This dish is very easy to make and it doesn’t require any special skill. It will feed four people and is very nutritious.
So just say: “What the health!” with the meat and enjoy!


Almost forgot — here is a small gift for you — mobile app that might help you track what and when you eat, check it out! Until next time ❤
