A standby meal that satisfies everyone

"What do you want for dinner," my wife asks, testing the water for my willingness to cook the evening meal. "I don't know; what do you want for dinner," I repeat as we begin the daily dance of deciding what to eat. "I don't care, how about you?" "I don't really care but I'm hungry." I don't care either but I'm hungry too." "You decide." "No, you decide."

We repeat this spar every evening knowing it will end with one of us mentioning that we might be hungry for some...and the decision will be made, I will cook, and we will enjoy our dinner together.

This game becomes tedious and frustrating every evening. My wife and I make innumerable decisions each day, she as a teacher, and me as a therapist and principal. Making one more decision for this day seems impossible. Understanding this continual frustration we create a daily menu with our favorite meals and easy restaurant take-outs. Creating this menu is difficult as my wife is a vegetarian and I enjoy meat.

Contributing to this difficult task is that I eat only wild game, free range chicken and fish while my wife enjoys grains, nuts, fruit and vegetables. Finding meals where I can add meat or fish and she can delete the protein takes creativity. One of our standby meals that satisfies my hunger for meat and qualifies as vegetarian is our vegetarian cashew chicken. Please recreate this recipe at home and enjoy.

Vegetarian cashew chicken

This recipe is unique for many reasons. First, I use imitation, vegetarian chicken, (brand name Quorn), which offers the umami flavors I require to satisfy my palate while fitting the vegetarian needs of my wife. With all stir-fry, preparing vegetables beforehand is required. The chef has only a few minutes to add the ingredients to the wok requiring all ingredients be chopped and within easy reach for the chef. Once the mise en place, (French for "everything in place,") is prepared, it's time to cook.

Slice and Chop (mise en place)

1 C. Celery

1.5 C. Carrots

1 C. Cashews - leave whole

1.5 C. Broccoli

1 C. Imitation Chicken

1.5 C. Asparagus

1 C. Onions, Sliced

Saute sliced and chopped ingredients in a hot wok with 1/4 C. vegetable oil until vegetables start to soften.

1 T. garlic, chopped

1/4 C. Rice Wine Vinegar (mix with 2 T. corn starch)

3 T. Sesame oil

1/4 C. Soy sauce

1 C. Water

Salt and pepper to taste

I like to add red pepper flakes to add some spice to the dish.

Cook an additional three minutes to combine flavors and serve over rice.

Top with toasted sesame seeds if desired.

Bill Rutherford is a elementary school principal, psychotherapist, executive chef and owner of Rutherford Education Group. Please email him at brutherford@cdaschools.org.