For adults only tonight.

Something unusual happened tonight. The rest of the family had already eaten or was out of the house, and I wound up making dinner for just me and Doug. Dinner for two adults! I was free to prepare something that we would enjoy, without going through the list of food “dislikes” which looks roughly like this:

• Molly loves mushrooms but the boys hate them so if I use them I have to cut them large so the boys can pick them out.
• Joe and Max love potatoes but Molly doesn’t care for them.
• Macey won’t eat spicy food.
• Max loves raw broccoli but not cooked.
• Molly likes cooked broccoli but not raw.
• One of the kids likes asparagus but I’m not sure who.

You get the idea.

But tonight, with the absolute freedom to create a meal for just me and Doug, I happily used the gorgeous purpley asparagus, half a box of mushrooms, plenty of sliced onions, and just enough of some left over steak to add a bit of salty chew, and created a simple grown-up stir fry for two.

Asparagus-Mushroom Stir Fry (with steak, tofu or chicken)

Saute 1/2 onion, sliced, in 2 Tbs. olive oil. Stir in 1/2 pound fresh asparagus, cut into 2-inch pieces, and 1/2 pound mushrooms, quartered. Add 2 cloves minced garlic, a dash of salt and plenty of freshly ground pepper. Heat for about 5 minutes and then stir in about 1/2 cut of thinly sliced cooked steak (or chicken or tofu). Cook just until the meat is heated, and serve.