Hello Openhanders and fellow Kitchen Adventurers,

Let us explore deeply into the endless possibilities unfolding in a kitchen, the creative process, where possibility becomes probability, and then delicious dinner.

Today I want to share with you one of my go-to, fall-back dishes – the one I make when I'm not feeling particularly inspired but have a lot of veggies in the fridge that don't seem to want to combine in any particular way. It is a Joyous Sparks Classic, and also a Standard, allows for endless variability and will never, ever be the same way twice: the Soulful Stir-fry.

It's a dish that, from a simple basis – you might say: source – can burst into a multitude of variations, each pretty much unique. But also, at the same time, at the source, the same thing.

Well, that might sound a bit grandiose and have you wondering, “What the heck is she on? Did she sniff too much curry powder?”

Actually, Life has just reminded me that the most simple, seemingly everyday occurrences are anything but. And that yes, something as simple and ordinary as cooking a meal, can reflect something of the nature of the Universe.

As above, so below, after all.

So let's dive in …. with an example:

The ingredients are

• 1 bok choy

• 1 very large carrot

• 2-3 black salsifies

• ca. 200g of cooked soy beans (one glass jar)

• about 3 handfuls of (frozen) green beans

• ginger (however much you like)

• 3 small onions

• 1 clove of garlic

• oil (I use coconut)

• ca. 100g of millet

• salt & pepper

You make it like this

• Wash and chop up all your vegetables. How big the pieces are is up to you, just note that the bigger they are, the longer the cooking time. Note: If you buy organic, you don't need to peel the carrot or the salsifies.

• Mince ginger and garlic, then chop up the onions into small pieces – if you go in that order, the onions have less time to be aggravating

• In a pan, heat oil and sauté onions until translucent, then add garlic, until that yummy scent fills the kitchen

• Then add ginger and let that mix and mingle

• Add carrots, black salsifies and whites from bok choy and stir-fry for a few minutes, until the carrots start to look cooked. Then add greens from bok choy

• When bok choy greens have wilted, add fozen green beans. Stir well.

• Reduce heat under pan, put lid on pan, and let veggies cook until soft.

• In the meantime, wash millet and cook it according to the packaging.

• When millet is ready, veggies should also be done. (But keep checking them, also stirring every now and then, to make sure they don't over-cook.)

• Add millet to veggies, stir well together

So, that is the dish. Now, let us contemplate seasoning and/or what to do for sauce – in this instance, I used tamari, rice vinegar, and the juice of half a lemon. Because I seem to be drifting further east when it comes to seasoning/flavours.

However! This would not be a Soulful Stir-fry – would not be one of my recipes – if there wasn't an opening to creativity, to soulful flow – to endless possibilities and variabilities.

Because you see, the Soulfoul Stir-fry never starts with a recipe. I did not set out to make something with carrot and black salsify – they were simply what was there, and the recipe evolved around them.

And just as the Singularity exploded out into a multitude of forms, this can, too:

Exchange bok choy for spinach. Exchange black salsify for red pepper.

Exchange soy beans for lentils.

Exchange millet for quinoa.

Use passata or chopped tomatoes, with oregano and basil, for a more Mediterranean version of your sauce.

Use coconut milk and curry and/or lemongrass for a more Thai cuisine flavour.

Keep keep exploring, and then, all of a sudden, your stir-fry looks like this:

Yes, this is, indeed, basically the same Souful Stir-Fry. It uses different veggies, a different source of protein, different grains. But, at its source, it is the same.

And that is why I love the Soulful Stir-fry, why it's my go-to, fall-back dish to cook: It is fairly simple to make. It doesn't matter what's in your fridge and pantry, something will work out. The end result tends to be unpredictable, and sometimes unusual, but it's always good. Plus, it will never be the same again.

So, enjoy it now, revel in it, then let it go. There will be another amazing, unexpected variation of this down the line.

I'd say, if there was ever a dish that stimulates creative expression in the kitchen, through cooking, this is it. Where does your inquiry lead you?

And if you'd like to know more about Soulful Stir-fries and how to make them according to you aligned flow? Connect with me in the Ascension Kitchen workshop, where I will definitely be talking about all of it!