Hello Friends,
I am in beautiful Portland, attending a seminar with my teacher, Arnaud Versluys, and his teacher, Dr Zeng Rongxiu. Dr Zeng is coming on his 87th year -and still teaching! what an inspiration. I am so grateful for the opportunity to study with these masters and continue to hone my own skills of diagnosis.
I regret to reschedule this week’s lecture at my office. I am starting to teach a new class at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, which will unfortunately take me away from teaching classes at my office until September. I will be resuming my monthly “nourishing Life” lecture series in the fall.
Enjoying the energy of the spring, I wanted to give you a recipe for a nourishing spring dish to enhance your cooking experience and provide you with easy meals. This is an easy way to integrate lots of vegetables into the diet and it makes lots of food, so you can have a few meals with little preparation. The trick to a good stir fry is in the timing. Cooking vegetables according to their density and hardness makes for stir fry that tastes fresh, with the vegetables retaining their crispness and color.
chop things first and in increments. stick all the ones from same category in mixing bowls, together. Trader joes or fresh and easy have a big selection of precut veggies that are ready to use. or, in a pinch, frozen vegetables are good too.
chop onion and leeks first.
garlic and ginger second.
then hard things: carrots, radish (daikon), squash, yams, sweet potato, potato
then medium: zucchini, cabbage, napa cabbage, green beans, bell peppers, asparagus, broccoli, brussel sprouts, mushrooms
frozen peas go with medium veggies, they are nice because they add protien. or edamame is great too.
then leafy stuff: chard, kale, collards, spinach, dandelion greens, mizuna, cilantro, parsley, dill.
last to go in is celery.
You need a wok or skillet. The reason to chop things first is that you use high heat and it doesnt take long, so chopping most things first means you can stir and pay attention to your dish – asy ou get more experienced you will get better at the timing of things and not burn your food. 
But for starters- chop first.
saute onion and leek, on high heat, stirring constantly.
when start to turn translucent, add ginger and garlic and stir until you can smell the garlic. add hard ingredients, stir and cover. lower heat a bit. stir frequently
when veggies change color add medium ingredients. stir. cover and let cook a few minutes, stir often
then when things are almost done and still bright colored, add leafy greens, stir and cover.. let cook a few more minutes. greens will turn bright green. add celery. stir. turn off heat and let steam, covered for 2 more minutes.
voila.
I hope you enjoy in good health,
Eti