I was talking to some friends the other day about our college-aged daughters, some of whom already live in off-campus housing and are no longer on meal plans.  That is, they have divorced themselves from dining hall food and have embraced the world of kitchenettes and home cooking.  I remember my first semester off meal plan.  I had visions of cooking up all sorts of wondrous things like lasagne or chicken Marbella or homemade bread and flourless chocolate cakes, my specialities in 1989.  But alas, I actually had to study night and day so that one day I might be employable.  No time to fuss in the kitchen since there was no way I would be making a career in the food industry.  Good gracious, no.  The irony.

Alas, when I do think back to that era, anytime I did cook up something, it had to be fast, reasonably nutritious and budget-friendly.  I made A LOT of stir-fries.  I made so many stir-fries, I owned a wok.  I was 20.  So as I was talking to these other mamas about our girls and my possibly do a little cooking class for them this summer, I thought I would definitely start with a stir-fry.

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