Stir Fry Veggies

So I am not the world's greatest vegetable eater.  I don't enjoy most vegetables plain -- whether cooked or raw.  They generally need salad dressing or veggie dip to make them tolerable. 

That said, I'm always looking for new ways to eat vegetables.  Ways that will make me happy to eat them.  A lot of them.  Because I know they are good for me.  Important.  And I want to be a good example to my daughter of eating vegetables. 

One place I was happy to eat my share (and even more) of vegetables was Mikata, a Japanese steak house in Dothan.  It was one of the places on my must go here list while we were down visiting in November.  So the last night we were there, we treated my parents, and they really enjoyed it.  My dad even ate the mushrooms (which he likes to call slugs). 

So, upon our return to Washington, I started thinking...  I bet I could do that! 

And so I set out trying different things.  And I think I have it down now.  So here's my recipe.  Sort of.  I haven't exactly measured, so it's approximates.

1/2 crown of broccoli, broken into small florets
2 stalks celery, sliced into 1-inch pieces
1 to 2 cups cabbage coarsely chopped
1 to 2 carrots, cut into carrot sticks
1 small zucchini, cut into sticks (roughly the same size as the carrots)
1/2 a medium onion, cut into thick slices or 3 green onions, sliced in 1 1/2 inch pieces (or both)
3 to 4 mushrooms, sliced into thick pieces
1 to 2 tablespoons butter (depending on the amount of vegetables.  I use 2 tablespoons for the vegetables pictured above)
2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon soy sauce (again, depending on taste and amount of veggies.  I use close to 1 tablespoon for the veggies pictured above)

Heat frying pan over medium heat (I would prefer a wok, but this is what I have) and melt butter.  Add carrots, celery, and broccoli and cook, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes.  Add onion.  Cook another minute.  Add cabbage and cook an additional 1 to 2 minutes.  Add zucchini and stir a couple times.  Add mushrooms.  Cook an additional 2 minutes, stirring constantly.  Add soy sauce and stir into vegetables another minute.  Remove from heat and serve. 

I usually am cooking total time of 7 to 8 minutes.  But you can go longer or shorter, depending on how crisp you prefer your vegetables.  And you can change up the order as well, but that's the order I prefer, because I like my celery and carrots more done.

A lot of this recipe is dependent on the cook's preferences, but I'm pretty happy with this.  I've been making it more and more.  I love to add a lot of mushrooms.  And I've also added the canned baby corn (didn't like it in this) and asparagus stems, since I had them leftover from Monday Meals.  The asparagus stems were fine with this and I added them with the carrots and celery.

This is the first recipe I have ever developed on my own, and I'm pretty happy with it, so I thought I'd share :).