Power up with Lucky Peach’s kung pao celeries!

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Never mind the meat and carbs.  Peter Meehan  dials up the salt, fats and acids in his latest cookbook, “Lucky Peach Presents:  Power Vegetables! Turbocharged Recipes for Vegetables with Guts .” Armed with scores of veg-friendly recipes and a few essential flavor boosters, the Lucky Peach co-founder and editor says your weeknight dinners are about to get more “AWESOME.” Go ahead. Knock yourself out with this recipe for kung pao celeries.

“Celeries?” you ask. We’re all familiar with Chinese kung pao chicken, the addictively spicy medley of celery, onions, bell peppers, peanuts and morsels of chicken. But since vegetables feature front and center in this book, Meehan and the other Lucky Peach editors skipped the meat and eventually arrived at their power combo of celery and celery root after several iterations of recipe testing. Serve it hot with rice or — if you’re like Meehan — have it cold with your morning coffee.