Family Recipe - Peanut Pasta with Broccoli and Tofu

You're probably noticing that the recipes I've posted are all meat-free. Indeed, I am an almost-vegetarian (I eat fish, but no meat or poultry). Though Matt enjoys all sorts of hoofed and feathered fare, he is a relatively willing participant in our vegetarian home cooking. Because Matt doesn't particularly love fish, and neither of us wants to take on the challenge of learning how to cook it properly, we eat nearly entirely veg at home.

Done right, vegetarian cooking is easy, nutritious, delicious...and, perhaps best of all, cheap.

PEANUT PASTA WITH BROCCOLI & TOFU

1/2 lb whole-wheat rotini
2 heads broccoli, washed, trimmed, and stemmed (kale or green beans are other options here)
2 tbs sesame oil
1 block extra-firm tofu, drained and diced into 1/2" blocks
3 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp honey
1/4 c soy sauce (we use the reduced salt version)
1/4 c smooth peanut butter (we like Smuckers All-Natural)Cook pasta according to package directions in large pot of salted boiling water.

1. Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water according to package directions
   
2. Begin steam broccoli in vegetable steamer until tender
   
3. Heat sesame oil in large saute pan on medium heat
   
4. Saute tofu for ~8 mins, stirring occasionally. Be sure to flip the cubes so all sides are cooked. Turn heat to medium-low if tofu burns.
5. Heat peanut butter in microwave until it is very soft
   
6. In a large bowl, mix vinegar, peanut butter, honey, and soy sauce until smooth
   
7. Add pasta, broccoli, and tofu; toss to combine
   

Serve immediately or refrigerate and serve chilled.

*You'll notice that I used green beans, not broccoli, in the pictured iteration...again -- just use what you have -- no need to make cooking more challenging than it already is!