Sesame Noodles and Tofu

I found this on mothering. It has a nice Thai taste to it. I use it with chicken, any veggies, and rice, also. I do think it tastes best with yummy fried tofu, especially the packaged already fried tofu from Jay International. I ALWAYS use less peanut butter than this. I think peanut butter can be really variable in texture so it's hard to give exact amounts. I start with about 1/2 cup and add more if I think it needs it. Also, I use garlic/ginger paste instead of them separately. It just takes too long to mince those things, I think. The dressing is the important part and could probably be used in countless creative ways.

Serves 3-4
Dressing
Smooth Peanut Butter (organic, without sugar); 1 Cups
Soy Sauce; 1/2 Cups
Water; 2/3 Cups
Fresh Ginger; 4 Tablespoon, peeled and grated
Medium Cloves Garlic; 4, minced
Red Wine Vinegar; 4 Tablespoon
Asian Sesame Oil; 3 Tablespoon
Honey; 4 Teaspoon
Red Pepper Flakes; 2 Teaspoon
Noodles
Dried Thin Linguine; 1/2 Pounds
Scallion; 8, chopped
Red Bell Peppers; 1, thin sliced
Yellow Bell Peppers; 1, thin sliced
Sesame Seeds; 6 Tablespoon
Tofu
Block of tofu, cut into 3 slices horizontally and then cut into triangles
2 tbsp peanut oil

Make the dressing: Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.

Make the noodles: Cook pasta in a 6 to 8 quart pot of boiling salted water until tender. Drain in a colander, then rinse well under cool water.

Pan fry the tofu with the 2 tbsp peanut oil over medium high heat.

*Add pasta, scallions, bell peppers, and sesame seeds to dressing, tossing with tofu to combine. Serve immediately.

Peanut Butter Cookies

The easiest cookies I've ever made! Zoe was able to help a lot and it was only a few minutes of prep. The whole batch fit on one big cookie sheet so the oven didn't have to be on long and I didn't have dozens of cookies sitting around to tempt me, just enough to satisfy my craving.

1 c. peanut butter (chunky or creamy, we use all-natural)

1 c. sugar, plus more for rolling

1 egg

(Seriously, those are the only ingredients! I was skeptical too, but it really works!)

1. Heat oven to 375. Stir together all ingredients.

2. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in sugar and place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

3. Press each ball down with a fork in 2 directions to make a criss-cross pattern. Bake for 10 minutes or until edges just start to brown. Cool on wire racks.

From Parents magazine, Oct. 2008

West African Groundnut Stew

(I really like this but I have had to alter this recipe a bit. I'll put my changes in parenthesis. I got this from another New Roots person. It's also pretty changeable with the sauce being the only real constant).

Heat ½- 3/4 cup canola oil in a large pot on medium high heat. Chop together and cook in the oil

* 3 - 4 tomatoes
* 2 large onions
* 2 fresh hot peppers (or 1 teaspoon cayenne)

Add 2 cups tomato juice (or water). When it is beginning to simmer, add

* 1½ - 1 3/4 cups good peanut butter (I found this to be overwhelming so I prefer it with 3/4c)
* 2 Tablespoons tomato paste.
(if you're using meat now is when to add it. Chicken is traditional but beef could work. Or goat.)

Turn the heat to low, and keep cooking.

When it's been simmering for a while, add

* 1 eggplant, cut into small cubes (I didn't have any so I didn't use it)
* and other vegetables you might like, such as yams, potatoes, green beans, squash of any variety, etc.

Continue cooking until the vegetables are tender. Serve on a bed of rice or other grain.

My notes:
Add the veggies before adding the PB. PB burns quickly and I ALWAYS burn it if I add it first. So as soon as the veggies are near to done, then I mix in the PB. Oh and use a good PB because it tastes gross if you're using Jiff or whatever.