the ingredients you may have around your kitchen. It has four main parts: a protein, a starch, vegetables and a sauce. I used buckwheat soba noodles for my stir-fry. Of course, you could use regu­lar spaghetti if that is what you have on hand, but if you are feeling a little bit more adventurous, the international and gluten-free aisles of the supermarket tend to have things like brown rice noodles and other options. Regardless, be sure to read the package and get an idea of how long it should take for the noodles to cook. I only had to cook mine for about three minutes.

If you don’t like tofu, you can certain­ly use another protein such as chicken or beef. Just be sure that the protein is in the pan for long enough to cook through. Please be careful when it comes to cook­ing the protein, especially if you choose tofu, as the water in the tofu can cause the oil to splatter. So, be sure to keep the oil on a low temperature and stay at a safe distance from the pan – you can put a top over the pan if you are still nervous about it.

PEANUT-SOY STIR-FRY NOODLES

Serving size: 4

about 4 oz of noodles

1 tbsp vegetable or canola oil

1 package of extra firm tofu, cubed

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 small white onion, sliced

2 crowns of broccoli, cut into bite-size

pieces

1-2 carrots, diced

1 red pepper, diced

6 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce

2 tbsp creamy peanut butter

1 and 1/2 tsp. rice vinegar

Crushed red pepper flakes, sriracha or

other hot sauce (optional)

1. PREP. Mince, dice, slice and cut the vegetables so that the cooking pro­cess goes quickly. If you have a few extra minutes during the day, you can do this step ahead of time, and then you will be able to throw dinner together when you are ready later on.

2. START COOKING. Boil the water for your noodles in a medium pot. Then sauté the oil and tofu in a medium sized pan on low heat; be sure to stir the tofu so that it cooks evenly. As the tofu continues to cook, it will turn a golden color.

3. SAUCE. Combine the soy sauce, peanut butter, rice vinegar and spicy in­gredient (if you choose to use one) in a small bowl.

4. CONTINUE COOKING. Once the water reaches a boil, add the noodles to the water and the garlic and vegetables into the pan with the tofu. After just a couple of minutes (depending on what kind of noodles you use), the noodles will be done and ready to be drained. You do not want to cook them until they are mushy, because they will continue to cook when they are mixed in with the other ingredients.

5. MIX IT ALL TOGETHER. Add the noodles and sauce into the pan of veg­etables and tofu. Let cook for a minute or two, then enjoy!

Contact Emily Suskin at [email protected].