Zucchini Pasta Dressed in Spicy Peanut Sauce and Topped with Tofu and Fun Facts Friday

Yesterday was a bit busy at our place. We had a late dinner and needed to get moving early this morning which is why this post didn’t make it up last night. Other than documenting the ingredients I didn’t have time to write the directions and the remainder of the post.

In the past I would have made used this sauce on soba or whole wheat noodles. However since zucchini pasta provides vitamins and minerals it is a better nutritional choice. It is also nice that it is faster to make. Since this is a cold dish it came together in about 10 minutes. This is always welcome when you are having dinner at 9pm. Here is what I made:

Zucchini Pasta Dressed in Spicy Peanut Sauce and Topped with Tofu
Serves 2

Vegetable Ingredients:

1 zucchini, spiralized
2 carrots, julienned
1 cup fresh pineapple, cut into small chunks

Sauce Ingredients:

3 tablespoons reduced fat peanut butter
1 clove garlic, peeled
½ inch fresh ginger
2 tablespoons fresh citrus juice (either 1 lime or 1/2 lemon)
sriracha, to taste (start with a teaspoon)
water, to achieve the consistency you like (I used about 2 tablespoons)

Garnish:

6 slices of sweet and spicy baked tofu

Directions:

Place the veggies in a large bowl.

Combine the sauce ingredients in your blender and process until smooth. Add as much water as is necessary to achieve a sauce consistency. You want the sauce thicken enough that it will cling to the sauce and not too liquid. Mine was approximately the consistency of sour cream.

Toss the sauce with the veggies and serve. Top with sweet and spicy baked tofu.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 398.86
Calories From Fat (41%) - 162.8

Total Fat - 18.87g
Saturated Fat - 2.31g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 214.24mg
Potassium - 1027.05mg
Total Carbohydrates - 41.28g
Fiber-  6.65g
Sugar - 23.15g
Protein - 23.68g

Comments:

I documented the recipe in my cookbook program before I made it. I reduced the peanut butter so the fat grams were in a range I was looking for. However if you are more concerned about taste I would suggest you add another tablespoon of peanut butter to provide a more intense peanut flavor. Though I will say that we thought it was good the way it was.

If you are eating earlier than we did and want to spend more time on the dish I think that chopped peanuts and cilantro would be great as a garnish. I would also like red bell pepper added to the veggies.

Fun Facts Friday:

Since Fridays tend to be hectic at our house I thought I would get the Fun Facts into this post just in case I don’t have time for another post today.

1. What is the one thing about yourself that you are most proud of? I am one of those extremely honest people. You know the ones that you never want to ask how an outfit looks on you because they will tell you. Everyone that knows me knows what I think. I absolutely will not lie. This has gotten me into trouble in life. When I don’t have something nice to say I tend to keep my mouth shut but sometimes people ask me what I think. That is normally when I get into trouble. But I wouldn’t have things any other way. In a world where lying happens every minute of every day I prefer honesty and can say that I don’t contribute to the BS that goes around.

2. What is one habit you have that you would like to change but don’t know where to start? I cannot leave my cuticles alone. When I get nervous or upset I have to clip them or tear them. Where does that come from? If I had any idea how to stop that I would. *shakes head*

3. Do you have an embarrassing moment that is now funny? I actually have quite a few embarrassing moments to select from. What does that say about me I wonder? I decided to go with the one my husband thinks is so funny.

It happened about 15 years ago. We were spending a week at the Outer Banks in NC. I had on a cute black bathing suit with a bandeau top that had removable straps. Dan and I had gone into the water waist high to cool off. Foolishly I had worn my contact lenses into the water. You didn’t expect me to wear my glasses did you? No way! Wearing my contacts meant I needed to close my eyes when the waves came. This also meant that I didn’t immediately realize a wave pushed my suit down causing me to expose myself. All Dan could do was laugh. You can imagine the rest. I can’t open my eyes or lose my contacts so I am trying to stay mostly underwater, hold my suit up, getting knocked over my waves that I don’t know are coming, and Dan is laughing his ass off. I finally get him to help me ashore and he keeps saying to me, “When will we see these people again.” This is where it gets even funnier.

We go out to breakfast the next morning. Who is sitting at the table next to us? You guessed it a couple that was close to us on the beach the prior day. It is funny now, but I was not laughing then. Now when my husband says, “When we will see these people again,"  I always respond, "Tomorrow morning at breakfast” and we both laugh.

Okay your turn. I can’t wait to hear some of your stories.

Unrelated notes:

Since it is Friday that means it is errand day in my life. I will try to come back later with a post but I can’t guarantee it. I have too much on my agenda today.

I hope you all have a great weekend. Talk to you again soon.