A Bit of Everything

Adaptation is one of my fortes, but change is not. I hate change; it makes me anxious and nervous and now, I have a pit in my stomach just talking about it. But sometimes, change can be worth it. Moving out of my first apartment, saying goodbye to some of the people that have made my first two years of college as amazing as they were, and spending my first summer at home in 3 years has been the assortment of things I have been doing this week.
As cheesy as it sounds, this dish is kind of like a mix of my feelings this week... something new, something old - just a bit of everything. I think I tend to eat my feelings, not in quantities but definitely in tastes. Chinese food is my comfort food (besides Indian... #DesiPride), so the minute you hand me a bowl of noodles - I am a happy girl. Throw in some vegetables and tofu - I am a happier girl. I made this dish for my parents, and it was a hit in the house; I used spaghetti as my noodles, household vegetables, and a new twist on cooking tofu.

Ingredients
1 container of extra firm tofu
2 bell peppers (same color, different, whatever floats your boat)
1/2 onion (red or white, whatever floats your boat)
12 baby carrots
1 can of baby corn
1/2 a head of broccoli

Marinade
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
2 hefty tablespoons Siracha sauce
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons brown sugar

The first and the hardest part about handling tofu is making sure it is not as wet and water-filled as it is when you first take it out of the package. After removing it from the package, make sure you have drained all the water out and then you can begin to cut it into triangles/squares however you chose. Using either multiple paper towels or 1 cloth kitchen towel - lay your tofu pieces on top of this surface. Then cover it with another of the safe surface. Press down LIGHTLY! Make sure you are not squeezing your tofu, but you are just giving it a nice big hug to let out whatever water may still be in the situation. Let your tofu friends, sit and hang out (aka dry out) for a little bit while you can move onto making the marinade and cutting the vegetables.

Cut the vegetables however you want and make your marinade. Make sure you have let your tofu sit for at least 30 minutes. In an IRON skillet that is preferably FLAT (to make it easier for you), without adding any oil or butter, take your pieces of tofu about 5 to 8 at a time and place them on your skillet.
Keep the heat pretty low, and using a spatula you want to just pat down on the pieces - make sure you can here them sizzling. This is helping your tofu pan-sear in its own water; this will help make the tofu soft and chewy and absorb your marinade more. Flip and make sure to do both sides. Your aim is to get something close to a golden brown.
Once you complete pan-searing your tofu, throw them into the marinade and let them sit until the very very last second. In another pot, get your spaghetti going! Thats the easiest part of this whole process; you really can't mess up pasta...

And in one third pan... throw in some garlic and your cut onions and let them sizzle and enjoy themselves for a little bit. Throw in your peppers and carrots and baby corn and let them hang out and join the party. Then at the very last minute, add in your broccoli.

clearly I missed some veggies

Make sure you don't forget about your pasta in all this veggie madness!  Drain your pasta, and throw in into the veggie pot and mix it around lightly.

Add in your tofu, along with the marinade and let everything sit at about medium heat, letting things quickly mingle together, tossing it around and making sure the vegetable and the noodles get a bit of everything.

If it isn't spicy enough, make sure to leave some Siracha sauce at the table for anyone to add in some more spice. Enjoy :)