In which Madi's Mom Makes....Something Like Pad Thai

   

I can't believe Miss Madi is 4 months old today. It seems like not that long ago that I was enormous and eating everything in sight, craving pickles and pad thai (not together). However, tonight for her 4 months birthday, I'm cracking open a jar of my mother's spicy pickled lemon cucumbers and making myself a heaping plate of something that I won't insult the Thai community by calling pad thai--but it's along that vein.

My dad is a vegetarian, like me, so I made this based off of what he had in his refrigerator. I must say, it lead to some...interesting...substitutions and omissions. But it was the best I could do with the ingredients at hand (since this IS faux pad thai, and more of a basic recipe, feel free to tinker, too--no sesame oil? Use peanut oil. Want to add egg? How about chicken? No spaghetti? Try ramen--yes, ramen. As a starving, pregnant college student, that's what we made!).

To-faux Pad Thai

 6 oz spaghetti noodles (aprox. the amount that you can hold in your fist)
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs + 1 tsp sesame oil
3 medium sized carrots, sliced
1/2 block firm tofu, cubed
1/4 cup flour
(optional--1 tbs sesame seeds)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
2 tsp ground red chile peppers (my dad swears this isn't enough. REMEMBER: you can always add more, you can't take it out once its in)
2 tsp garlic
1 tbs honey (I use http://www.newmexicochileproducts.com/store/products/moses-brand-honey/. Yeah. It's good enough to mention.)
2 tbs apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup peanuts
1/2cup beansprouts

1. Boil your spaghetti noodles til al dente, 8 to 10 minutes or so. Drain and set aside.
2. At the same time, add both tablespoons of oils to a frying pan warmed over medium-low heat. fry up the carrots until soft and starting to caramelize a little.
3. Cut your tofu into blocks and gently press out the excess water. Dredge in the flour (and sesame seeds, if you have them and want to!)
4. Remove the carrots from the pan, and add your tofu, peanuts, and beanprouts. Fry until the outside of the tofu turns golden brown on all sides--this means yes, you will have to stir them. Be gentle, so you don't destroy them!
5. Combine honey, vinegar, cloves, cinnamon, garlic, and chile powder.
                     I used my favorite kitchen tool, the magic bullet, to grind up a non-labeled string of dried chiles from our garden. Learn from my mistakes. Label your dried produce. It was WAY hotter than I intended!
6. Add in the teaspoon of sesame oil that was set aside, and the carrots and noodles. Pour the spice-honey-vinegar concoction over the pan and heat for a minute or two more, tossing to combine.

It's not a bad imitation. 

Enjoy!