Waylaid on the Road to Riches

Noodles!

This is TREMENDOUSLY good comfort food. It is stolen from a recipe by Molly Katzen, vegetarian cook-lady extraordinaire, though the actual Girls with Glasses have made some alterations, reflected here. Some of the ingredients are a little funky, but they are well worth tracking down. Look for bulk food store or Asian market to get the best prices on the oils and the sesame seeds.

3/4 cup natural peanut butter
1 1/4 cups hot water
3 Tbs. vinegar
2 Tbs. soy sauce
3/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
2 Tbs. sesame oil
1/2 Tbs. dark sesame oil
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 lb. tofu, cut into small cubes
2 pkgs. ramen noodles
1 medium cucumber, peeled and chopped
3 scallions, chopped

In a medium saucepan, combine peanut butter and hot water; whisk until smooth.

Add vinegar, soy sauce, sesame seeds, sesame oils, red pepper and tofu. Stir until blended and set aside.

Open packages of ramen noodles and discard the foil envelopes of seasoning mix. Boil the noodles for 3 minutes in a large saucepan.

Heat the peanut sauce over a low flame while the noodles are boiling. Drain the noodles when they are done and toss the noodles with the peanut sauce.

Serve with cucumber and scallions as toppings.