I can say though that it is not going to be something that can really be taking in for lunch the next day - it doesn't seem to reheat very well. This would be where all of those horror stories about tofu tasting like a sponge would ring true. I mean I guess if I had access to a stove at work I could bring the leftovers in an sear it again but microwaving it - ya that makes my toes curl!
Are you ready??? Here we go its time to get creating with what we have in the house! I knew that the tofu alone wasn't going to be enough for dinner so I went into the freezer and pulled out some of the fresh veggies that I picked up at the farmers market and let those thaw while I was at work...
Then when i got home, like any of our other tofu recipes I cut the tofu into squares and put it on the paper towels to let the water drain out. While that was going on I wanted to get my stir fry veggies going...
Batting lead off... the shrooms - just a touch of olive oil in the pan so they don't stick but then letting the water drain out of them before adding any seasonings! As you can see there is another pan on the backburner so lets get that number two hitter up...
Batting second...the fresh green beans...I went to Level Dining Lounge a couple years ago during restaurant week and had the best greenbeans ever. When the chef came out to ask about dinner I jokingly asked him how to make the green beans - he said its simple - hot pan, olive oil, beans and salt. Let them sear and get the brown on them (as Carla Hall would say there is flavor in the brown). So this is one of the only ways that I make green beans now.
Batting third...the green pepper..now honestly I would have loved to have had a red pepper here but since I was using things from the farmers market I didn't have one. Really I just wanted the color because although I love the color green there was a bit much in this stir fry!
And finally our clean up hitter - ya know the one who brings all the runs in - the one who is usually up in pressure situations and has to bring it all together for the win...BROCCOLI!!! Thats right she was bringing it all home for the veggies!
At this point I added just a smidge of garlic, a little bit of salt and then a nice drizzle of sesame oil and turned the heat down to barely nothing. Then I started working on my spicy peanut butter sauce. So here is one of my kitchen/life hacks...I have a huge (almost ridiculously huge) spice cupboard I have built this up over the years so that when I decide to make something randomly I don't usually have to worry about it not being there.
The best way to build up your plethora of spices is to just buy a new one every time that you are in the grocery store. You can start with the most common, or just start alphabetically either way you can't really go wrong. You will want to keep them in a dry place - I know that sounds funny because they are in containers - but you don't want to keep them where moisture occurs - so if you are storing your spices above your oven or dishwasher - there is a reason why that shit sticks inside the container!!!!
Another part of this life/kitchen hack is to buy the ones that you think you will use all the time in bulk - as you saw from one of my other posts the southwest chipotle one is one that I use so much a small container would be a waste of monney.
Finally when it comes to spices that may be more ethnic - try to find an international store to buy the spice at - for example here in Columbus I always shop at one of the Asian grocery stores to get my sesame oil, soy sauce and sesame seeds. No joke I can get all of that shit cheaper than if I were to try and buy just one item at Kroger!
Once you have all of these things in your pantry/cupboards/shelves you can create anything at any given time and take what would be "boring veggies" and turn them into MASTER PIECES! Now you have my Ballin' on a Budget life/kitchen hacks for the night!
Let't get back to the recipe...
Here is the sauce...I cannot tell a lie even without anything in it - it was delish! Next time I probably would add just a touch more sriracha but that is just me...we all know I like the spice!
Once the sauce was done I let it set to the side and started getting that tofu ready to roll... using the same pan I seared the greenbeans in (I mean why dirty another one) I added just a touch more olive oil and put the tofu in to sear - about 4 minutes on both sides
Once the initial searing was complete I poured a little bit of the sauce over the top - this is where things got a little sticky - seriously a little sticky! 
http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2012/10/spicy-sriracha-tofu-peanut-butter.html
Be careful now because this part can go south quick - if you are not paying attention to what you are doing you will have burnt peanut butter, crappy tofu and nothing but veggies to eat for dinner!
Once that was all done I started plating things up...I added some black and white sesame seeds and poured a little more sauce over the entire plate. Everything tasted great - I ended up taking the leftover veggies down to my friend Sara who sent me a text the next day saying she had eaten them for lunch and that she was giving them her two thumbs up! Not too shabby for just throwing something together as a side dish - I used what was left of the peanut butter sauce on those veggies as well. Nothing was wasted and I was really happy about that!
Here is the original post
Now have at it..this is the third tofu recipe I have given you - time to get your asses out of your comfort zone and try it! I don't think you will be disappointed!
Up next...Recipe of the Week...Pork Tenderloin!!
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