Toasted Sesame Pasta

With the scent of freshly picked basil, my mind begins to wander through every imagineable use. After countless minutes spent staring into space, drooling on my shirt, I snap out of the food delerium with an image of what I'd like to create. This time, I settled on an Asian-inspired pasta dish. Here's how it went:

Ingredients:
3 cups whole wheat rotini
1 lb potatoes, sliced to 1/4 inch cubes
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 red chile pepper, diced
6 roma tomatoes, chopped
2 small yellow onions, chopped
1/2 cup fresh basil, diced
2 tbsp fresh cilantro
1 1/2 tbsp toasted sesame oil, divided
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp brown rice vinegar

Directions:
1) In a large pot, cook 3 cups rotini
2) While rotini cooks; in a large skillet on medium-high heat, warm vinegars and soy sauce
3) Add potatoes and 1 tbsp sesame oil, cook while stirring until lightly browned
4) Rotini should be finished; drain and set in large mixing bowl
4) Reduce heat under skillet to medium, add peppers and onions, cook 10 minutes or until onions soften
5) Add tomatoes and herbs, cook for 2-3 minutes
6) Combine veggies with pasta, add remaining toasted sesame oil if desired
7) Serve and enjoy!

Thai curried noodles

I pulled this recipe out of the latest issue of Vegetarian Times, Thai Curried Noodles with Broccoli and Tofu, page 38. It's delicious, has a great sweet and spicy kick to it, and is very easy to make. The original recipe called for 1 cup of shallots, but I substituted these for onions and purple garlic because that's what I had on hand. Also, the recommended amount of curry paste wasn't quite as spicey as I would have liked. I added another Tbsp. (3 total), and that was perfect. The lime wedges for garnish add a fantastic layer to the flavor complexity of this dish, so I recommend not skipping them.

Ingredients:
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 cup chopped shallots
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro stems
    plus 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves for garnish
2 Tbs. yellow or red Thai curry paste (I used red)
1 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. ground turmeric
1 15-oz. can light coconut milk
3/4 cup low sodium vegetable broth
2 tsp. light brown sugar
1 12-oz. package firm tofu, drained and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
5 oz. dry fettuccine
5 cups broccoli florets
6 lime wedges (1 lime) for garnish

Directions:
1) Heat oil in medium pot over medium-high heat.
2) Saute shallots in oil 2 minutes
3) Add cilantro stems, curry paste, curry powder, and turmeric; cook 1 minute
4) Stir in coconut milk, broth, and brown sugar; bring to simmer
5) Reduce heat to medium, cook 5 minutes
6) Add tofu, simmer 10 minutes
7) Cook fettuccine in large pot according to directions on package
8) Add broccoli to pot for last 2 minutes of cooking
9) Drain, cover pasta with tofu-curry mixture
10) Mix well, serve with lime wedges and chopped cilantro