I tend to prefer avoiding restaurants on Valentine’s Day. Making a meal with your love is more intimate, less commercialized, and less chaotic. And neither one of us is very good at planning ahead, so we’d likely be the poor souls waiting 2 hours to get a table.

So, for tonight’s menu, we’re referencing The Complete Vegan Kitchen

For the entrée: Pad Thai (p.198)

I love Pad Thai and it’s been a long time since I had any really good Pad Thai, so why not make it ourselves? It’s a little more elaborate than most recipes I post, but since I had a helper, I had less chances to screw it up. I have a tendency to skim instructions and leave out important parts. Our result: I think there were far too many noodles for the amount of sauce. It was pretty bland, so we had to keep adding things to make it taste better. I would either half the amount of noodles in this recipe or double the sauce.

Ingredients:

• 8 oz wide, flat rice noodles
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime or lemon juice
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons ketchup or chili sauce
• 1 tsp Sriracha sauce
• 2 tsp oil
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
• 3 green onions,  cut on the diagonal into 3/8 inch lengths
• 1/2 C snowpeas, cut into matchsticks
• 4 oz firm tofu, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1/4 jicama, cut into matchsticks (optional)
• 1/4 C chopped peanuts
• 1/4 C sunflower or mung beans sprouts
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon chopped Thai basil

Bring 3 quarts water to a boil in a large pot. When the water boils, turn the heat off and add the noodles. Let the noodles soak in the water until they are barely tender, about 15 minutes. Drain the noodles in a Colander and rinse with cold water. Reserve.

In a small bowl, combine the lime juice, soy sauce, ketchup, sriracha, and 2 tablespoons of water.

Heat the oil in a wide skillet or wok over medium heat and sauté the garlic and ginger for 30 seconds. Add the carrot and green onions. Sauté for another 1-2 minutes, until the carrot is just barely crisp-tender. Add the snow peas, tofu, jicama, and stir briefly. Add the lime juice mixture and stir to coat the tofu and vegetables, being careful not to break the tofu up too much.

Add the noodles and toss or stir until they are fully cooked and heated through, about 2 minutes. Garnish with chopped peanuts, sprouts, cilantro, and basil.

Makes 4 servings.

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For dessert: Vanilla Pudding (p.304)
note: prepare well before you plan to eat it. It needs to refrigerate for several hours.

I thought we’d go for a simpler dessert, since we already had our work cut out for us with the entrée. And vanilla pudding is delicious. Mmmm.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 C sugar
• 2.5 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 C creamy soymilk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons vegan margarine (optional)

In a heavy-bottomed, medium saucepan, mix the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Whisk in the soymilk slowly so no lumps form. Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it begins to thicken. Lower the heat and continue cooking for another minute or until it is fairly thick. Add the vanilla extract and margarine.

Pour the pudding into a bowl or 4 individual cups. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap so that it touches the surface of the pudding (this will prevent the formation of a tough skin). Refrigerate the pudding for several hours.

Makes 4 servings.