Lazy days, go to meal

Today was one of those days... one of those days when you are outside at the park, at the playground or the at the Museum all day, and when you get home you just don't feel like standing around in the kitchen. We always have a go to dish for such an occasion: Vegan Pad Thai
You don't need to follow the recipe exactly. Pad Thai is a versatile dish, and can be prepared with almost any combination of vegetables, so feel free to use whatever you have to hand.

Vegan Pad Thai

Ingredients

8 ounce Packet Rice Noodles - thick variety

1 tbsp. Peanut oil

7 oz. TVP or tempeh

1 bell pepper (any color)

3-4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tbsp. Tamarind paste or tamarind dissolved in water into thick paste

1/4 cup of roasted peanuts

1 cup of bean sprouts

1 medium carrot, shredded

1 onion, sliced.

1 cup snow peas, strings removed

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tbsp. lemon juice

Few springs of cilantro, chopped for garnish

2-3 spring onions, for garnish

Salt to taste

Directions

Heat a nonstick pan, and coat it lightly with olive oil and place the TVP or tempeh in, sautéing for approximately 4-5 minutes. Set aside.

Cook the noodles as per the instruction in the package. Set aside.

Heat a pan with peanut oil. Stir in the onions, garlic, carrots and cook till soft.

Add the bell pepper, snow peas, TVP or tempeh, soy sauce, tamarind paste and stir fry on high heat for 5-6 minutes.

Add the noodles and mix well. Add salt and mix well. Continue to stir fry on high heat for another 2-3 min till the noodles mix well.

If I am feeling really lazy, I  just grab a pre-prepare version from Whole Food or Fairway Market... normally it's the Macro-Vegan Pad Thai.

Enjoy!