Spicy tofu with noodles and mushrooms

I could make up an elaborate story about how I decided to make this recipe, but in all honesty, I just needed to use up my tofu before I leave for Florida this week. I have mixed feelings about tofu because I know far too many people who do research on the effects of soy and phytoestrogens on the brain (and it's rarely good news), but I usually manage to put aside these feelings because it's so delicious. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss.

Spicy tofu with noodles and mushrooms (adapted from "The Complete Cooking Light Cookbook")

1 cup boiling water

1 oz. dried mushrooms (I used a combination of oyster and shiitake)

4 oz. spaghetti (I used brown rice spaghetti)

1 Tbsp peanut oil

1/2 small onion, chopped

3 green onions, chopped

1/2 cup diced carrot

1/2" piece of ginger, minced

1 tsp Sriracha sauce

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbsp soy sauce (use wheat-free tamari for gluten-free)

1 Tbsp hoisin sauce

2 tsp rice vinegar

1 lb. firm tofu, cubed

12 romaine lettuce leaves

Combine boiling water and mushrooms in a small bowl, cover, and let sit for 15 min. Drain mushrooms and chop. While mushrooms are soaking, cook pasta according to package directions. Then, heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add mushrooms, both types of onions, carrot, ginger, Sriracha, and garlic and stir-fry for 3 min. Stir in soy sauce, hoisin sauce, vinegar, tofu, and noodles and cook for 3 more min. Put 1/2 cup of mixture into each lettuce leaf. Serves 4.

I really liked this, and it had a good mix of hot and sweet from the various sauces. It paired perfectly with one of my favorite simple veggie dishes - roasted broccoli tossed in soy sauce. My only complaint was that the spaghetti made it hard to eat (it kept making its way into my lap). But perhaps that's only a problem for people who excel at making a mess.