“I am not a glutton — I am an explorer of food.”

— Erma Bombeck

This sounds good, but the waists of my pants these days might differ in their opinion. So, one of our New Year’s resolutions around Chez Habib is to eat healthier and watch our portion sizes. As a culture, we are all guilty of super-sizing. Start reading serving sizes on labels, you’ll be surprised by how many servings you and your family might actually be consuming. (My older kids recently told me that one of the best lessons I’ve taught them is to be cognizant of what the serving size really is — they don’t always follow it, but they know where to find it if they choose to ;)

One of my new favorite recipes is Sweet Hot Tofu from myrecipes.com. What I love about it is that it’s so adaptable. The first time I make a recipe, I usually try to make it as directed so I can evaluate whether it’s a “keeper” or not. When I first made it for my daughter and I for lunch, I thought it would benefit from the addition of broccoli, so I added broccoli to the leftovers and had them for lunch the rest of the week.

One of my clients loves shrimp and Asian food, so Sweet Hot Shrimp with Broccoli often appears on her menu. Another client loves chicken, voil&agrav;! Sweet Hot Chicken and Snow Peas! What are your favorites? Give it a try yourself.

Sweet hot tofu
serves 4
(modified from myrecipes.com)

1 14-oz package firm, reduced-fat tofu
1 c rice
2 c water
2 t canola oil
2/3 c fat-free, low-sodium vegetable stock(use chicken or seafood stock if you desire modifying the recipe)
1/4 c hoisin sauce
1 T dry sherry
1 t cornstarch
2 t low-sodium soy sauce
1 t honey
1/2 t dark sesame oil
dash of crushed red pepper
2 t fresh ginger, minced or grated
2 t garlic, minced or grated
1 c broccoli, cut into bite-size florets
1/3 c green onions, thinly sliced

Drain tofu, wrap in several layers of paper towels or kitchen towel, and place under a heavy plate for about 30 minutes.

Bring rice and water to a boil in a medium saucepan, cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes. Once rice is done, add broccoli florets to saucepan and replace cover. Broccoli with steam.

In a small bowl, combine stock, hoisin, sherry, cornstarch, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, and crushed red pepper, stirring well. Set aside.

Cut tofu into 1-inch cubes. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tofu and sauté for 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from skillet.

Add ginger and garlic to pan. Sauté 30 seconds. Stir in broth mixture, and cook 1 minute, or until thickened, stirring constantly. Add tofu and broccoli to pan; cook 30 seconds, stirring gently to coat. Remove from burner and add green onions. Serve immediately over rice.