Valen-Thai-ne’s Day Dinner

We envision romantic dinners to include a bottle of red wine, a bundle of red roses, a plate of delicious pasta with incredible Italian red sauce, oodles of garlic bread, and a rich and indulgent dessert.  What a perfect meal for this Valentine’s day dinner.  If this is the scene you experienced this past February 14th, I hope you enjoyed it.

We, however, indulged in a totally different Valentine’s Day meal.  In fact, it was a Valen-thai-ne’s Day meal” beautiful (and completely unexpected purple roses) and a delicious asian meal with Thai flavors.  

Every single time I make this dish, the husband and I rave over it.  There is just something about the sauce and combination of simple, yet flavorful, ingredients that wow us over each time.

Without further ado, our Valen-thai-ne’s Day dinner:

Thai Spaghetti Toss for Two (adapted from Meals Matter)

8 oz. fresh pasta (or boxed stuff, if you must)

-I used my fresh pasta recipe and adapted it slightly to meet my husband’s preference for whole wheat pasta (yeah right, but hey, he won’t know he had all that extra nutrition until he reads this blog post)

6 oz. mung bean sprouts

8 oz. fresh green beans, steamed and then shocked in cold water

3 bunches scallions, cut into 1-inch lengths

Chopped peanuts and sesame seeds to garnish

Sauce

2 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1 T lemon or lime juice

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

2 T ketchup

2 T soy sauce

1 T brown sugar

1 T vegetable oil

1 T red wine vinegar

1 t onion powder

1 t ground ginger

1/3 cup hot water

Add sauce to cooked pasta.  Toss in green beans and scallions.  Plate.  Add bean sprouts and garnish with chopped peanuts.

Shocking the green beans helps maintain vivid color and bright crispness.

Piping hot pasta over mung bean sprouts.