Food Lust People Love

Sunday, April 26, 2026

Firecracker Tofu Broccolini Stir-Fry

This firecracker tofu broccolini stir-fry is spicy, savory and absolutely delicious. Eat it just as is, or serve over rice or noodles.

First of all, let me say that I make this dish with tofu that I have frozen and then thawed and you should do the same. As it thaws, or maybe as it’s freezing actually, the tofu releases a lot of the liquid it contains. When you open the container, you can pour a lot of it off already. Then it’s simple to slice it thickly and squeeze even more out.

Why are we trying to dry the tofu out? Because when you get rid of the excess liquid it makes browning the tofu much, much easier! And browning is all about adding texture and flavor.

Firecracker Tofu Broccolini Stir Fry

The sambal is essential for spiciness to give the tofu its firecracker name. If you aren’t sure about how much spiciness you can manage, start with 2 tablespoons. We love it with four – or more!

Ingredients

For the firecracker sauce:

¼ cup reduced sodium soy sauce

3 tablespoons brown sugar, tightly packed

2 tablespoons black vinegar (or substitute rice vinegar)

2 tablespoons sesame oil

2-4 tablespoons sambal oelek

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated

¼ cup water

1 tablespoon cornstarch

For the dish:

10 oz or 283g baby broccoli aka broccolini

1 lb or 450g block extra firm tofu, frozen then thawed

2 tablespoon canola or another light oil

1 medium yellow onion

For garnish:

Sesame seeds

Spring onion, sliced diagonally

Method

Grate the garlic and ginger into a mixing bowl.

Add in the soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, sambal oelek, sesame oil, water and cornstarch. Whisk to combine then set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Trim the broccolini and cut the stem parts into bite sized pieces. Set the florets aside.

Blanch the stems in the boiling water for 1-2 minutes, depending on whether they are thick or thin, then add in the florets. Blanch for another minute.

Transfer the broccolini into a colander and run cool water over it until it is cool also. Set aside.

Squeeze the thawed tofu to remove as much excess liquid as you can then crumble it with the tines of a fork.

Peel and chop the onion finely.

In a large nonstick skillet, fry the tofu crumbles in the canola oil until browned and a little crispy. Depending on how dry you managed to get your tofu, this could take a while but it’s worth the time for texture and flavor.

Transfer the tofu to a bowl and then add the onion to the pan and cook until it softens and the edges start to brown, stirring often.

Put the tofu back in and stir well to combine.

Pour in the firecracker sauce and stir to coat.

Cook for a several minutes, stirring often, to mellow the fresh garlic and ginger.

Add the blanched broccolini and toss gently to combine. Cook until heated through and tender enough for your liking. We like our broccolini still pretty crunchy.

Top with sesame seeds and spring onions to serve. As I mentioned in the introduction, this is lovely just as it is or you can serve it over rice or noodles.

Enjoy!

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes made with protein rich vegetarian ingredients like tofu, ricotta, cottage cheese and paneer. Many thanks to our host, Mayuri from Mayuri’s Jikoni. Check out the links below.

Corn Paneer Parathas from Mayuri's Jikoni
Cottage Cheese Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
Cottage Cheese Wraps from Making Miracles
Cheese Paneer Tikka Open Sandwich in Air Fryer from Cook with Renu
Firecracker Tofu Broccolini Stir-Fry from Food Lust People Love
Homemade Paneer Recipe Ideas from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
Paneer Tomato Rice With Leftover Rice For One from Sneha's Recipe
Pasta with Green Beans and Ricotta from Karen's Kitchen Stories
Potato, Cottage Cheese, & Caramelized Onion Pierogi from Amy's Cooking Adventures
Retro Cottage Cheese Jello Salad from A Messy Kitchen

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

Pin this Firecracker Tofu Broccolini Stir-Fry!

Sunday, April 19, 2026

Creamy Thyme Butter Beans

Simple and classic, these creamy thyme butter beans aka lima beans are a family favorite, the perfect side dish for any meal. And they are so easy!

First of all, I need to clarify what I mean by butter beans. Many in the world would call these green delights lima beans. In the southern United States or at the very least in Louisiana where I was born and many my forebears before me, they are called butter beans.

It wasn’t until I was a full grown up that I found out that more the mature white butter beans existed. I’ll eat those too, if well cooked and soft but for my money, the tender green beans are the best. The older white ones can be quite starchy and dry but cream helps so they can also work in this recipe.

This simple recipe was my mom’s favorite way to eat butter beans. She waxed lyrical about my grandmother’s light hand with this dish. A generous pour of rich cream, a sprinkling of thyme, often dried thyme because that’s what Mo had on hand. I like to use fresh thyme, which Mom also appreciated and I was happy to cook this for her, whenever she asked.

Creamy Thyme Butter Beans

If you can find shelled fresh beans, by all means, use them. I made these with frozen beans but I've also used canned ones before, drained and rinsed. When fresh purple hull or zipper cream peas are in season, I’ve made this with them as well.

Ingredients

1 lb or 450g frozen butter/lima beans

1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste as desired

2/3 cup or 156ml heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme

Several generous grinds black pepper

Pinch cayenne

Optional for garnish: more thyme

Method

Thaw and rinse the beans with warm water. Discard any loose pods or discolored beans.

Put the beans just covered with water with the salt in a small pot.

Bring the water to a boil then simmer the beans until tender. This could take just 10 minutes with very fresh young beans, a little longer with older ones. The instructions on my bag of frozen baby limas said to bring to a boil then simmer for 20-25 minutes! Only you can judge if they are tender enough for you. I will say, try to choose the biggest ones to test.

When they are tender, taste a bean and see if it has absorbed enough salt to your liking. If not, add another teaspoon of salt to the water, let stand for 10 minutes, and then drain in a colander.

Return the warm beans to the pot, over a very low heat then add in the cream and stir to coat.

Stir in the thyme. Gently heat the cream till warm through but be careful not to not let it boil.

Add in a few generous grinds of black pepper and a pinch of cayenne.

Serve warm, garnished with more thyme, if desired.

Enjoy!

As I mentioned above, I grew up eating butter beans/lima beans and didn’t know they were almost universally reviled! Why do many people hate limas? Perhaps because they weren’t cooked well. Today my Sunday FunDay friends and I are trying to change that! We are celebrating Lima Bean Respect Day ahead of the official date on April 20th. All hail the might LIMA.

Many thanks to our host, Camilla of Culinary Cam. Check out the links below.

Butter Beans Curry, Maharashtrian Sprouted Usal by Cook with Renu
Creamy Thyme Butter Beans by Food Lust People Love
Greek Yogurt Soup With Zucchini, Lima Beans & Red Lentils by Sneha's Recipe
Ham & Baby Lima Bean Soup by Amy's Cooking Adventures
Pizza Beans by A Day in the Life on the Farm
Southern Style Green Lima Beans by Making Miracles
Summer Squash Succotash by Karen's Kitchen Stories
Vaal Nu Shaak by Mayuri's Jikoni
Why All the Hate? Recipes to Convert Lima Bean Despisers by Culinary Cam

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Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Hazelnut Vodka

If you love Frangelico but think it’s a bit too sweet, like I do, this is the drink for you! Hazelnut Vodka is perfect for sipping straight or over ice.

I’ve mentioned before about the amazing cherry tree in our back garden in Paris years ago but I don’t think I’ve written about the prolific hazelnut tree out front. It was actually in our neighbor’s yard, Madame Coucou we named her because that is what she called out over our party wall to get my attention. Coucou, coucou! Always with a big smile.

The tree grew right up near that wall so a goodly portion of it hung over our side. It took me a while to figure out what they were because I had never seen a fresh nut in its little fuzzy green outer coat. As they ripen, that turns brown and the nuts are ready for harvest, often falling to the ground on their own. During the season, hazelnuts were literally everywhere.

Unlike the cherries that we turned into jam and pie and cherry bounce, we just shelled and ate the hazelnuts. I wish I had had this recipe back then!

Hazelnut Vodka

If you have hazelnuts with the shells still on, it will take about 8 ¾ oz or 248g to get the required amount shelled for this recipe. This recipe is adapted from one in Abundance: Eating and living with the seasons by Mark Diacono.

Ingredients

3 ½ oz or 100g shelled hazelnuts

¾ cup or caster sugar

4 cups or 946ml vodka

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

Method

Preheat your oven to 375°F or 190°C. Spread the hazelnuts out on a baking pan and roast them for about 15 minutes or so, checking after 10. The skins should darken but you don’t want them to burn!

Remove the pan from the oven and pour the hazelnuts into a towel.

Wrap them up and leave them to steam for a couple of minutes.

Rub them through the towel, squeezing and rolling to remove most of the skins.

Pick the hazelnuts out of the skins and put them into a food processor. Use a few short pulses to grind them into a coarse rubble. You want some small bits and some medium bits. Nothing too fine.

In a large, wide-mouthed jar, stir the sugar into 1 cup or 240ml of the vodka until it dissolves.

Add the chopped hazelnuts, allspice and the rest of the vodka and stir together.

Stir well!

Screw the lid on and set it someplace out of direct sunlight, where you’ll see it.

Shake the jar once a day.

I left mine for about a week before tasting it. Divine! Very hazelnutty! Leave it another week or two if you’d like – I did - but it’s very drinkable after one week.

Strain through a fine sieve and/or muslin and funnel into a sterilized bottle or jar.

Enjoy!

I made this last Christmastime and after we sipped a bit, I stashed it behind the bar and forgot about it. I pulled it back out when I was writing this post to discover that sediment had settled to the bottom. I decanted it, leaving that sediment behind and it's much less opaque now. Still delicious though!

Welcome to the 8th edition of Alphabet Challenge 2026, brought to you by the letter H. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the H recipes below: