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Seriously. Peanut butter is way better than cheese to catch rodents. Or marshmallows. Or  teeny little martinis. But cheese? Who came up with that?

But this post isn’t about rodents. Or cheese. Or, surprisingly, martinis. It’s about peanut butter. Mmmm. Peanut butter.

First, a little business. The Heinrich I mention now again is my husband. The same husband I’ve had for the past 14 1/2 years. (Yikes!) I have, as is often done in literary and/or criminal circles, changed his name to protect him from being bombarded in public by my thousands of adoring fans and followers. Or embarrassment.

I thought of naming him Jimmy the Rat, but Heinrich likes cheese.

"I like cheese." --Heinrich

Oh, and I apologize for my long absence. The holidays were freaky busy. Well, not freaky, but busy. And I was lazy. At least writing lazy. I did a helluvalotta cooking. Most of it good. But now I’m back, and I will try to be more diligent.

So, tonight.

Broccoli and peanut butter pasta. Yum.

Here are the ingredients:

• 4 1/2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 4 tablespoons hot water
• 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 3/4 teaspoon sugar
• a scant 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (go for more! Spicy is good)
• 1/2 pound rotelle or fusilli
• 1/2 pound broccoli, the flowerets cut into 3/4-inch pieces and the stems  peeled and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 half a large yellow onion, diced large. (My addition)
• Red pepper flakes to taste (My addition, also. I added about 1/2 a teaspoon. Maybe more.)

I didn’t have a red bell, which would have made a prettier dish, but I did have two green peppers, via the CSA box, which made for a cheaper dish. Next time, I’ll go red. Pretty, like spicy, is good.

If you want to check out the original directions, click here. But before you do, realize they called for boiling the peppers. Boiled peppers? Eww.

So here’s what to do.

1. Boil the pasta to your desired al dente-ness.
2. Combine the first seven ingredients in a big bowl (big enough to accommodate the pasta and veggies later). Whisk until smooth.
3. Heat some mild oil (save your EVOO for better dishes) over medium-high heat, and add the red pepper flakes. Stir for 30 seconds. Add the onions and peppers and sauté for a minute or two, and then add the broccoli. Sauté, stirring often, until all the veggies reach your desired level of crisp-tenderness. (Hint: soggy veggies are horrible unless you are an infant or in a coma.)
4. Add the not-soggy veggies and the not-too-al dente pasta to the bowl containing the peanut butter mixture. Toss until everything is well covered with the sauce. Taste and add salt and pepper as you feel fit.
5. Spoon into pasta bowls and enjoy. Heinrich and I finished it all*, although depending on your appetite, and if you serve garlic bread with it, it may stretch to four servings.

And that’s it. Yes, it’s peanut butter and broccoli. And it’s delicious. And it’s not Pennsylvania Dutch.

Expanding your taste horizons is a good thing.

*By this I mean I ate two-thirds of it. Heinrich gives it three of five stars. I give it four. Heinrich is wrong.