Tomorrow morning the Hatchling and I are leaving to go up north to my old college town because this weekend is my 15th college reunion. And where did THAT time go, I'd like to know? I'm normally a reunion-averse person - the small talk, the trying to remember people who clearly remember me, the revisiting of old cliques and social politics: it all makes me want to crawl into a hole, mostly. But happily, I'm still in touch with my closest circle of college friends, and we get together for a yearly reunion anyway, so this one should be relatively pain-free. Or as pain-free as any trip involving the single-handed wrangling of an active two-year-old can be. Anyway, blogging will be light until I'm back, so I thought I'd leave you with a yummy summer recipe to tide you over. LITERALLY. I basely stole the idea for this recipe from Shan, but my ingredients are a little different from hers, so it's not a total repeat. It is TEH YUM, easy to make, and even less adventurous eaters (like Mr. Squab) simply devour it. Plus it doesn't heat the house up too much.
Peanut Sesame Noodles
(adapted from Gourmet)
For peanut dressing
1/2 generous cup crunchy peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup warm water
1 Tblsp ground ginger
3-4 medium garlic clove, chopped
2 Tblsp red-wine or rice-wine vinegar
2 Tblsp Asian (toasted) sesame oil
1 Tblsp honey
1 1/2 teaspoons Sriracha or other hot sauce (more or less to taste)
juice of one small lime
For noodle salad
1 lb whole wheat spaghetti or angel hair
1/2 small yellow onion, minced
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/8-inch-thick strips
1/2 English cucumber, seeded and cut into 1/8-inch-thick strips
1 large carrot, shredded (about 2/3 cup)
6-7 large fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken breast or tofu (optional)
Make dressing:
Purée dressing ingredients in a blender until mixed but not smooth, about 30-45 seconds, then transfer to a large bowl and put in the fridge. Cut up salad veggies and chicken/tofu and put those into the fridge, too.
Make salad:
Cook pasta in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling water until tender. Drain in a colander, then rinse well under cold water.
Add pasta, veggies, and chicken/tofu to dressing, tossing to combine, and serve immediately. Even better the next day!
