Garlic & Cashew Noodle Salad

Spring is here! Soon I’ll be overdosing on asparagus and peas and all those spring vegetables that I’ve been missing for months. It’s finally starting to warm up. And warm weather means salads. Green salads, vegetable salads, grain salads and, my favorite, cold noodle salads.

This particular salad is something I could eat every week. The noodles are slick with sesame oil, soy sauce and rice vinegar – toasty and tangy. Baby bok choy is sauteed with garlic, cashews and tofu (chicken or steak if you prefer). Everything is tossed together with fresh garlic chives and mint leaves. It’s a delightfully refreshing salad that you can eat again and again. It just tastes like warm weather and sunshine to me. Hello, Spring!

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Currywurst Noodles

Whew! It’s been a really hectic couple of weeks traveling for work and leisure. Tom turned 30 and we had a weekend-long celebration in Las Vegas. For the record, Burger Bar might just be my favorite place on earth. They let you add jalapeno bacon to your burger. Have you ever even heard of jalapeño bacon? It was astounding. Wonderful. Magnificent. Almost brought tears to my eyes. I’m already planning my trip back just so I can have another taste of that jalapeño bacon.

But, moving on… Since I’ve had zero time to cook, I had a really bizarre assortment of ingredients in the fridge. Turkey kielbasa, one egg, savoy cabbage, some onions, peanut butter, piquillo peppers, condiments galore and way too much beer. But don’t worry – I didn’t just combine everything for this dish. Instead, I translated German Currywurst into a noodle dish.

I sauteed some onions, turkey kielbasa and thinly sliced cabbage, then made a simple sauce with some white wine, deli mustard, tomato paste and hot curry powder. The result was a really comforting bowl of noodles. Reminiscent of German street food, but not so much that it was weird. One of those pantry meals that ends up being a total winner and something I’ll actually make again. At least, my husband hopes I will.

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Tom’s Favorite Vietnamese Noodle Salad

I rarely make the same thing twice in a month. Even rarer for me to make something four times in a month. And it’s quite possibly unheard of for me to serve the same dish to guests twice in a week. Well, I think I’ve made this salad five or six times in the last month. And since it’s become Tom’s favorite, he’s been asking for it constantly, and I’m finding myself more than happy to oblige.

So, what is it about this salad that makes it so irresistible? I think it’s the bright and slightly sweet dressing, the freshness of the mint and cilantro and the fact that you can eat a whole heap of it and still feel really good about yourself. It’s one of those rare meals that is immensely delicious and really healthy. Best of all, it keeps in the fridge for a few days, even after it’s been dressed, making for some tasty leftover lunches.

I like top mine with some sliced steak, but it’s equally good with grilled chicken, pork or shrimp – just use whatever you happen to have on hand. It’s the ideal salad for the end of summer heat.

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Thai Curry Lime Noodle Soup w/Fried Egg

A while back my friend Karen asked me if I could come up with a recipe for breakfast soup since it was so cold out (no oatmeal allowed). I thought I was up for the challenge. Breakfast soup? No problem. Man, was I wrong. Everything I came up with was either too complicated for breakfast or too similar to oatmeal. I had pretty much given up on the breakfast soup challenge and hung my head in shame.

But then I started craving spicy Thai curry soup. And I wanted a fried egg on that soup. Because a fried egg makes (almost) everything better. Could this finally be the breakfast soup recipe I’ve been looking for? I think maybe it is.

This soup might not be what everyone craves first thing in the morning, but it definitely hit the spot for me. I can imagine it would just the thing to cure a hangover. So, if you partied hard for St. Patrick’s Day, you may want to whip up a batch of this stuff right now. Especially, since it’s as quick and easy as it gets.

I loved the spicy, citrus-infused broth with rice noodles. I loved the way the fried egg added richness and substance. All in all, not an everyday breakfast soup, but one that’s still delicious for lunch and dinner.

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Butternut Squash Beef Stroganoff

A couple of years ago I found and made a recipe for Turkey Pumpkin Stroganoff that was absolutely delicious. Since then, I’ve moved twice and lost the recipe along the way. Yesterday was the first almost-cool day of the year in Miami. It was overcast and breezy and I wanted to make something a little spicy, beefy and noodly. Stroganoff was just the thing.

Although I’m loving pumpkin and turkey right now, I decided against trying to recreate the lost recipe, and used butternut squash and lean ground beef instead. Mostly, because I was too lazy to drive out to the good grocery store and the one nearby doesn’t carry organic ground turkey. This happens a lot. Anyway, I spiced it up with sweet and smoked paprika, nutmeg and caraway seeds for a warming fall dish.

This Stroganoff would be equally delicious with your favorite winter squash or pumpkin, and you can add chunky cubes of it, or creamy pureed squash. Go ahead and use ground turkey or beef, or even thinly sliced steak in the traditional method for Stroganoff. I would also add some portabello mushrooms next time to give it more of an earthly flavor and I might even bake it with some breadcrumbs scattered on top. I love baked pasta (who doesn’t?) and this just might be the best way to reheat the leftovers!

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summer roll remix: mango, basil & tea-infused noodles

Last month, I posted some traditional summer rolls made with carrot, cucumber, rice noodles and cilantro. While delicious, I had a hard time handling the rice paper. Thanks to some fabulous tips from Ami, I managed to make them much more quickly and efficiently this time.

I also wanted to experiment with the fillings, so I went with mango, basil and tea-infused rice noodles. I soaked the rice noodles in a strong brew of Lapsang Souchong tea, which gave them a smoky and almost spicy flavor that made a nice contrast to the mango and basil. I also sprinkled some of the dried tea leaves over the filling before wrapping the rolls for extra flavor.

Since it was a weeknight and I was feeling a bit lazy, I made a simple dipping sauce by combining Ponzu and Sriracha. Ponzu is a citrusy Japanese sauce made from Shoyu, Mirin, rice vinegar and yuzu. It salty, tart and a little bit sweet.

All in all, I think I like these little mango rolls. They were different and refreshing, but still felt as light as the traditional version. Tom thought they were too “herbal” because I used 2 basil leaves per roll. I suppose I agree, so I adjusted the recipe here to call for 1 basil leaf per roll. Feel free to play with the ingredients, or to substitute Chai or another strong black tea if you can’t find Lapsang Sauchong.

In honor of the 4th of July, I’ll be posting something decidedly non-American on Friday, but perfect for beach snacking: homemade empanadas with 3(!) kinds of filling. Yum!

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big, slurpy bowl of udon noodles

Nothing says comfort food like a big bowl of slurpy noodles. Surprisingly, I don’t miss living in New York as much as I thought I would. I’ve adjusted well to the tropical weather and the beach across the street from my home. And the flip flops. But one of the things I really miss is the delicious and plentiful Asian food. It’s sorely lacking here in Miami, so I’ve taken to making much more of it at home than I ever did in New York.

Lately, the craving has been for a big bowl of Udon noodles with pork, dumplings, fish cakes (they’re delicious – I swear!), shrimp tempura and a poached egg. A bit weird since it’s full-blown summer here and that’s definitely a winter meal. But I craved it nonetheless. And it’s nowhere to be found. (If anyone has a recommendation, please please please leave a comment!)

Where was I? Oh yeah – so I made some Udon soup to calm the craving. It’s not really authentic, and doesn’t have the shrimp tempura or the fish cakes, but it’s still a big comfy bowl of noodle soup. And it’s delicious!

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toasted sesame noodle salad w/nori-crusted tofu

I’ve got warn you before you click through or scroll down to today’s recipe. The ingredient list is 23 items long. 23! I know, it’s ridiculous, but I swear the recipe isn’t as complicated as it looks. The most complicated thing about it is making sure you have enough clean bowls to work with. In fact, of those 23 ingredients listed below, 5 are repeated. Let’s do some quick math here. That makes a grand total of…18 ingredients. Ok, that’s still a lot. But it’s not as bad as it seems. Everything took 30 – 40 minutes of active time. Not that bad!

It’s no surprise that I’m making a noodle salad. We all know that I love a cold noodle salad. This is yet another variation. I think this is my new favorite, though. The cabbage, scallions and sugar snap peas add enough vegetable matter to not feel guilty about the noodles, and the spicy peas and toasted sesame dressing gives everything a rich, decadent feel.

The Nori-crusted tofu was also amazingly, surprisingly good. I’m not sure I’ll prepare tofu another way again. Even if you think the rest of the recipe is crazy – try the tofu. I’m serious. My husband raved about it. He raved about tofu. He who hails from the meat-eating Midwest. He who is obsessed with chorizo and lamb and pork and burgers. If you like Asian food, try the tofu. You will thank me.

It’s also a really well-balanced meal: vegetables, protein, good fat (peanuts), whole grains (brown rice noodles) and rich nutrients (Nori). So, without furhter ado, I present Toasted Sesame Noodle Salad with Nori-Crusted Tofu.

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vietnamese noodle salad

Growing up in Miami I had very little access to Asian food (greasy Chinese takeout was pretty much it) and I never really knew what Vietnamese cuisine was until I moved to Boston. The first time I had a noodle salad, I was blown away. It came in a big, deep bowl with tons of fresh herbs and vegetables and a slightly sweet, acidic dressing. As with most noodle bowls, I felt like I could eat tons and tons of it in one sitting. (I didn’t.)

I finally decided to take a stab at recreating it at home and the results were really good! I took a shortcut by using broccoli slaw, which can be found at most markets. I also added savoy cabbage and scallions for a more authentic flavor and some cashews for crunch. The salad was light and healthy and the mint, cilantro and basil lent a fresh, summery taste to the dish. I also added slices of flank steak that had been rubbed with brown sugar and chile powder for a sweet and spicy protein. For me, it’s the perfect summer salad.

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cold noodle salad

Perhaps this is a little inappropriate for January, but I live in Miami and it’s 80 degrees outside, so I’m going to post a recipe for a cold salad. Maybe you can get to it in April or May.

This is my interpretation of Heidi’s Otsu. Her recipe calls for cucumber, more olive oil, and different quantities of vinegar and soy. Hers is fabulous, but I wanted a little less olive oil and soy sauce and I didn’t have cucumbers on hand. I also added some cashews for more crunch. I suspect adding 2 tbsp. of all natural chunky peanut butter would be delicious as well.

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