Recipe for Vegetable Peanut Pasta and Mediterranean Salad

Friday Feb 14th, 2009

Vegetarian Peanut Noodles Recipe
INGREDIENTS:
For the peanut sauce:
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 1/4 cup vegetable broth
• 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 2 Tbsp. teriyaki sauce
• One “thumb” of ginger
• Zest and juice of ½ lime
• 2 Tbsp. chopped peanuts
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• Black pepper to taste
For the pasta:
• 250 grams (1/4 package) linguine or udon noodles
For the stir-fry:
• 1-2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 tsp. sesame oil
• 3 carrots, sliced thinly into matchsticks
• 1 cup broccoli florets
• 1.5 cups bean sprouts
• 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced thinly
To serve:
• Green onions
• Chopped peanuts
• Sesame seeds
DIRECTIONS:
For the peanut sauce:
1. Heat a small saucepan over low-medium heat.
2. Add the broth, peanut butter, garlic, sesame oil, teriyaki sauce, grated
ginger, lime zest, lime juice, and peppers to the pot, stirring gently.
3. Heat through.
For the pasta:
1. Bring a large pot of water to the boil and cook pasta until al dente. The
noodles should be cooked but still slightly firm in the middle, not slippery
or mushy. Firmer noodles are desired to hold onto the sauce better.
2. If using udon noodles, cook according to minimum cook time on package.
For the Stir-fry:
1. Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat and add one tablespoon oil.
2. Add the vegetables and stir-fry for several minutes, until all vegetables
are tender-crisp.
To serve:
• In a serving dish, toss the cooked and drained pasta with the peanut sauce
and vegetables. Garnish with green onions (scallions), chopped peanuts, and
sesame seeds.

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
INGREDIENTS
• 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
• 1 roma (plum) tomato, seeded and diced
• 1/2 medium green bell pepper, diced
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 lemon, juiced
DIRECTIONS
1. In a bowl, toss together the garbanzo beans, roma tomato, green bell pepper,
onion, garlic, parsley, olive oil, and lemon juice. Cover, and chill until
serving.

One Pot

Entry from 2.6.09

The other day Haley, Lloyd, Sergio, and I went to Pigeon Point. We found a geocache; very cool. All day was a blast. We ran around, took pictures and played volleyball all day.

I have been cooking a lot lately. I have been learning how to make some good one pots, bouillon and dumplings. I made some lemon butter garlic sauce today for tuna (in a can of course).

One Pot – a bullion consisting of all or any combination of the following:
Lentils, dumplings, rice, noodles, plantain, green fig, onion, garlic, pumpkin, any vegetables, etc, etc.
Most often, a one pot is sure to contain lentils and dumplings.

You get the point?

Throw a bunch of food in a pot and let it boil!

Peanut Brittle

As for that peanut brittle; boy can it be a project. The 2nd batch came out right and required much less sticky cleanup. As for batch #1, I wish I had taken pictures of my kitchen because you would have to see the mess to believe the disaster I made of my kitchen. Caution: baking soda makes things expand! Be sure to use large pot when making brittle!

Recipe for Peanut Brittle
(makes 1 ½ lbs)

2 cups white sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
2 cups raw Spanish peanuts
1 cup water
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp butter
2 tsp baking soda
Optional – dash of vanilla

Heat on low and stir sugar, syrup, and water in large saucepan until sugar dissolves. Add salt. Cook over medium heat to soft ball stage (234 degrees). Add peanuts at 250 degrees. Continue to boil until reaches hard crack stage (290 degrees), stirring often. Remove from heat.
Quickly stir in butter and baking soda. Beat to a froth for a few seconds. Pour at once into 2 well buttered 15 ½ x 10 ½ x 1 inch pans, spreading.
Break up when cold

(tip for if you don’t have a candy thermometer: when light amber color and when small amount dropped into ice cold water separates into soft balls, introduce peanuts. 290 – 300 degrees is when small amount dropped into ice cold water separates into hard and brittle threads immediately)

New Things I Have Learned To Cook

Green Split Pea Soup

Serves 3
1 cup split peas
1 tbsp oil
3 cups water
1 bay leaf
½ cup finely shredded carrot
1 vegetable or chicken cube
Small bunch of celery
West Indies pepper sauce
3 cloves garlic
Salt and black pepper
1 onion

Add water, peas, celery, onion, oil, bay leaf to pressure cooker; cover and cook 40 min. Allow steam to escape before removing cover. Add garlic, carrots, cube, and seasoning. Cook another 20 minutes or until peas tender adding more water if needed. Mash soup until smooth

Yellow Rice

Serves 3
1 cup rice
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp turmeric
2 cups water
1 cup fresh spinach

Heat oil and butter in large pan over medium heat. Add rice and stir to coat. Add water, salt, and turmeric. Bring to boil then reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Cook 15 minutes. Uncover and stir in spinach. Cover and cook another 10 minutes or until rice tender. Add water as needed.