I made Cold Sesame Noodles!

This is another recipe that I made quite a few months ago. Even though the leftovers are long gone, I do remember quite clearly where the inspiration to make these noodles
came from.

It was a Wednesday back in the winter at one of Nick+Faryl's wonderful "LOST"-watching parties, and we had ordered Chinese food. We'd gotten into the habit of doing a "blind vote" to determine what kind of food (pizza or Chinese) to order for dinner. A blind vote is conducted as follows: everyone closes their eyes except for one person, the "leader" of the blind vote. The leader then poses the two sides for voting - "Who wants pizza?" - and then all in favor quietly raise their hands, with no fear of judgment by others or any chance of outside influence on their choice. The leader silently counts up the votes and continues - "Who wants Chinese?"

Once the vote is done, we open our eyes and the leader announces the verdict. It's pretty thrilling, if I do say so myself. (This is obviously a pretty scientific process for just figuring out what to eat for dinner, but hey, we take dinner pretty seriously.) Try it next time you're with a large group and you need to make a decision!

In any case, on this particular night, the blind voters had selected Chinese, and I was eating a plate containing some of the best Cold Sesame Noodles I think I have ever had. I don't quite know exactly what made these noodles so satisfying and delicious, but at that moment, they were really hitting the spot. Chewy noodles, slightly spicy and sweet sauce, not too oily. I have never really been a cold sesame noodles kinda gal, but something must have changed, because the next day, I was still thinking about those noodles! Instead of taking the subway back up to the Upper West Side, I decided to try to make my own. I did some searching around on the internet and turns out that a bunch of internet cooks were raving about Tyler Florence's recipe. So I made it! This is how:


Cold Sesame Noodles
Tyler Florence
Ingredients

* 1/2 pound Chinese egg noodles (I used some kind of whole-grain udon noodles I think. They work too. But egg noodles are what they used in those awesome Lost-night cold sesame noodles.)
* 3 tablespoons dark sesame oil
* 2 tablespoons peanut oil (I didn't have, used olive or canola oil probably?)
* 2 green onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
* 1-inch piece fresh ginger, minced
* 3 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 teaspoon red chili paste, such as sambal oelek
* 2 tablespoons brown sugar
* 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
* 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
* 3 tablespoons soy sauce
* 6 tablespoons hot water
* 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
* Cucumber slices, for garnish ( I used thin slices of red bell pepper.)
* Fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish

Directions

Cook the noodles in large pot of boiling unsalted water over medium heat until barely tender and still firm. Drain immediately and rinse with cold water until cool. Drain the noodles really well and transfer to a wide bowl; toss with the sesame oil so they don't stick together. (Or if you're using different noodles, just follow the directions for preparing those.)

In a small saucepan, heat the peanut oil over medium-low flame. Add the green onions, ginger, garlic, and chili paste. Cook and stir for a minute until soft and fragrant. Mix in the brown sugar, peanut butter, vinegar, soy sauce, and hot water. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and the peanut butter has smoothed out. Toss the noodles with the peanut sauce until well coated. Serve at room temperature or chilled. Garnish with the sesame seeds, cucumber slices, and cilantro (and red pepper if using). (You can also thin out the sauce with a bit more water if it seems too thick.)



These are actually even better if you let the sauce chill overnight. The flavors really do "mesh" when given some time to mingle.

A catch up post: Tofu Scramble, Maple Nut Granola, and Wilted Red Cabbage and Bell Pepper Slaw

Here's a little roundup of some things I have been making recently!




Tofu Scramble

This recipe was actually made out of necessity, since I had a carton of tofu sitting in my fridge with an expiration date rapidly approaching. I always buy tofu with the best of intentions, and then let it sit on the shelf until it is no longer usable, and then I feel bad for wasting food and money. I decided that this time, I would not let that tofu go to waste, so the other day I put about a third of it in some miso soup and decided that the next morning I would make a tofu scramble with the rest.

I have had a few previous experiences with tofu scramble, most of which have been from the brunch menu at Kate's Joint in the East Village, and (sorry Kate), most of which have been kinda disappointing. I keep ordering it though, because in theory, I really like the idea of scrambling up some tofu with veggies and spices, but the result is often a little mushy, watery, and bland.

I finally decided to take matters into my own hands when I saw the following recipe on the blog Bread and Honey. They recommend draining the tofu of any excess water before preparing the recipe, and I think it makes a huge difference in the texture of the dish. I did this by putting the tofu on a plate, covering it with saran wrap, and then putting a weight on top (in my case, a 5 pound bag of flour.) If you do this for about 15 minutes while assembling the rest of your ingredients, you will be all set. This recipe made me really happy because it had a great, firm consistency and was so flavorful. It is a nice change from traditional scrambled eggs, and I think now that I know how to make it, I won't have to stress about wasting tofu as much.

Wakantanka Tofu Scramble: adapted from Vegan World Fusion Cuisine cookbook

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup yellow onion, diced (I didn't have this, so I omitted it. Still tasted fine!)
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
1 pound tofu, extra firm, crumbled (Keep in mind that the proportions of this recipe are for a whole package of tofu. If you are using less, don't forget to adjust the proportions of spices accordingly, or your scramble will taste crazy.)
1/2 cup tomato, diced
1 teaspoon tumeric
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon black pepper, ground to taste
1/2 teaspoon nutritional yeast (I didn't have this either , so I used some Bragg's Liquid Aminos instead.)
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon of soy sauce or tamari
Also recommended: juice of about 1/2 lemon.

Directions:

Heat oil in a large pan on medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until the onions are soft and translucent, approximately 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the tofu. Cook for about 8 minutes, stirring frequently. Add remaining ingredients and cook for 5 minutes. (Before serving, squeeze lemon juice on top.)


Maple Nut Granola (via Epicurious)

This was my second attempt at making granola, and I think this will be my go-to recipe from now on. Making granola is really easy and it makes your kitchen spell really fragrant and toasty. Of course, you can also modify this recipe in a bunch of different ways and add whatever dried fruit and types of nuts you prefer. I like it because it is not TOO sweet, but just sweet enough, and is delicious with some plain yogurt.



Ingredients:
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup slivered almonds (I actually used 1/2 cup almonds and 1/2 cup chopped pecans.)
1/3 cup sesame seeds
6 tablespoons pure maple syrup
6 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons warm water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup golden raisins (I think dried cranberries are even better.)
I also added about 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon.

Preheat oven to 250°F. Lightly spray rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray. Toss oats and next 2 ingredients in large bowl. Whisk syrup, brown sugar, oil, 2 tablespoons warm water and salt (and cinnamon, if using) in small bowl to blend. Pour syrup mixture over oat mixture and stir to combine. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Bake until evenly browned, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool. Transfer to large bowl. Mix in raisins/cranberries. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Store in airtight container.)

OK: finally, I made this recipe for Wilted Red Cabbage and Bell Pepper Slaw. Now that spring and summer are almost here, I think this would be a really good dish to bring to a picnic or barbeque. This slaw is really crunchy and pungent and would be very refreshing on a hot day - (or a cold day when all you want to do is fantasize about going to picnics and barbeques.)



Wilted Red Cabbage and Bell Pepper Slaw (via Epicurious)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1/2 head red cabbage, shredded (about 3 cups)
2 red or yellow bell peppers, cut into 1-inch julienne strips
I also added thin ribbons of peeled carrots. Totally optional, but tasty.

In a saucepan bring vinegar and water to a boil with sugar, salt, and mustard and simmer, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes.

In a large heavy skillet heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Add mustard seeds and sauté until they begin to pop. Stir in cabbage and sauté, stirring, 1 minute. Add vinegar mixture and simmer vegetables 1 minute.

Drain vegetables in a large fine sieve set over a saucepan and transfer them to a bowl. Boil liquid over moderately high heat until reduced to about 3 tablespoons and stir into vegetables. Chill slaw, covered, at least 1 hour or overnight.

Whew. That's it for now. Let me know if you try any of these. They are all easy and tasty!

We Made Red Pepper Soup and Chickpea Butternut Squash Salad

This was Monday night dinner, and by now you know what that means: Gossip Girl/another collaborative culinary feat by Alena and Sarah. This time the decision was made pretty quickly. Alena called me from her shift at the Park Slope Food Co-op asking what groceries she should pick up. I said, "Wanna make this chickpea butternut squash salad?" She said, "YES." We decided the meal would need one more element to be complete, so I looked up soup recipes. I found this recipe for Red Pepper Soup, also on Smitten, originally from the New York Times. It looked quick and easy, plus I already had all the ingredients at home--except for the peppers. I called Alena back to see if she could pick up some peppers. But when I looked to see how many we needed, I saw that it called for 12!!! That's like a whole pepper... tree? vine? What exactly do peppers grow on, anyway? So we halved the recipe, since we were only cooking for the two of us anyway. Here it is, comments in bold:

Red Pepper Soup

Originally published in The New York Times, September 21, 2005

Total time: 45 minutes

2 tablespoons olive oil
3¼ cup sliced onions
3 large cloves garlic, crushed
¼ cup dry white wine
12 large red bell peppers, cut in 1-inch pieces
2 cups no-salt-added chicken stock or broth (we used vegetable broth instead.)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
¼ to ½ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
Salt and white pepper
Crème fraîche for garnish
Thyme sprigs for garnish.

1. Put oil in large pot. Add onion when oil is hot. Cook onions until they begin to soften and take on color. Add garlic and cook another minute. Add wine and cook down quickly, until about 1 tablespoon is left.

2. Add peppers, stock, thyme and red pepper flakes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer until peppers are tender, about 30 minutes.

3. In food processor or blender, purée mixture in batches until smooth. Adjust seasonings. (As usual, I used a hand blender instead. It was a little tricky because of the splattering of the hot soup. Alena was very nervous for me. But I've figured out that if you keep the blender submerged it splatters less.)

4. Cover and chill overnight or for as long as 2 days or freeze (whisk well before serving if thawed). Can also be served warm.

5. Serve in demitasse cups or soup bowls, topped with a dab of crème fraîche and a tiny sprig of thyme.

Yield: Makes six large servings, 12 demitasse size.

We didn't have any creme fraiche, or even sour cream, so we sprinkled some feta on top, as you can see in the photo. Delicious! Later, when I had leftovers, I put some Greek yogurt on top. Also delicious!

Now comes the salad:

Warm Butternut and Chickpea Salad with Tahini Dressing
Adapted from Orangette, who adapted it from Casa Moro

Yield: 4 servings

For salad:
1 medium butternut squash (about 2 to 2 1/2 pounds), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed
1/2 teaspoons ground allspice (I skip this)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
One 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (1 1/2 cups)
1/4 of a medium red onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro or parsley

For tahini dressing:
1 medium garlic clove, finely minced with a pinch of salt
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons well-stirred tahini
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more to taste

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

In a large bowl, combine the butternut squash, garlic, allspice, olive oil, and a few pinches of salt. Toss the squash pieces until evenly coated. Roast them on a baking sheet for 25 minutes, or until soft. Remove from the oven and cool.

Meanwhile, make the tahini dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic and lemon juice. Add the tahini, and whisk to blend. Add the water and olive oil, whisk well, and taste for seasoning. The sauce should have plenty of nutty tahini flavor, but also a little kick of lemon. You will probably need to add more water to thin it out.

To assemble the salad, combine the squash, chickpeas, onion, and cilantro or parsley in a mixing bowl. Either add the tahini dressing to taste, and toss carefully, or you could serve the salad with the dressing on the side. Serve immediately.

We followed the recipe pretty much exactly. The only thing I would have done differently would have been to use a little less dressing, or to leave it on the side. But it was still a great success. So many delicious flavors you would never think of combining! And the colors are so pretty. You can't really tell in the above photo. We really should have taken one before adding the dressing. Here is one from Smitten, which is pretty much what ours looked like:

This was the first time we actually finished cooking before the show! Both of these recipes are deceptively quick and easy. Perfect for a Monday night.