PEANUT, SESAME NOODLES

In my last post, I showed you the photo of my beautiful new outdoor patio space.  What I didn’t mention was that I had intended upon buying a new blog worthy camera, and I spent the money on my patio instead!

When I began blogging I really just thought that my recipes needed to be great and that it didn’t matter that my photos weren’t.  Well as I explore more wonderful blogs, I have discovered that the blogs I’m attracted to have both great recipes and great photos.

I long for the camera lens that obscures the back ground, so that I don’t have to go around cleaning off that pile of mail that never seems to shrink and always sits on my kitchen counter.

I have realized the importance of improving my photography, but for now I will just have to work on it with my point and click camera…only until I’m able to purchase a new camera.  

Just so you know, I don’t have a Smart Phone either, but that’s my resistance to technology. My husband thinks that I should get one, so I will probably end up with a Smart Phone sooner than later and then I will always be accessible (aaargh!).

Now about those noodles…I’m kinda lazy, so I love when I can make something once and use it twice to make two terrific dishes.  When I made the Peanut Dressing for Asian Chicken Salad, I made a more than I would need for the salad so that I could toss that dressing into some pasta for Peanut Sesame Noodles.  I just made this dish with what I had on hand which was angel hair pasta (spaghettini), red bell pepper, carrots and some red onion for a little bite.  I kept the recipe really simple, and it was super flavorful; but if you want to beef it up you can add almost any veggie you like in here as well as some chicken, shrimp or tofu.

Peanut Sesame Noodles is a really practical dish, as it can be eat hot or cold; making it also really great to pack up for a picnic at the beach (I live in Florida, the beach never closes)!

Here’s what you do.

 Cook the pasta according to the package directions and drain it.  Reserve a half cup of the pasta cooking water.

If your sesame seeds need toasting, put them into a skillet over medium heat, move them around here and there.  Keep an close eye on the sesame seeds as they may burn rather quickly.

I cut all my veggies into thin strips to mimic the long thin pasta.

Add the hot pasta, as well as the peanut sauce and sesame seeds to the veggies.

Give those a toss.

If the sauce is a little thick, add some of the pasta water to loosen it up.

Taste for seasoning, add salt and pepper if needed.

Serve Peanut Sesame Noodles hot or cold.  These noodles are great on there own, or serve them as a side to fish, chicken, shrimp or tofu.

PEANUT, SESAME NOODLES

Serves 2 to 3

½             package               Angel hair or Spaghetti pasta, a package is 16 oz.

½                                       Red bell pepper, thinly sliced

¼                                       Small red onion, thinly sliced

½             cup                      Shredded carrots

½             cup                      Peanut sauce

1              Tbsp.                    Toasted sesame seeds

2              Tbsp.                    Cilantro, chopped

                                          Salt and pepper to taste

½             cup                      Reserved pasta water

   1.       Cook the pasta according to the package directions.  Drain the cooked pasta, but reserve ½ cup of the cooking water.

   2.       In a large bowl toss the hot pasta with all of the remaining ingredients, except for the pasta water.

   3.       If the sauce is too thick, add a little of the pasta water at a time, to loosen it up.

*Peanut, Sesame Noodles can be served hot or cold.

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Farfalle Pasta with Marinated Vegetables

Penne Pasta with Grilled Veggies and Smoked Gouda