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.

You may also like:

Farfalle Pasta with Marinated Vegetables

Penne Pasta with Grilled Veggies and Smoked Gouda

    

DATE & ALMOND ENERGY SNACKS

 

Most of us go through it, that afternoon energy crash.  We get tired, foggy, and unproductive.  Well I’ve discovered the cure!  Will my discovery make me rich?  I’m guessing no, so I’m going to share it with you, consider it my gift to humanity.  My discovery/creation is…Duh, da, da, da…Date & Almond Energy Snacks!

Initially, I had named these Energy “Balls”, and then I thought I’d better change that to “Snacks”.  Just thought that you might like to know what goes into naming a recipe.

Not only does one or two of these babies give you energy to get you over the afternoon lull, but they’re packed full of nutrition too.  Date & Almond Energy Snacks are filled with fiber, protein, iron, calcium, potassium, manganese, and essential fatty acids.

I made these at the request of my friend Vanessa and she wanted chocolate in her snacks, so I added a little semi-sweet chocolate.  It was a great call, thanks Vanessa!

Here’s what you do.

Put some slivered almonds into the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse until the almonds are the size you like.  I like some texture, so I left some big chunks of almonds.

Dump the chopped almonds into a large bowl and add the sesame seeds, coconut, and chocolate chips.  I used "Rice Dream" semi-sweet chocolate chips so that my vegan friend would eat these little babies.

Puree the dates in the food processor.

They basically become a big sticky ball of date paste.  Add that to the bowl with the almond mixture.  Add some honey too.

I used a pastry blender to mix other wise it's difficult to mix.  If you don't have a pastry blender, use two butter knives, one in each hand.

Now that every thing  is mixed go ahead and scoop out about a tablespoon of the mixture.  Roll it into a ball.

Then roll that ball in some more coconut.  This helps with the stickiness.

Line the snacks up on a sheet pan and refrigerate for about 45 minutes before placing them into an air tight container.  If you put them in a container in more than one layer, then place a sheet of parchment paper in between the layers.

I like to store Date & Almond Energy Snacks in the refrigerator.

DATE & ALMOND ENERGY SNACKS

Makes 3 dozen

2              cups        Slivered almonds

¼             cup         Sesame seeds

1 1/3         cups       Unsweetened shredded coconut, divided use

½             cup         Semi-sweet chocolate chips

8              oz.          Pitted dates

¼             cup         Honey

  1.       Add the almonds to the bowl of a food processor, pulse to break up the almonds.  Just go until the almonds are the size that you like.

  2.       Add the almonds, sesame seeds, 1 cup of the coconut and the chocolate chips to a large bowl.  Stir to combine.

  3.       Puree the dates in the food processor.

  4.       Add the pureed dates and honey to the bowl with the other ingredients.

  5.       Mix the ingredients until thoroughly combined.  Because the mixture is very sticky a pastry cutter works well.

  6.       Pour the remaining 1/3 cup of coconut into a shallow dish.

  7.       Scoop out about a tablespoon of the almond & date mixture and roll it into a ball.  Roll the ball in the coconut and place on a parchment covered sheet pan.  Repeat with the remaining almond & date mixture.

  8.       Place the Date & Almond Energy Snacks in the refrigerator for about 45 minutes before storing them in an airtight container with sheets of parchment paper placed in between the layers, to keep them from sticking.