Spicy Soba Noodles with Chicken in Peanut Sauce

I came home last night and had 20 minutes to make a side dish for some crock pot chicken I was making. A friend was coming over for dinner and I wanted something easy, tasty and relatively healthy. This fit the bill on all counts.

I omitted the chicken since I was serving chicken but otherwise kept everything else the same. The dish was rich and flavorful and just spicy enough!!


Spicy Soba Noodles with Chicken in Peanut Sauce
(Adapted from CL)

Ingredients
1 carrot, peeled
2 cups chicken broth, divided
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon chopped peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
16 ounces boneless/skinless chicken breast
10 ounces dry soba noodles, cooked and drained
6 tablespoons sliced green onions
6 tablespoons chopped unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts

Instructions
Using a vegetable peeler, shave the carrots into long and thin strips.

In a small bowl, whisk together 1/3 cup broth, peanut butter, ginger, soy sauce, honey, pepper and garlic.

In a large saucepan, add chicken and the remaining 1 2/3 cups broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the chicken is done, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit for about 10 minutes. Drain and shred chicken when cool enough to handle.

In a large bowl, toss together carrots, peanut sauce, chicken and cooked noodles - sprinkle with onions and peanuts to serve.

Makes about 4 to 6 servings.

Asian Summer Salad

Months ago I had a Pampered Chef party. The consultant gave me a couple of recipes to get ready so that she could demonstrate some of the products.

This recipe was a COMPLETE hit. In fact, I made it for the New Years party and I got rave reviews for it again. One of our friends said that it was one of her favorite things that I made!

Asian Summer Salad

Salad
8 ounces uncooked vermicelli pasta
3/4 cup julienne-cut carrots, 2 inches long
3/4 cup julienne-cut zucchini, 2 inches long
3/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/3 cup sliced green onions with tops
3/4 pound deli roast turkey or chicken breast, cut 1/2 inch thick - I usually omit the meat

Dressing
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 T. rice vinegar
3 T. reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 t. sugar
1/8 t. ground red pepper
1 t. finely chopped, peeled fresh gingerroot
1 garlic clove, pressed
Coarsely chopped peanuts or cashews and fresh cilantro (optional)

For salad, break vermicelli into quarters. Cook according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Place vermicelli in large Bowl and set aside. Using Julienne Peeler, cut carrots and zucchini into julienne strips; cut strips into 2-inch pieces using Chef’s Knife. Chop bell pepper and slice green onions. Cut turkey into thin pieces, 2" long. Add vegetables and turkey to vermicelli. For dressing, combine oil, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and ground red pepper in Small Batter Bowl. Peel gingerroot; finely chop using Food Chopper. Add gingerroot and garlic pressed with Garlic Press to batter bowl. Mix well using Stainless Steel Whisk. Pour dressing over salad; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour to allow flavors to blend. Spoon salad into serving bowl. Garnish with chopped peanuts and cilantro, if desired. Yield: 6 servings

Cook’s Tips: This salad can be prepared up to 1 day in advance.

per serving: (1 2/3 cups): Cal: 300, Fat 11 g, Sat. Fat 1.5 g, Chol: 25 mg, Carb: 35 g, Pro: 16 g, Sod: 980 mg, Fiber 2 g

No-Cook Cranberry, Raspberry & Apple Relish

My mom sent me a new recipe to try for Thanksgiving cranberry relish. At first I was hesitant, primarily because my sister sent it to my mom. Then I started looking at it and realized that I had almost all of the ingredients.

I made it in addition to my standard cranberry sauce. The result? Let's just say that NO ONE, including myself, even touched the other cranberry sauce!

I will be buying bags of cranberries to freeze, just so that I can make this dish year round. It is THAT GOOD! I love it on bread, on pancakes, out of the jar just plain, and yes, on turkey.

Make this TODAY!

No-Cook Cranberry, Raspberry & Apple Relish
SF Chronicle
Submitted by the
From Marlene Sorosky Gray.
This can be made several days in advance.

Ingredients:
1 pound fresh cranberries
(about 4 1/2 cups)
2 tart green apples, halved, cored and coarsely chopped
(about 3 cups)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup orange marmalade
1 package (10 ounces) frozen raspberries, thawed and
drained (about 2 1/2 cups)
1 to 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, or to taste



Directions:
Combine all ingredients in the container of a food processor fitted
with the steel blade. Pulse with a quick on-and-off motion, just until
finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate.

Makes 6 cups

Polenta with Smoky Mushroom Ragout

Tonight we had a play date. The older child is in the same grade as the older monkey, and the younger child is in the same grade as the younger monkey.

This was the first "get-together". The mom brought pizza for the kids (the monkey's other friend was there too) and I made dinner.

I prepped/cooked most things last night. Tonight I only needed to put the crock pot on and put one thing in the oven (the polenta below).

Of course I didn't have time to photograph anything. :(

One of the dishes I made was a SUPER simple polenta. Most people don't like polenta because you have to stand there and stir forever! Also, most polenta has heavy cream or tons of butter or milk.

With this recipe, you can easily make it non-dairy, and almost no fat, without sacrificing ANY of the taste.

In fact, my friend's daughter is lactose intolerant and went nuts over it. I gave her the polenta leftovers and had to call her to snap a picture and send it to me :)

Polenta with Smoky Mushroom Ragout
Serving Size : 8
Cooking Light April 2004
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
Ingrediants
POLENTA
6 cups water
1 1/2 cups cornmeal -- (polenta)
1 tablespoon butter - I used olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
RAGOUT
1 tablespoon olive oil - I used less
2 cups chopped onion
8 cups oyster mushrooms -- sliced (about 1.5 pounds) - I omitted this because I didn't have any
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup red wine
1 tablespoon chipotle chile canned in adobo -- finely chopped - I subbed chipotle powder because it's what I had on hand
1 tablespoon dried oregano - I subbed dried parsley and dried italian blend because it's what I had
3 cloves garlic -- minced
28 ounces canned tomatoes -- whole, drained and chopped - I just used canned diced tomatoes
8 ounces queso fresco -- 2 cups - I omitted for my lactose free friend
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro -- chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350

To prepare polenta, combine first 4 ingredients in a 13x9 baking dish, stirring well. Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until liquid is absorbed. Cover and keep warm

While Polenta is cooking, prepare ragout. Heat oil in a large dutch oven over medium high heat. Add onion, saute 5 minutes or until tender. Add mushrooms and salt, saute 10 minutes or until mushrooms release liquid and begin to brown, stirring occasionally. Add wine, chile, oregano, and garlic. Reduce heat to medium and cook until liquid evaporates, stirring constantly (About 1 minute). Stir in tomato, reduce heat to low and cook 15 minutes or until thickened slightly, stirring occasionally.

Spoon ragout over polenta, sprinkle evenly with cheese. Bake at 350 15 minutes or until cheese begins to melt. Sprinkle with cilantro.

Couscous for a Crowd

I made the following for a friends BBQ I went to on Saturday. This recipe is SUPER SIMPLE, SUPER EASY, has ingredients that I usually keep in my pantry and looks SO pretty and COLORFUL!

Curried Couscous
Copyright, 1999, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, All rights reserved
Prep Time: 20 min Inactive Prep Time: 0 min Cook Time: 0 min
Level: Easy Serves: 6 servings

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups couscous
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup good olive oil
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup small-diced carrots
1/2 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup dried currants or raisins (I used dried cranberries)
1/4 cup blanched, sliced almonds
2 scallions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)
1/4 cup small-diced red onion

Directions
Place the couscous in a medium bowl. Melt the butter in the boiling water and pour over the couscous. Cover tightly and allow the couscous to soak for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Whisk together the yogurt, olive oil, vinegar, curry, turmeric, salt, and pepper. Pour over the fluffed couscous, and mix well with a fork. Add the carrots, parsley, currants, almonds, scallions, and red onions, mix well, and season to taste. Serve at room temperature.

Watermelon

I bought 2 watermelons before I got my wisdom teeth out. One was 15 lbs and I decided to crack it open today. Instead of eating it after dinner, in a fruit salad, I decided to look up some recipes.

I didn't take any pictures of the finished products, but trust me, they looked great, and tasted great as well.

Watermelon Mojito ( I made it non-alcoholic although it will be kick ass with the rum)
Recipe courtesy Sunny Anderson, 2009
Prep Time: 10 min
Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients
2 1/2 to 3 pounds watermelon flesh, pits removed
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup packed mint leaves, plus more for garnish
2 1/2 cups white rum (omitted, obviously)
1/4 cup agave syrup

Directions
In a blender (I used a food processor), puree watermelon, fresh lime juice and mint in batches until smooth. Strain into a pitcher (I omitted because I was lazy). Mix in rum and syrup. Serve in glasses filled with ice and garnish with mint leaves.

________________________________________

Watermelon Salsa
Adapted from (Sesame Chile Chicken with Gingered Watermelon Salsa, CL 6/05 )

Instructions
2 cups diced seeded watermelon
1/4 cup diced yellow bell pepper (I used red)
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger (omitted because I couldn’t find the ginger until after I completed the dish)
2 teaspoons mirin (sweet rice wine)
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (I used about ½ of the can of green chiles from Trader Joes)

Directions
Mix all together and chill until ready to serve.

So if you're over inundated with watermelon, try using it in some forms you normally wouldn't think of.

A Dinner Party with Friends

On Sunday I had some friends over for dinner (it had been a while since the last time) and decided to make a couple of dishes I hadn't made before.

One of my friends says that EVERY time she is with me, she tries something she has never had before. I am seeing how long I can keep this streak going for. So far it's been about 7 months :)

She had never had duck, so duck was definitely on the menu. Also, for a while now, I have been craving garlic noodles from Crustacean restaurant. I found a copy cat recipe which I then bastardized even more. Both of these dishes were very good, but I have got to say, the noodles were phenomenal!!!

I don't have pictures because I has 1.5 hours to put the whole mean together, but both dishes came out beautifully.

Chinatown Steamed and Roasted Duck
Recipe By: Tyler Florence

Ingredients:
1 whole (4 to 5 pound) duck
1 tablespoon Chinese five-spice powder
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
5 slices big fresh ginger
4 cloves garlic
1/2 bunch green onions
1 tangerine,peel cut in big strips
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup soy sauce

Directions:
Duck is notoriously a fatty bird, to diminish the fat and produce a crispy skin, begin by trimming the excess fat from the neck and body. Rinse the duck, inside and out, and pat dry thoroughly with paper towels. Combine the Chinese five-spice, sugar, and salt in a small bowl. Rub the spice mixture all over the duck, inside and out. Salt and five-spice powder makes a fragrant dry marinade, which draws some of the moisture from the duck so that the spices penetrate. Stuff the duck cavity with the aromatics: the ginger, garlic, green onions, and tangerine peel. Fold the wing tips back under the duck and tie the legs together with kitchen string. Poke the duck breast a few times, piercing the skin.
Place a roasting pan on the stovetop over 2 burners and fill with 2-inches of water, turn the heat to medium. Set a V-rack insert inside the pan and lay the duck on the rack, breast-side up. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Steam the duck for 45 minutes, checking the water level periodically. Steaming the duck first melts away some of the fat and shrinks the skin.
In a small saucepan combine the vinegar, honey, and soy sauce over low heat. Cook and stir for 5 minutes until thick. The duck will be lacquered with the sweet glaze, which caramelizes during roasting, making the skin crisp and brown.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Take the foil off the duck, remove the rack with the duck, and pour out the water and all the fat that has rendered out (this is great to use in other dishes like fried rice.) Put the rack with the duck back inside the roasting pan. Baste the duck with the vinegar mixture, until all the skin is completely coated in the glaze. Stick the whole thing in the oven. Roast the duck for 1 hour, basting periodically with any remaining glaze to set in a deep mahogany color. Tent the breast with some foil if it gets too dark. The legs will wiggle easily when it's done. Carve and serve.

Crustacean-inspired Garlic Noodles Recipe

Ingredients:
1 lb fresh noodles
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic (pounded)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 1/2 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder (used vegetable bouillon cube)
2 1/2 teaspoons oyster sauce
5 teaspoons grated parmesan cheese (omitted - it REALLY didn't need it so I'm glad I left it out)

Directions:
Rinse the noodles with cold water and set aside. Heat up a pot of water and let it boil. Boil the noodles in the hot water until they are done, drain the water, and set aside to cool down the noodles.

In a pan, saute the garlic with the olive oil in medium heat. The purpose is to infuse the olive oil with garlicky flavor. Discard the garlic and then add in 4 tablespoons of butter and turn the heat to low. Add in the chicken bouillon powder, garlic powder, oyster sauce and blend well. Set aside to let it cool.

Once the garlic mixture is cool and the noodles are cool at room temperature, pour the garlic mixture over the noodles and toss them together to blend well. Add in the grated parmesan cheese, toss well, and serve immediately.

Impromptu Dinner Party

I was supposed to go see Phantom of The Opera tonight. One little problem - the show is next week :)

I called friends of ours, the older monkey's good friends family, and invited them to dinner. Then I was talking to another family friend with sons my monkey's ages. And then finally I texted my single friend and told her to come over. At first she said no, but then decided to come.

My favorite quote all night was said by family friend number 1. She told my single friend, "When Julia calls you and invites you to dinner, why would you ever say no??"

It was really nice to hear.

I only had about 30 minutes to start making dinner before everyone came over so I didn't have time to take pictures. Also, every one finished every last morsel, so I couldn't take pictures of the food afterwords.

I hope you make the recipes, especially the potato one! Yum!!! Oh, and the chicken! The chicken was so un-believably moist!!!

Salt-Baked Chicken

Traditionally, this recipe uses a whole chicken, marinated, wrapped in lotus leaves, immersed in a bed of hot rock salt in a wok, and cooked on a stovetop. The modern convenience of an oven makes it much easier to control the cooking temperature. Allowing the chicken to stand at room temperature for an hour before cooking creates succulent results. The golden color of the roasted bird also represents wealth, and serving a whole chicken is thought to ensure good luck for the coming year. Garlic chives make a memorable garnish.

2 1/2 cups boiling water
1 (1 x 2–inch) strip dried tangerine peel
1 (4.5- to 5-pound) roasting chicken
5 1/2 teaspoons coarse sea salt, divided
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
2 tablespoons minced ginger
2 tablespoons Shaoxing (Chinese rice wine) or dry sherry
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon honey
2 green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
Cooking spray

1. Combine 2 1/2 cups boiling water and tangerine peel in a bowl; cover and let stand 30 minutes. Drain in a colander over a bowl, reserving liquid.
2. Remove and discard giblets and neck from chicken. Trim excess fat. Starting at neck cavity, loosen skin from breast and drumsticks by inserting fingers, gently pushing between skin and meat. Rub 1 tablespoon salt under skin; let stand 5 minutes. Rinse chicken under cold water; pat dry with paper towels. Place chicken on the rack of a roasting pan; let stand 1 hour at room temperature.
3. Preheat oven to 425°.
4. Transfer chicken to a work surface. Combine remaining 2 1/2 teaspoons salt, shallots, ginger, wine, soy sauce, oil, and honey in a small bowl. Rub 3 tablespoons shallot mixture inside cavity of chicken. Place onions and tangerine peel inside cavity. Rub remaining shallot mixture under loosened skin.
5. Place chicken, breast side up, on the rack of a roasting pan coated with cooking spray. Pour reserved tangerine soaking liquid into a shallow roasting pan; place rack in pan. Bake at 425° for 1 hour or until a meat thermometer registers 165° and skin has turned a dark golden brown color. Let stand 15 minutes. Discard skin, and slice.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 3 ounces)

CALORIES 171 ; FAT 4.4g (sat 1g,mono 1.4g,poly 1.2g); CHOLESTEROL 85mg; CALCIUM 21mg; CARBOHYDRATE 2.5g; SODIUM 885mg; PROTEIN 26.8g; FIBER 0.3g; IRON 1.6mg

Cooking Light, JANUARY 2009

Shoestring Fries with Garlicky Dijon Mayo

Cutting potatoes into thin strips, soaking them in hot water, and cooking at high heat makes for a crisp texture without much fat. Instead of ketchup, we enjoyed dipping the fries in this tangy sauce, a riff on aioli.

1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
1 large garlic clove, minced
3 tablespoons canola mayonnaise
1 1/2 teaspoons whole-grain Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
1 1/4 pounds baking potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Cooking spray


1. Preheat oven to 450°.
2. Combine vinegar and garlic in a small bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Stir in mayonnaise, mustard, and parsley.
3. Cut potatoes lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices; stack slices and cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick strips. Place in a large bowl; cover with hot water. Let stand 10 minutes. Drain potatoes; pat dry with paper towels. Combine potatoes, oil, and salt in a large bowl; toss gently to coat. Arrange potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 450° for 35 minutes; carefully turn over and bake an additional 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve with sauce.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 1 cup fries and about 1 tablespoon sauce)

CALORIES 180 ; FAT 7g (sat 0.5g,mono 4.3g,poly 1.5g); CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 21mg; CARBOHYDRATE 26.2g; SODIUM 233mg; PROTEIN 3.2g; FIBER 1.9g; IRON 1.3mg

Cooking Light, JANUARY 2009

What kind of mom am I?

I try to be the mom I "should be". I'm not the mom I "should be". It's all the little things that make me doubt myself. It's the yelling every 5 minutes - because they drive me crazy. It's when they paint on the carpet, turn the living room in to a pig sty, etc... I "should" play with them more - may be then they won't have time to create a mess.

So to make up for my missing gene - the one that would make me enjoy arts and crafts and games with the kids - I tend to overly "mother" in other ways. Vitaly and I drive the kids to classes 4 days a week, I test the big monkey on her spelling words, over and over again, so she can be sure to get a 10/10 (and get her bonus words too), we read every night and I worry like there's no tomorrow.

Which brings me Sunday's. Sunday afternoon's I try to take the kids on play dates so they can play with other kids at the park, at our house, and their house, etc... Today we are going to the park with our friends and we are bringing food. This way we can stay at the park until almost bed time.

A friend of mine gave me a platter of chicken and corn tortillas from her work, so I will be bringing that. I also decided it needed something else - so I made two boxes of couscous. Then I remembered that I just saw a recipe for Easy Layered Beans and Rice from "The Meatless Gourmet: Easy Lowfat Favorites" on the Cooking Light Bulletin Boards. So I made that too. Our friends are bringing snacks, dips, water, juice, etc... Of course it would have been easier to order pizza's, but that's just not the way I roll (lol).

I guess in our own ways, we all try to over-achieve for our kids in what ever ways we can to make up for the ways we can't/won't. Of course - knowing logically that I'm a good mother, because otherwise I probably wouldn't worry, still doesn't make me feel better about all my "self-perceived" shortcomings.

Easy Layered Beans and Rice

HEAVILY adapted/changed from "The Meatless Gourmet: Easy Lowfat Favorites"

1 cup long-grain white rice, uncooked

1 marinated jalapeno pepper, diced

1 (8-oz) can corn, drained

1 1/4 cups boiling water

1 can 3 pepper salsa (Trader Joes)

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup mexican blend shredded cheeses

Preheat oven to 375F.Lightly oil a deep 2-quart casserole or spray with a nonstick cooking spray.Spread rice in the casserole. Sprinkle with pepper. Spread corn evenly over rice. Gently pour broth over corn.Spoon half of the salsa evenly over the corn. Spoon beans over the sauce, followed by remaining sauce.Cover tightly and bake 45 minutes.Uncover, sprinkle with both cheeses, and return to oven until cheese is melted and begins to brown, 5-10 minutes.

This is REALLY good! It can easily be a filling for tortillas. It could use a little chipotle pepper to up the spice a bit, but for kids it was perfect.