ASIAN PASTA SALAD

Asian Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

8oz pound spinach fettuccine pasta

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons raw sugar

1 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 cup chopped red pepper

6 green onions, sliced

1/4 cup purple cabbage

1/4 cup peas

1/4 cup almonds, chopped

Directions:

Cook noodles until just tender. Rinse under cold water. Drain well and transfer to large serving bowl.

Combine sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar and salt in bowl. Stir to dissolve sugar. Add to noodles.

Add vegatables and mix well. (Salad can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.) Sprinkle chopped almonds over salad and serve.

(Shown with sweet potato fries.)

Veggie Thai Peanut Noodles - Vegetarian Style

Adapted from Once a Month Mom

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons Sesame oil
16 ounces linguine noodles
1 cup snow peas (could substitute broccoli)
1 cup red/yellow/or green pepper, cut into strips
1 cup baby carrots or thinly sliced carrots
2 cups mushroom cut in half or whole depending on size

Sauce:
1 cup water
4 Tablespoons lime juice
6 Tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1 Tablespoon chili sauce (more or less depending on heat preference)
3 Tablespoons honey
4 Tablespoons soy sauce
3 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons minced garlic

Garnish:
1 cup peanuts
0.5 cup cilantro, chopped
3 medium limes, wedged

Directions:
In a large skillet, saute chicken and veggies in oil. Cook the linguine to al dente in boiling water. Make the peanut sauce by whisking together all sauce ingredients in a bowl. Add drained noodles to chicken and veggies. Mix the sauce with noodles mixture. Cook about five minutes.

Creamy Triple-Mushroom Pasta with Toasted Walnuts

Adapted from Chronicle Books Blog

2 small dried mushrooms (any variety) (I used 2 woodear)
2 tbsp unbleached all-purpose/plain flour

3 oz/75 g fresh shiitake mushroom caps, thinly sliced
6 oz crimini mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 large onion sliced thinly
1 1/2 cups/360 ml plain soymilk or other milk (I used Almond Milk)
1/4 cup/60 ml white wine (I used Rose')
1 tbsp tomato paste/tomato puree
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1 pinch cayenne
1 pinch ground turmeric
1/2 cup/15 g fresh parsley or basil
1/2 tsp salt
Angel Hair Pasta
1/4 cup/30 g chopped walnuts, toasted

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil for cooking the pasta.  In a spice or coffee grinder, grind the dried mushrooms to a fine powder. Put them in a small bowl and stir in the flour. Reserve.

2. Place garlic and onions in cast iron skillet with lid.  Cook on medium to high heat enough to brown the bottom of the skillet.  Add shiitakes and stir until browned.  When the vegetables starts to sizzle, sprinkle them with the flour mixture and stir to combine.  Keep stirring and scraping until the flour is well moistened and the mushroom powder is very fragrant.  Add 1 cup hot water.  I used drained pasta water to release brown bits from the bottom.

3. As the mushroom mixture cooks, whisk together the milk, wine, tomato paste/puree, yeast, nutmeg, cayenne, and turmeric in a measuring cup.  Remove the pan from the heat and use a heat-safe spatula to stir in about one fourth of the soymilk mixture until smooth. Continue to add the soymilk mixture in fourths, stirring after each addition until all is incorporated. Stir in the parsley and salt and keep warm.

4. Serve over pasta. Sprinkle with the toasted walnuts, and serve.

Terrible glare in this picture, but I wanted to share how "creamy" this vegan sauce turns out.