Sesame Soba & Cucumber Noodles with Tofu

The past week has been a pretty stressful one for me, having to deal with frustrating visa and passport issues.  Back in July, I sent my passport away to apply for an Indian Visa to attend a conference there this September, and the processing time has taken weeks longer than it should have. That wouldn't be so bad except for the fact that I'm supposed to be leaving the country for another conference tomorrow, and my passport is still with the Indian consulate office! They've assured me I'll be able to go pick it up today, so fingers crossed!

It's been hard to be excited for my trip this week with the thought that I might not even be able to go looming over my head, but assuming all goes well, I'll be headed to Japan tomorrow for a conference just outside of Tokyo.

Japan actually never used to be one of the countries on my list of places I'd like to travel in the world, but the more I read about it and hear from others, the more interesting it sounds!

So in honour of my trip, I thought I would make a Japanese-inspired dish to prepare myself for trying a new cuisine, with these sesame soba and cucumber noodles.

I love soba noodles, but I usually pair them with a peanut sauce. This time, I adapted a recipe for sesame noodles from the blog Cookie & Kate, using tahini as the main ingredient in the dressing. Combined with other Japanese ingredients like mirin, rice vinegar, and miso, the sesame dressing was super flavourful, and nice and creamy so that it coated the noodles well.

Along with the soba noodles, I used my spiralizer to slice up a cucumber into long, thin strands about the same size as the soba (it's hard to see them in the pictures because they blended in so well!). I thought the mix of the cucumber noodles with the soba noodles helped to lighten the dish up and make it even more refreshing.

Add in some other vegetables like red pepper and bean sprouts, some simple sauteed tofu for extra protein, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds on top, and you end up with a complete meal that has everything I like in a noodle dish!

I'm sure once I go to Japan, I'll realize how very inauthentic my soba noodles are, but for now I can enjoy it as my own tasty vegetarian version of Japanese food!  I'm looking forward to sharing more about my trip when I get back later next week!

Sesame Soba & Cucumber Noodles with Tofu
Adapted from Cookie & Kate

1 (350g) package firm tofu

1 (8 oz) package soba noodles

1 cucumber

1 red pepper, thinly sliced

1/2 a bunch of green onions (about 4), diced

2-3 cups bean sprouts

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp sesame seeds

Dressing

1/4 cup tahini

1 tbsp minced fresh ginger

1 small clove garlic, minced

2 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp white miso

2 tsp tamari (or soy sauce)

1 tsp mirin (or a liquid sweetener like agave or honey)

1/2 tbsp water

First, slice the tofu horizontally into three large slabs and press the pieces using a tofu press or a heavy book (lined with paper towels) for at least 30 minutes to squeeze out as much liquid as possible.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the soba noodles, and cook according to package directions (mine took 5 minutes). Drain and rinse with cold water.

Use a julienne peeler or a spiralizer to slice the cucumber into thin noodles (I used the thinnest setting on my spiralizer). Sprinkle the cucumber noodles with a bit of salt to draw out the water and let sit for at least 5-10 minutes. Squeeze out as much water from the noodles as you can, then add to a large bowl with the soba noodles. Add the sliced red pepper, green onions, and bean sprouts to the bowl as well.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the oil. Slice the pressed tofu into cubes and add them to the pan. Cook until lightly browned on all sides, flipping as needed. Remove from heat and add to the bowl with the noodles.

To make the dressing, stir all ingredients together in a bowl until smooth.  Pour dressing over the noodle mixture and toss until the dressing is thoroughly mixed in. Sprinkle the sesame seeds over everything and toss again.

Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Makes 4 servings.

Green Vermicelli Noodle Bowl with Tofu

Like my last post, today's recipe is light and vibrant, leading the way into Spring, which I hope will come soon! After all, March did come in like a lion so that should mean it will go out like a lamb, right?

The inspiration for this green noodle dish came from Yotam Ottolenghi's Plenty cookbook, where I saw a recipe for warm glass noodles with edamame and green onions. I liked the idea of thin Asian style noodles full of edamame, so I turned that idea into my own dish.

I used brown rice vermicelli for the noodles (since glass noodles are hard to find). Then along with the edamame, I also added barely cooked snow peas for some crunch, and lightly sauteed tofu cubes for extra protein and texture.

Instead of using the green onions in the dish itself, I decided to pair the noodles with a recipe for green onion miso vinaigrette from Appetite for Reduction.  I made a couple of changes to the original recipe, like using white miso instead of red and reducing the amount of water to make a thicker, creamier dressing.

I have to say, the dressing surprised me - miso and green onions aren't typically ingredients that I tend to favour, but they came together to make a bold and flavourful dressing with just the right amount of bite from the onion, garlic and ginger!

I didn't intend for it to turn out this way, but with the brilliant green dressing, the edamame and the snow peas, this turned out to be a very green bowl - just in time for St. Patrick's Day!  You can also add extra green onions as a garnish for one more green component, which I forgot to do for these photos.

Hope you all have a great weekend, and don't forget to Spring forward on Sunday!

Green Vermicelli Noodle Bowl with Tofu
Inspired by Plenty; sauce adapted from Appetite for Reduction

Sauce

1/4 cup white miso

1.5 cups chopped scallions (white and green parts)

2.5 tsp minced fresh ginger

1 clove garlic, minced

3 tbsp rice vinegar

2 tsp agave nectar (or honey for non-vegan option)

2 tsp sesame oil

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup water

Noodles

175g firm tofu

7 oz brown rice vermicelli

2 cups frozen edamame

6-7 oz snow peas

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2-3 cloves garlic, peeled

1 fresh green chili, minced

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Sesame seeds for garnish

Green onions for garnish (optional)

First, prepare the sauce by placing all ingredients in a blender and pureeing until smooth. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Press the water out of the tofu (press between paper towels under a heavy book for 15-30 minutes). Slice tofu into small cubes. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and spray with a bit of cooking spray. Add tofu pieces and cook until lightly browned on the bottom, then flip pieces and cook for a couple more minutes on the other side. Set aside.

Soak the vermicelli in boiling water for 2 minutes (or follow package directions). Drain and set aside.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the edamame and cook for 5 minutes (or according to package directions). Drain and set aside. Wash the peas and trim the ends, removing the strings if desired.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Crush the garlic cloves with the flat part of a knife, then roughly chop them. Add garlic to the heated pan and cook for about 1 minute, until lightly browned. Add the chili and the snow peas and sauté for about one more minute. Add the cooked noodles and cilantro, stirring to mix. Pour in the sauce and toss everything with tongs or large spoons until the noodles are all coated and separated (Note: If your skillet isn’t large enough to hold all the noodles, you may have to transfer everything to a larger saucepan).  Add the tofu pieces and toss to combine. Once everything is warmed through, remove from heat.

Serve warm. Garnish each serving with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and a handful of chopped green onion if desired.

Makes 4 servings. 

Note: I found this was best eaten on the day it's made. If you plan on having leftovers, I would recommend only adding enough sauce for the portion that you are going to eat now, and then store the leftover noodles separately from the sauce in the fridge, only adding the sauce to each serving as you eat them.  Otherwise, the noodles will get a bit soggy (as I learned!).

Pad Thai with Scrambled Tofu

Has anyone tried shirataki noodles? I've seen a few bloggers post about these "zero calorie" noodles, which are a chewy, translucent noodle made from japanese yams that can be added to soups and other dishes in place of regular noodles.  Even though I'm not on a diet, I was still curious about these noodles so I finally bought a package (the Miracle Noodle brand) so that I could try them myself.

A few weeks ago, I had a craving for pad thai.  Then I remembered the package of shirataki noodles sitting in my cupboard, and I figured they would be perfect to use instead of the usual rice noodles!

The noodles come packaged in a watery solution that can have a very strong "funky" smell, according to other people who have tried them.  I was pretty nervous when I opened mine up, but they actually didn't smell that bad, and once you rinse them off, they're quite easy to prepare since they're precooked.

To complete my pad thai, I wanted to make it as authentic as possible.  So I thought back to the amazing pad thai I ate in Thailand a couple months ago and tried to remember as best as I could exactly what was in it.  I knew it had to have a spicy component from chilies, but since I couldn't find Thai chilies, I just used a jalapeno.  I also remembered my pad thai having shallots, bean sprouts and green onions, so I included those as well.  And for presentation, the authentic dish that I had was served with lime wedges and a handful of crushed peanuts on the side, which were mixed in to the noodles as you ate, so I tried to replicate that on my own plate.

Next came the sauce.  I've seen versions of pad thai that use ketchup in the sauce, but I think the real key ingredient to get the pad thai flavour is tamarind paste, which you should be able to find for a cheap price from an Asian food mart.  I ended up using this recipe for pad thai sauce but I replaced the peanut flour with peanut butter and used sriracha sauce instead of chili powder.

The final component that I would need to create a pad thai that matched the one I had eaten in Thailand would have been to add scrambled eggs to the dish.  But since I don't usually eat eggs or have them around, I decided to just leave that part out.  But then I came up with a new idea -  why not use scrambled tofu instead?

I've actually never made scrambled tofu before, but I've seen lots of recipes for it and I knew that the texture  and consistency would be very similar to eggs. So I added some crumbled tofu to the pan and stirred it around as you would with scrambled eggs, and luckily, my little experiment turned out perfectly! The tofu had just the right texture that I wanted, and it really soaked up the extra sauce, giving it lots of flavor. The addition of the tofu also helped give the dish a bit more substance and protein, since the noodles didn't provide any calories or nutrition.

Overall, my vegan pad thai may not have been truly authentic, but I thought the mixture of flavours and textures was pretty close to the original version that I tried in Thailand! I especially loved the extra dimensions of flavour from the lime juice and peanuts, so you definitely shouldn't leave those out!

I also really liked the thick, chewy shirataki noodles, but you could easily replace them with rice noodles if you prefer - just follow the cooking instructions on the package.

Pad Thai with Scrambled Tofu

Sauce:

Adapted from The Wannabe Chef

2 tbsp peanut butter

2 tbsp tamarind paste

2 tsp soy sauce

1/2 tbsp rice vinegar

1/2 tbsp sesame oil

1/2-1 tsp sriracha (to taste)

Pad Thai:

1 package (7 oz) shirataki noodles (can substitute rice noodles)

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 shallot, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 a jalapeno pepper, minced

~4 oz firm tofu, crumbled

2 green onions, minced

1/2 cup bean sprouts

Lime wedges and crushed peanuts for serving

To make the sauce, whisk or stir all ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Drain the shirataki noodles from their package and rinse under cold water.  Let the noodles soak in a bowl of water for about 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the shallots and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute. Add the garlic and jalapeno and cook for another 30 seconds.  Add the crumbled tofu and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until the tofu is softened and lightly browned. (You can leave the tofu in larger chunks, or break it up into smaller pieces using a wooden spoon as you cook).

Drain the noodles and add to the skillet.  Add the sauce and a splash of water and stir the sauce into the noodles. Once the sauce and noodles are hot, add the green onions and bean sprouts.  Stir for about 1 minute, until everything is heated through and coated in the sauce.

Transfer the contents to two plates. Garnish each plate with a handful of crushed peanuts and additional bean sprouts if desired.  Serve with lime wedges.

Makes 2 servings. 


This was submitted to Wellness Weekend at Diet, Dessert and Dogs. 

Spicy Rice Noodle Salad with Tofu

My wishes for warmer weather have finally been answered - today is the first day we've had in weeks where the sun has stayed out and the breeze is nice and warm.  It felt so good to be outside that I actually willingly went for a brief run around the park near my apartment when I got home (trust me, it's been a long time since I've done that!).

The recipe that I have to share with you today is perfect for this weather - a big salad made with rice noodles and full of fruit, veggies, and some tofu for protein, all coated in a spicy pineapple dressing!

The recipe comes from Vegetarian Times, although I made some changes as usual.  I was actually inspired to make it because it called for green curry paste, and I still had some homemade green curry paste leftover from the Thai Green Curry that I made a while ago.

Along with the curry paste, the rest of the dressing is made by blending pineapple juice with other Asian ingredients like soy sauce, ginger, garlic and rice vinegar.  For the salad, I used the red pepper and carrot that the original recipe called for, and I also added bean sprouts, mango and edamame beans.  Since I wanted this to be filling enough to serve as a main course for dinner, I added some tofu that I sliced into thin pieces and sauteed briefly on the stove.

The dish is finished off with a generous sprinkling of fresh cilantro, some hot chilies, and a handful of chopped peanuts.  The result was a very colourful plate with lots of flavour! I also liked that it tasted good warmed up, at room temperature, and straight from the fridge.  I did find it pretty spicy, so feel free to reduce or eliminate the extra red chilies.  I also think fresh pineapple would work well instead of mango.

I hope you're all enjoying the warm weather too... I'm off to make another big salad for tonight's dinner!

Spicy Rice Noodle Salad with Tofu
Adapted from Vegetarian Times


Dressing:

1/2 cup pineapple juice

2 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce

3 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

3 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

2 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tsp Thai green curry paste (I used homemade)

1 tsp palm sugar (or brown sugar)

Salad:

7 oz rice noodles

3 tsp vegetable oil, divided

1 red pepper, thinly sliced

1 ripe mango, thinly sliced

1/2 cup shelled frozen edamame, thawed

1 cup shredded carrot

2 cups bean sprouts

1/2 cup chopped scallion

1/2 cup chopped cilantro, divided

1-2 red chilies, minced (optional)
12-14 oz package firm tofu, drained and pressed with towels for at least 15 minutes

About 1/2 cup finely chopped or crushed peanuts

Place all ingredients for the dressing in a blender and puree until smooth. Set aside.

Place the rice noodles in a bowl or saucepan and cover with boiling water. Let sit for 5-10 minutes, until the noodles are soft (check your package directions – mine needed at least 10-15 minutes).  Drain and rinse with cold water.  Transfer noodles back to the bowl or saucepan and toss with 2 tsp vegetable oil. 

Meanwhile, prepare all the vegetables (red pepper through to chilies) and transfer them to a large bowl. Set aside half of the cilantro for topping. 

Slice the tofu into thin strips.  Heat about 1 tsp of the vegetable oil in a large skillet on medium heat.  Add the tofu pieces and sauté for about 4-5 minutes, stirring often, until lightly browned.

Combine the noodles with the vegetables.  Pour about half of the dressing on top and toss to mix thoroughly, until all the noodles and vegetables are coated.  Add the tofu pieces and pour a bit more dressing over top.  Stir to mix again.  Add more dressing if necessary (you might not need all of it).

Serve immediately, or place salad in the refrigerator to chill until serving time.  Garnish each serving with the remaining cilantro and a handful of crushed peanuts.  


Makes 4-6 servings.

New Year's Eve Asian Feast & Liebster Award

I don't typically make New Year's resolutions but if I had to make one this year, it would be to use my cookbooks more often.  And now that I've received two new vegan cookbooks this Christmas full of recipes that I want to make (Vegan Planet and Appetite for Reduction), it won't be hard to keep that resolution!

I've already tried over eight recipes from the two books, and all of them turned out so well!

I actually made six of those recipes (plus two dipping sauces) from Vegan Planet all in one day for our New Year's Eve dinner, and since I loved everything so much, I wanted to share the meal on my blog!

I was inspired to create an Asian style appetizer feast after remembering a fun NYE a couple years ago with my older sister when we ate sushi.  And since I found so many delicious-sounding recipes in Vegan Planet that would suit the theme, I decided to make them all!

I was a bit worried that I was too ambitious in taking on such a big task by myself and that I wouldn't finish everything on time for dinner, but I worked pretty much non-stop all day long and had everything on the table by about 7pm in time for us to eat.

Even though it was a LOT of work to prepare everything, I actually enjoyed the process and the end result was definitely worth it (not to mention all the praise I received from everyone who ate it!)  We all thought the food tasted better than take-out, plus it was a lot cheaper!

I won't reprint all the recipes here, but I do encourage you to buy the book - I'm sure you will get a lot of use out of it! And if you already own Vegan Planet but haven't tried these recipes, I hope you'll bookmark them to make soon!

(Sorry for the dark photos, I didn't have time to take proper pictures in better lighting before we ate everything!)


Ginger-Scented Vegetable Pot Stickers

These were easier than I thought to make - I prepared the filling ahead of time (tofu, cabbage, carrots and some other flavouring ingredients processed together), then assembled the dumplings using storebought round wonton wrappers and stored them in the freezer until it was time to cook them.


Vegetable Spring Rolls with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce

This was my first time making fresh rolls and took took a couple tries to get the hang of it (as you can see, the one on the left was my first attempt). I filled them with cabbage, carrot, red pepper, cucumber, bean sprouts and chopped peanuts. And you have to make the peanut sauce for dipping them in!


Scallion Pancakes with Ginger-Lime Dipping Sauce

These pancakes are made from a simple flour-water dough and coated with sesame oil, scallions and sesame seeds. As there are no pictures in the cookbook, I wasn't quite sure how these were supposed to turn out, but I'm pretty sure they aren't supposed to look like this. Even though they didn't brown as much as I wanted them too, they had a nice texture and tasted great, especially with the dipping sauce.


Thai-Style Leaf-Wrapped Appetizer Bites

These lettuce wraps were fun to put together, although there were a lot of components to prepare. To make them, I just took a large piece of lettuce, filled it with a bit of each ingredient from the bowls (peanuts, toasted coconut, thai chilis, shallots, ginger, cilantro, limes and a peanut-coconut chutney), wrapped it up and secured with a toothpick. You could also let guests make these themselves, but I wanted to have everything prepared ahead of time.

Here are the lettuce rolls once they were already prepared. All of the filling ingredients combine to create an explosion of flavour when you pop them in your mouth!


Mango Slaw

I used the recipe in the book for Asian Cole Slaw, which includes shredded cabbage, carrot and daikon radish in an asian style dressing, and added one sliced mango to create a fusion of thai mango salad and coleslaw. The mango was my favourite part, so I recommend adding it!


Asian Noodle Salad with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Thick udon noodles tossed with shredded carrot, cabbage, red pepper and bean sprouts (my own addition), coated in a creamy peanut dressing. I was very happy to have leftovers of this to eat the next day!

My first helping of food and a great way to end the year!

And now, a note about the Liebster Blog Award...

I was so happy to hear that Heather from Sunday Morning Banana Pancakes (I always smile when I say the name of her blog!) nominated me for this award. The Liebster award is a way of giving recognition to newer blogs or those that have fewer than 200 followers. The recipient of the award then has to select five other such blogs to pass the award on to. 


To accept the Liebster Blog Award nomination one must:

~ thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog.

~ link back to the blogger who awarded you.

~ copy & paste the blog award on your blog

~ reveal your 5 blog picks.

~ let them know you choose them by leaving a comment on their blog.

Since I love to read other blogs but don't always leave them comments, I thought this was a great way to show my appreciation for some of the blogs that inspire me! 

In no particular order, here are my five picks:

Sunday Morning Banana Pancakes - I couldn't leave Heather out of my own list! I'm happy I found her blog  - she posts so many recipes that suit my tastes perfectly, and always leaves nice comments too :)

Fork and Beans - I discovered Cara's blog in October when she was posting daily Halloween-inspired recipes and I loved her creativity and entertaining writing style. She is a genius at turning any recipe into a gluten-free and vegan version!

The First Mess - I was hooked from the very first post on Laura's blog and I still get excited each time she makes a new post - I love her unique vegetarian recipes and gorgeous photos!

The Fig Tree - Courtney (a fellow Canadian blogger) posts lots of sweet treats and delicious vegetarian recipes and her presentation is always beautiful!

K's Veg Recipes - with a new name (previously called Not Another Cookbook) and a transition to more vegan recipes, I am definitely looking forward to seeing more recipes on this blog this year! K's posts are always so informative and helpful too! 

Thai Red Curry Noodles with Tofu

I apologize for the lack of posts this week, but I was away at a conference in Toronto, which kept me very busy!  After a week of eating out and being away from my kitchen, I always appreciate coming back to homemade meals. This is one of the meals I made before I left and stocked the leftovers in my freezer so that I didn't have to come home to an empty fridge!

I made this dish after seeing a recipe for Khai Soi on Cate's World Kitchen, and even though I had never heard of it, I thought the combination of thai red curry paste with coconut milk, noodles and tofu sounded so good! I had also bookmarked a similar recipe for Curry Noodle Soup from Soup Chick, so I combined the two recipes to create my own version.

Once I tried it, I was happy I had leftovers since it was so flavourful!  I loved slurping up the thick rice noodles with the spicy broth, and the bean sprouts provided some crisp texture. The coconut milk made it richer than I expected, and the lime juice really helped to brighten the whole dish up. The addition of the tofu made this a complete meal, but you could also substitute chicken for a non-vegetarian version.

I did find it to be quite spicy, so you may want to reduce the amount of curry paste or ginger if you prefer less spicy dishes. You could also try adding some red pepper or another vegetable, but the simple combination of noodles, broth and tofu is definitely good enough on its own!

Thai Red Curry Noodles with Tofu
Adapted from Cate's World Kitchen and Soup Chick

1 package firm tofu (8 oz)

8 oz dry rice noodles

1-2 tbsp vegetable oil

1/4 cup Thai red curry paste

1 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 small onion, peeled and diced

1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced

1 can light coconut milk

1/2 tsp palm sugar (or another type of sugar)

1 tsp soy sauce

2 cups vegetable broth

Bean sprouts

Fresh cilantro

Limes for serving

Drain the water from tofu and press it under a heavy book for about half an hour to get rid of the remaining moisture, then cut into cubes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the rice noodles according to package directions (I boiled mine for 3 minutes). Drain, rinse, and set aside.

Heat the vegetable oil in another large pot over medium-high heat. Stir in the red curry paste and sauté until fragrant, stirring constantly (1-2 minutes). Stir in the curry powder and turmeric.

Add the onion and ginger to the pan, along with the tofu pieces. Cook for about 2-3 minutes, stirring to coat the tofu.

Pour the coconut milk into the pot and bring to a boil. Add the palm sugar and soy sauce and stir to mix. Add the vegetable broth and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook, covered, for about 5 more minutes.

To serve, place the rice noodles in the bottom of each bowl. Ladle the soup mixture with the tofu over top of the noodles. Garnish each serving with a handful of bean sprouts and chopped cilantro. Serve with a slice of lime to squeeze over the soup.

Makes 4 servings.

Note: You can store the leftovers in the refrigerator, but the noodles might soak up some of the broth. If this happens, just add a bit of water before re-heating.

Ginger-Peanut Noodles

While I don't like to repeat meals and recipes often, one thing that I do make regularly for a quick and easy dinner is Asian noodles with veggies. I have tried a few different variations on this dish - changing up the vegetables or the sauce, but my favourite version is peanut noodles. I love peanut sauce and it's so easy to make yourself using ingredients from your pantry.

I know there are a ton of recipes out there for peanut noodles already, but this one for a soba noodle salad with ginger peanut dressing from Vegetarian Times that I tried recently was so good that I had to post about it! One thing that makes it different from any other recipe that I've seen is that you actually blend cilantro into the sauce as well as adding fresh cilantro on top. The sauce was delicious - it had the right amount of peanut butter and it was a bit tangy, which I liked.

Another part of this recipe that made it stand out from others was that it includes sliced cucumber, which I have never tried adding to my noodles before, but it was perfect in this recipe!

I loved this recipe on its own, but I think it would also be good with some tofu added in for a more substantial meal.

Ginger-Peanut Noodles
Adapted from Vegetarian Times

6 oz dried noodles, preferable soba noodles but spaghetti would also work (I used kamut udon noodles)
1 red pepper, sliced thinly
about 1/2 to 2/3 of a large English cucumber, peeled, seeded and sliced into half moons
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped peanuts

Dressing:
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tbsp agave nectar or maple syrup
2 tsp soy sauce
zest and juice of one lime
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/4 cup cilantro
a dash or two of hot sauce, such as Sriracha (optional)

Cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water, then set aside.

Prepare all the vegetables (red pepper, cucumber and carrot) and add to noodles.

Add all ingredients for the dressing to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Add 1-2 tbsp of water to thin out if necessary.

Pour the dressing over noodles and mix thoroughly. Serve at room temperature or refrigerate until serving time. Garnish each serving with the chopped cilantro and peanuts.

Makes 4 servings.

This recipe was submitted to Wellness Weekends at Diet Dessert & Dogs.

Raw Zucchini Noodles with Mango - Two Ways

I’ve started to see lots of recipes for raw zucchini “noodles” appearing on blogs, and I became very intrigued by them! Using vegetables as your noodle base is not only a lot healthier than regular pasta, but it’s also much easier to make because there is no actual cooking involved! Plus there are so many fun possibilities once you add a sauce and any other additional ingredients that you want.

I’ve already made variations on zucchini noodles a few times now, and these are two of my favourite combinations...Both include mango, but in different ways – the first uses it blended into a sauce for the noodles, and the other uses strips of mango in the salad along with the noodles.

Both versions were absolutely delicious! And even though they were coated in creamy sauces, they were still nice and light – unlike the way similar pasta dishes with creamy sauces can leave me feeling.

I also liked the texture of the noodles...Most recipes recommend using a spiralizer to get thin strands of zucchini, but since I don’t own one of those, I used a regular vegetable peeler instead. This created wider, flat noodles, so they were more similar to a broad pasta like pappardelle.

On to the recipes...

First up: Zucchini Noodles with a Mango-Mint Sauce

Recipe adapted from Green Kitchen Stories 

Wash a large zucchini and peel into long strips with a vegetable peeler. You can use the skin, but stop once you get to the core and the seeds start showing. Add the strips to a bowl and discard the remaining core.

To make the sauce, add the following ingredients to a blender:

½ a ripe mango, diced

2 tbsp olive oil

8 leaves of mint

1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced

Pinch of chilli pepper flakes

Pinch of salt and pepper

Puree and adjust seasoning if you like (Note: the mint flavour was pretty strong, which I liked, but if you are not a big fan of mint then you should probably start with less than the amount called for, and then you can add more depending on your tastes).

Pour the sauce on to your noodles and mix it in. Top with a handful of nuts – I used raw walnuts, but the original recipe suggests pistachios.

Makes 1 serving.

Then I started thinking of more ways to eat raw noodles...I love peanut sauce on pasta, so I wanted to do a version of peanut noodles...but instead of the usual soba noodles, I used a combination of zucchini and yellow summer squash (although you could just use all zucchini), and instead of the usual peanut sauce, I made an almond butter-chili sauce. The sauce was not very spicy, so if you prefer a bit more heat, feel free to add in a pinch of cayenne or chilli pepper flakes. I thought it paired really well with the noodles and mango!

Summer Squash Noodles with Mango and an Almond Butter Sweet Chili Sauce

Noodles:
1 large zucchini

1 large yellow summer squash 

1 ripe mango

About ¼ cup raw almonds, sliced

Almond Butter Sweet Chili Sauce

Inspired by this recipe

2 tbsp almond butter

1 tbsp mango chili sauce (or your favourite sweet chili sauce)

Juice of half a lime

½ tbsp soy sauce

½ tsp honey or agave

1 tsp rice vinegar

1 tsp minced fresh ginger

1 tsp minced garlic

½ tbsp coconut water (or regular water if you don’t have coconut water)

To make the salad, follow the same procedure as above for the zucchini and squash. Cut a mango in half and then cut each half into long strips. Add to noodles.

Toast the almonds in a skillet for a few minutes, being careful not to burn them.

Meanwhile, make the sauce by combining all ingredients in a small bowl and whisking together. Add more coconut water if it looks too thick (but aim for thicker because I found it thinned out once I added it to the noodles).

Pour sauce onto noodle-mango mixture and stir it all in. Top with sliced almonds.

Makes 2 servings 

(Note: if you plan on making one serving for yourself and saving the leftovers, like I did, don’t make the mistake that I did by mixing in all the almonds at once because they will get soggy the next day...instead, keep them separate and top each serving with the almonds when you want to eat them).

Now I'm looking forward to trying more ways to eat zucchini noodles, so let me know if you come across any good recipes! Maybe I will try this method with other vegetables too...like these asparagus ribbons on Nat's blog!