Since it's been so long, we decided to bring back our cooking adventures with something easy but man did we hit the jackpot with these two recipes (found with the help of Pinterest and good ol' Google).
First up was "Peanut Udon Noodles with Snowpeas"
Ingredients:
8 oz. dried udon noodles (we just used one package)
4 oz. snow peas (we used sugarsnap peas, and highly recommend it)
1/2 c. peanut butter (make sure it's creamy)
2 tbsp. rice vinegar
1 tbsp. sesame oil
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. ginger, grated (or finely chopped)
1 garlic clove, minced (we used 3 medium-sized cloves because we love garlic)
pinch of red pepper flakes
2-4 tbsp. water
1/4 c. chopped roasted peanuts (we used way more because peanuts are delicious!)
We added:
2 (or more, if desired) green onions, chopped
Half a red bell pepper and half a green bell pepper, cut into strips
Crunchy fried tofu
Directions:
Cut the block of tofu in half, so it's half as thick, and put both halves on some paper towels on a flat surface. Put more paper towels on top, cover with a plate, and set a weight on it. Leave tofu draining for 30 minutes (if you drain it for less, it won't be as crunchy).
While the tofu is draining, chop everything and cook your noodles using the directions on the package. Right before they're finished, throw in the peas and bell peppers (let everything boil for about a minute).
We did the next step in a wok, which worked really well; mix together peanut butter, vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Mix in the water one tablespoon at a time until your sauce isn't too thick to coat the noodles. We used the hot water from the noodles to do this because cold water won't mix well into oils. Make sure your sauce isn't too watery (you can always add more water if the whole thing is too thick).
Dump noodles, peas, and peppers into the wok and mix well until everything is thoroughly coated.
Once your tofu has been drained, cut it into strips, fill a frying pan (or deep-fryer if you have one) with a half-inch or so of vegetable oil, and fry tofu strips on each side until they are golden brown and crunchy.
Serve noodles with green onions, tofu strips, and peanuts to put on top in individual bowls, in amounts according to individual preference.
This peanut sauce recipe is STELLAR - so we're going to use it on just about anything we can put peanut sauce!
(Original recipe from ohmyveggies.com)
Dish number two was the "Crunchy Cabbage Salad" - which was even easier! (and very pretty)
Ingredients (we didn't quite follow any of the measurements, and the original recipe called for radish and celery, which we didn't have/don't like):
2 tablespoons or more white or red wine vinegar (we used apple cider vinegar)
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic, or more to taste
Salt and black pepper
2 carrots, chopped
1 small red onion, minced
3 or 4 radishes, chopped
1 red or yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped (we used some green pepper too, highly recommend)
1 small cabbage, cored and shredded.
We added;
(Toasted) sesame seeds!
Directions:
Chop everything and mix it together!
We recommend using less vinegar and less olive oil but it depends on how much salad you're making. The sesame seeds were a super duper good idea and gave it an extra crunch.
(Original recipe found at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/02/weekinreview/02recipes-3.html?_r=0)
