How does that old Gershwin tune go? It’s summer time and the living is easy? HA! What a bunch of hooey. When you own your own business and work from home, summer time means less time to get things done. I have to get done in 3 hours what I was unable to get done in 5 1/2 hours while they were at school. Just in time for my new writing gig over at NewJerseyMomsBlog.com too. I have yet to post my first article but my bio is up on the About Us page if anyone wants to take a look.
So, summer time is finally here and my kids are already sick of hot dogs and hamburgers. Now what? Tomorrow night I’m actually making Lamb burgers. I’ll get back to you on that in a later post.
Back to today. I pulled out one of my favorite summer recipes and just threw it together while the kids were swimming at a friend’s house. This noodle salad is served cold but warm is good too. I’m giving you the original recipe here, but I usually double all the veggies. You can really throw in just about anything you like. This goes great with fish, chicken, pork, even steak I’m sure. Instead of the oriental style noodles the original recipe calls for, I used Barilla Plus Angel Hair. It’s healthier which means I can eat more. I’m always happy to eat more. If you haven’t tried Barilla Plus, give it a go. It is made with egg whites, legumes and even flaxseed but tastes more like traditional pasta than the whole wheat variety. I thought the dressing in this recipe would be overpowered by the taste of whole wheat pasta. I’m serving this tonight with some chicken satay. I’ll publish that recipe in the next couple days. Enjoy.
Hunan Noodles
6 – 8 ounces dried oriental-style noodles (or just plain old spaghetti or angle hair)
4 Tbsp. sesame oil, divided in half
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. hot chili oil
1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger root
2 Tbsp. sliced green onions
1/3 Cup frozen peas, thawed
1/3 Cup shredded carrot
1/3 Cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1/3 Cup thinly sliced red bell pepper
Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain well, place in large bowl, and toss with 2 Tbsp. sesame oil. In small bowl, combine remaining sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, hot chili oil, and ginger. Add green onions, peas, carrots, mushrooms, and bell pepper to pasta. Toss with dressing and chill for 2 hours. I’ll be adding fresh cilantro as a garnish when served.
