Peanut Noodles with Vegetables

Peanut butter has always been a favorite food of mine. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were the only type I would eat growing up (they still are my favorite). In 5th grade my friend Brittany introduced me to apple slices with peanut butter and I have been having that as a snack every since. Celery on it's own- not the best. With peanut butter? Delicious!

Peanut sauce on noodles and vegetables is a comfort food that is healthy and tastes great eatten hot or cold. Usually I make this with spaghetti noodles, but I didn't have any at home so Dreamfields rotini pasta were substituted. You could add different vegetables as well- thinly sliced carrots and snow peas would be great in this too. Enjoy!

Peanut Noodles with Vegetables
1tbsp oil (olive, grapeseed, vegetable or coconut oil)
2 garlic cloves, diced, separated
1/2 inch fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1 cup snap peas, sliced into strips
1 medium zucchini, diced (I used 5 baby zucchini)
1 baby bok choy, chopped
1/2 cup edamame
2 oz pasta (spaghetti, rotini, or penne)
2 tbsp natural peanut butter
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp soy sauce
3 tbsp chicken broth
1/2 tsp fish sauce
scallions, peanuts, cilantro, chopped for garnish

1. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Reserve 2-3 tbsp of the cooking water.
2. In a wok or large saute pan, heat oil. Add 1 garlic clove and ginger. Allow to cook for about 1-2 minutes or until fragrant
3. Add vegetables to pan and saute for several minutes until bok choy is wilted and vegetables are beginning to get soft. Season with kosher salt and ground pepper.
4. While vegetables and pasta are cooking, combine 1 clove garlic, peanut butter, soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil and chicken broth. Whisk together until smooth. Add pasta water as needed to reach a honey-like consistency.
4. Add pasta and peanut sauce to pan. Stir to evenly coat vegetables and pasta with the sauce.
Top with fresh cilantro, chopped peanuts and scallions.

Meatless Monday- Vegetables en Papillote

Vegetables en Papillote ( vegetables steamed in paper or foil)
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees
2. Place several vegetables of your choice in a large bowl (I used bok choy, sugar snap peas, Thai eggplant, and Brussels sprouts). Thinly slice 3 cloves of garlic, 3 shallots and about 1/2 inch of fresh ginger. Add to vegetables. Grate zest of one orange or lemon over the vegetables. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
3. Cut two large squares of aluminum foil or parchment paper. Spoon half of the vegetable mixture onto the foil and enclose like a package, but do not tightly close it. Do the same with the rest of the vegetables.
4. Place packages on a baking sheet into the oven and cook for about 15 minutes or until fork tender.
5. Open packages and enjoy with rice, pasta, on it's own or over a bean puree (That's what I attempted to do, but I will need to keep working on the bean puree-wasn't my favorite.  The vegetables however were soft yet still had a crunch and had a bright and fresh flavor form the garlic, ginger and orange.)
Enjoy!

Weeknight Thai style Curry

I am not going to say that this is in any way a traditional Thai curry recipe. I am actually positive that it is not an authentic recipe, but it sure was tasty! I used a basic red curry recipe and a panang curry recipe that I had and then changed it to fit what was available in the refrigerator. I am just learning about Thai food and this is my attempt at recreating some of the delicious flavors we experienced when we were in Thailand. As I have mentioned before, I really did not know anything about curry before going on this trip. I just thought it was a spice. I also had this idea that curries needed to cook for hours and hours. Not the case. Pre-made curry paste makes the whole dish take less than 30 minutes from start to finish. Of course if you made the curry paste from scratch the traditional way it probably will take all day. Even in the cooking class we took, we ground up the paste in a food processor.  For a weeknight dinner that is quick and easy plus rich, savory and spicy, pre-made curry paste is the way to go. I added a lot of vegetables to this curry and probably only about 2-3 oz of chicken. The dishes we had in Asia weren't full of vegetables at all, so you can adjust this for you and your refrigerator. In my professional opinion though, I recommend you add as many vegetables as you can! This could easily be a Meatless Monday (or any day) meal as well. For some good articles on eating less meat read this and this. Enjoy!

Weeknight Curry

1 can light coconut milk

1 tbsp red curry paste (or more if you like more heat)

2 tbsp chopped peanuts and more for garnishing

Variety of vegetables, diced (I used 2 small thai eggplants, 1/2 purple eggplant, ½ large zucchini, 2 carrots, 3 baby bok choy-peppers would also be good with this)

3 oz chicken, pork or beef (optional)

2 tbsp fish sauce

2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp soy sauce

½ fresh lime

2 cups hot rice (I used brown rice)

1. Add half can of coconut milk to pan along with curry paste. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook for about 5 minutes. Add peanuts and stir to combine. 

2. Add vegetables (except for leafy vegetables like bok choy) and meat (if using) and cook for several minutes until vegetables are soft and meat is cooked through. Add more coconut milk for more sauce if desired. Add fish sauce, sugar and soy sauce and stir to combine. Add leafy vegetables if using and cook for 1-2 more minutes. Squeeze juice from ½ lime over the curry and garnish with additional peanuts if desired.

3. Place rice and curry in separate bowls. Spoon some rice on a plate and then spoon some of the curry onto of the rice. (This sounds a little silly, but we find that if you spoon the curry over the rice all at once the flavor is overwhelming because there is so much sauce. Just eat a little at a time and spoon the curry over your rice to taste.)

Veggie Stir-fry with Egg

One of the perks of living in a bigger city in my opinion is the Asian markets. These were not to be found in Bismarck or Billings. Here they seem to pop up in just about every neighborhood. I love how I can one minute be in Minneapolis, Minnesota and the next minute, after stepping into one of these markets feel like I am in Hong Kong, Thailand or Vietnam. The produce is usually very cheap (4 limes for $1, a bag of shallots $2, package of dry noodles $.75) and you can find any and every Asian sauce or paste you could ever think of. This past week for less than $4 I bought- 7 baby bok choy, 2 Thai eggplants, 1 purple eggplant, package of dry noodles, fresh ginger and fresh fenugreek, everyone around me was speaking Chinese and it was great! Here is one of the dishes I made with the purchases. It reminded us of some of the Cambodian street food we had and the best part is that you can add whatever vegetables you have on hand. Plus, what isn't delicious topped with a fried egg? Enjoy!

Stir-fry Veggies with Egg (serves 2)

1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp honey
dash of sesame oil
2 tbsp chicken broth
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 tsp fresh garlic, diced
2 cups cooked noodles
vegetables of choice, chopped (e.g. carrots, peppers, onion, egg plant, zucchini, bok choy, spinach, baby corn cobs, water chestnuts, bean sprouts, mushrooms, broccoli)
2 eggs, fried
chili sauce (optional)

1. In a large sauté pan, heat 1 tbsp of grapeseed, canola or vegetable oil. Add vegetables (except spinach/bok choy, bean sprouts, water chestnuts if using). Sauté for several minutes until starting to soften.   2. Add garlic and ginger and cook for several more minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add a splash of chicken broth to deglaze the pan.
3. Add spinach/bok choy and other vegetables if using. Cook for 2-5 minutes until greens are wilted. Add noodles to pan and combine with vegetables.
4. Combine cornstarch, soy sauce, fish sauce, chicken broth, honey. Pour over vegetables and cook for an additional 2-4 minutes. Add more soy sauce or chicken broth to taste.
5. Serve in a large bowl topped with an egg. Add additional chili sauce as desired. Eat with chop sticks if you can!