Peanut-Orange Noodles

From the top: Carrot strips, broccoli florets, orange juice, spinach noodles

This is a dish I like to make on days I don't feel like cooking. It's quick, easy to vary the flavors, and makes a simple, yet delicious meal.

I usually make this with soba noodles, but all I had were these spinach noodles from the Asian market. If anything, it shows the versatility of this recipe and recipes similar. You could even use spaghetti if that's all you had.

The peanut sauce is the highlight of this dish. It makes the dish filling, while the orange juice in it keeps the taste light. Sometimes you make dinner and wonder if it'll fill you up. This looks that way, but it really is satiating.

I chose to blanch the vegetables because it's really fast and it can be done in the same pot that you'll cook the noodles in.

For more protein, I used chicken. You could add tofu or anything else you prefer that would combine well with the flavors. If you don't have leftover chicken or don't have the time to cook it, pick up a rotisserie chicken from the store.

Pour the sauce over and toss to coat.

Dinner is served!

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Peanut Orange Noodles
Recipe by Christina

Yields 2 Servings

Sauce Ingredients:

Grated rind of one orange (set aside)
3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (2-3 oranges)
1/4 cup natural peanut butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon ginger powder or a 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
1 teaspoon hot chili paste or 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

Noodle Mixture Ingredients:
2 cups of broccoli florets, cut into evenly sized pieces<
2 carrots, either julienned or peeled into strips with this type of vegetable peeler, which can be found at an Asian store
1 1/2 cups shredded chicken
8 ounces dry soba noodles

Directions:

1. For sauce: Combine all ingredients, except the grated orange rind, into a small saucepan and bring just to a boil. Stir until combined, then turn the heat to low until needed. Taste for seasonings and adjust accordingly. If it's too salty, add a few tablespoons more orange juice. If it needs more flavor, start with 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt.


2. For the noodle mixture: Fill a large pot with water and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, have a colander and a large bowl ready. Add the broccoli to the boiling water and blanch for 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the broccoli to the colander and rinse with cool water just to stop the cooking process. Transfer to the large bowl.


3. Repeat the process with the carrots, except blanch for only 1 minute for julienned or 1 minute 45 seconds for strips. Add the carrots and shredded chicken to the bowl.


4. In the same water, brought to a boil again, add the soba noodles and cook according to the box instructions. Before straining the noodles, add 2 tablespoon of the pasta water to the orange-peanut sauce. Add the noodles to the bowl, then pour the sauce over the noodle mixture and toss to combine. Sprinkle grated orange rind on top each serving.

It's Not Over 'Til It's Over

Summer is a favorite season for many people (it's my 2nd), and usually they are sad to see it end. No more sleeping in, going to the beach, staying up late, and making s'mores. Actually, the last one doesn't have to end until you decide that you're sick of it!

Homemade Graham Crackers
with Toasted Coconut Marshmallows

What made me decide to make my own graham crackers? After looking at various recipes, I could tell it was quick, easy, and probably would taste much better than what I could buy. The marshmallows I bought, though.

Line a baking sheet with however many graham crackers you want, top with a marshmallow, and broil until the tops of the marshmallows are browned.

Press the marshmallow down with the back of a spoon.

The graham crackers were amazing. Crisp-sandy, a blended sweetness from the sugar, honey, and molasses, and the whole wheat flour gave it a wonderful nuttiness. I'd definitely make these again.

Race Day Eats

This section of the race was not on a trail

I ran a 10k trail race over the weekend, making it the first real(ish) trail race I've done. It was really fun, though it was a different feeling to be running alone for 1/3 of the race, compared to road races where there are more people and it's rare to not see anyone unless you are way ahead of everyone. But it was very fun and I can't wait to run it again.

The food here was very good and a wide variety, though I tend to stick to the same two or three items whichever race I go to. These were, I think, 'vegetable desserts', which reminded me of the feud between Jerry Seinfeld's wife and the other lady who both wrote cookbooks about hiding vegetables in meals you make.
The light-colored bread is zucchini bread, I'm guessing, and the other is a brownie.

Something struck me funny about seeing all the Panera bagels everywhere, so I took this picture. Yesterday I was at Panera to find that they raised the prices of the bagels. Regular bagels are .99¢, while specialty bagels are now $1.25. I got the asiago cheese, and it seemed much different than what I remember. Granted, I never considered Panera's to be the pinnacle of bagels, but it was fairly decent for the price. Now it's just bready and flavorless. Oh well, they still have unlimited refills on coffee and tea.

Fruit platters! Fruit is the most refreshing thing after running, so I was very glad to see the array of fruit available. There was watermelon, but it's not shown. What I didn't see were any bananas, which I'm completely fine with because I hate bananas unless it's frozen in smoothies, or smashed in breads. I think of bananas as the potato of fruits.

The (possibly) zucchini brownie with raisins. I was surprised at how fudgy this was, yet very light opposed to dense. The (possible) addition of zucchini really complemented the chocolate. I would have liked to have eaten all of this, but it was pretty rich and not the taste I wanted in my mouth at the time.

Panera bagel and a mini peanut butter Luna bar


I got third in my age group!