Sesame Noodles and Busy Days

I am going to try to move forward with normal blogs again.  Blogs that don't evoke sadness or focus solely on cancer.  I will still give updates, but in my desperate need to get back to normal, I may as well begin with my blog.  If one thing makes me feel normal, it would be cooking and feeding my family.  So here's the quick health status update first.  I am feeling 100% better.  I have seen more doctors in the past two weeks than ever before, but I know these are the people who will help me get better, so I'll see them whenever they want me to.  I had a port put into my upper chest yesterday.  This should make the IV chemo a little easier.  I apparently have really crappy veins in my arms and that would make chemo difficult.  I have been tattooed on my hips and belly for radiation-they are basically a new addition to my already vast freckle collection.  I will be starting radiation on March 4th and chemo should begin the same week.  I know it is crazy to be excited about something that will not be much fun, but I keep telling myself that the sooner I start, the sooner I am finished!

On to the food!!!!  I love Asian flavors-ginger, sweet chili, sesame...they are all wonderful to me!  I try to always keep my pantry stocked with basics for a few Asian inspired dishes I love.  I always have toasted sesame oil, black sesame seeds, plain sesame seeds, sweet chili sauce, tamari, fresh ginger (in fridge), fish sauce and sriracha on hand.  I love the smells of all these ingredients and adore the tastes.  I don't make many Asian dishes, but I do like to try new ones.  Sesame Noodles are a dish that I love and while the version I make is probably not "traditionally" correct, it is inspired by both the Asian ingredients I love and my fave chef, Nigella Lawson.  Nigella's recipe for Sesame Noodles is from the Nigella Express cookbook. I use her basic recipe, but added & subtracted a few things to fit our family.  This recipe is really forgiving-as you will see.  I use whatever fresh veggies I have on hand that would fit the flavors, or as it happened tonight, I had no veggies that would work in it.  I didn't think the minis would appreciate brussels sprouts in their "Chinese Spaghetti" as they call it.  I also don't really use exact measurements for this-I just go by what looks and tastes right as I go along.  For blog purposes I will put amounts, but these are approximate.  Go with what tastes good to you.

The gangs all here, except for the spaghetti.  I forgot it and let's face it, if you don't know what spaghetti looks like, you may not even want to try this anyway!

You will need peanut butter (creamy or chunky-whatever your preference), tamari or soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, sweet red chili sauce, sesame seeds (black or regular or both), garlic, ginger, lemon, broth (chicken or vegetable) and spaghetti.  I used creamy peanut butter, but have done this with chunky and it is good too.  The little chunks of peanuts adds a nice texture contrast.  Don't be afraid of the red chili sauce-it isn't spicy.  It has a very light flavor and is slightly sweet.  It adds pretty red flecks but not the heat you would assume from a chili sauce.  This dish is also vegetarian, unless you are using the chicken broth.  

Boil the spaghetti following the directions on the box.  Rinse with cold water and set aside.  You can also use angel hair-it works just as well.  In a large bowl, put 1/4-1/3 cup of peanut butter.  Add 3 tablespoons tamari, 2 tablespoons sesame oil, and 2 tablespoons chili sauce.  Squeeze half a lemon into the bowl.  Peel a 1 inch piece of fresh ginger and grate into the bowl.  I use a micro plane for fine shavings but a flat grater will work too.  Grate 1 clove of garlic into the bowl.  Add 1 handful of sesame seeds and 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Begin to whisk the ingredients together.  At this point I add 2 or 3 splashes of broth.  The peanut butter can make for a thick sauce and this thins out the sauce making it better for coating all the noodles.  If the minis or Murph are not having this, I also add some sriracha for a kick.

Once the sauce is the consistency you prefer, pour over the cooked spaghetti.  At this point, you can add the veggies you like.  I would usually use snow pea pods and scallions.  Unfortunately I didn't have any and did not want to go shopping in the rain today, so I had to do without them.  They were just as yummy, but I probably would have liked them with some greenery!

Once you have thoroughly coated the noodles with your peanut sauce, you can sprinkle on some extra sesame seeds for flavor and refrigerate until ready to eat.  I like to take the noodles out of the fridge about 15 minutes before we are ready to eat them.  They should be cold, but not ice cold.

Yummy sesame noodles with little flecks of red from the chili sauce.

I hope you enjoy this!  We love it and it has become a staple in our dinner menu rotation.  It is even more delicious the next day when the noodles have had even more time to absorb the peanut sauce.  If you have leftovers and you find the noodles to be too dry the next day, I add a splash of sesame oil and some chili sauce and they spring back to life.  This dish will be eaten a lot in the next few months in our house-it's easy, fast and will help out our dinners when energy and time are at a minimum during treatments.

Next blog will be Beef Stroganoff.  An oldie but a goody!

Cold Sesame Noodles

1 lb spaghetti or angel hair, cooked according to directions on box

1/4 - 1/3 cup peanut butter

3 TBSP tamari

2 TBSP toasted sesame oil

2 TBSP sweets chili sauce

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 inch piece fresh ginger root, peeled and grated

1 clove garlic, grated

2-3 TBSP of sesame seeds (black or toasted regular seeds)

1 TBSP olive oil

2-3 splashes of broth (or more as needed)

sriracha, if you like a spicy kick

Optional veggies: Sliced red peppers, sliced scallions, sliced snow pea pods, thin green beans (blanched but not soft)

Boil pasta as directed on box, rinse with cold water, drain and set aside.  Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together until well combined.  Add more broth if a thinner consistency is desired.  Pour sauce over cool pasta and add veggies.  Stir to coat noodles and mix in veggies.  Chill in refrigerator until ready to eat.  Stir again before serving and sprinkle extra sesame seeds on top for crunch.

Enjoy!