Toasted Cashew Noodles....

This dish came about because I was starving, and craving noodles. I don't normally crave noodles, but I really felt like rice noodles in some kind of Asian style sauce. I didn't feel like Peanut noodles, though I love them, and I suddenly had a simultaneous hankering for Cashews. I didn't really have many fresh veggies on hand, and wanted to keep the dish simple anyway so the preparation would be quick - the faster it's made the faster I eat! - and this is what came about.

Surprisingly this turned out super good, it's got the perfect balance of sweet, salty, spicy, tangy. I also think the cashew butter makes a great stand in for peanut butter, and lends a more mellow, yet complex and nutty flavor to the dish. I also really love the nice bit of crunch in each bite from the red cabbage garnish. I didn't have any cilantro on hand, but I imagine that would make a good garnish too, if you happen to have some. Of course if you want to 'beef' it up, you could also add some cubed baked or fried tofu, or maybe even some tempeh. But I kind of like it exactly as it is, light and easy. Two of my favorite things right now.

Toasted Cashew Noodles

For the Noodles

2 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil
3 Carrots Sliced thin
6 Radishes cut into thin half moons
3 Green Onions sliced (White and green parts separated)
2 Garlic cloves sliced thin
1/4 Cup Cashews
12oz Rice Noodles
1/4 C or less of thin sliced Red Cabbage

For the Sauce

1/4 Cup Creamy Cashew Butter
1/3 - 1/2 Cup Coconut Milk (Depending on how thick you want the sauce)
4 Tbsp Tamari
2 Tbsp Mirin
2 Tbsp Lemon or Lime Juice
2 tsp Cane Sugar
1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
1/4 tsp Smoked Paprika
1/4-1/2 tsp Sriracha or to taste

- Place the noodles in a pot of boiling water and cook for 5 minutes or until they are tender. Drain and set aside.

- Heat the Sesame Oil in a large frying pan. When it's hot add the carrot, and radish. Cook on high for about 5-7 minutes until the veg becomes soft and starts to brown. Add in the white parts of the onions, and the garlic. Lower the heat and sauté for another 3-4 minutes until everything is cooked to your liking.

- Combine all sauce ingredients in a small pot and stir until smooth. Turn the heat on high, and when it begins to simmer whisk it for about a minute. You just want to heat the sauce through long enough for it to smooth out.

- Add the Cooked Noodles to the pan of veg. Pour the sauce over, and mix to combine.

- Divide into bowls, and top with Green onions, and red cabbage.

- In a dry skillet toast the cashews over high heat for 5-8 minutes until they smell nutty and begin to brown.

- Top each bowl with a handful of cashews and enjoy!

Summertime Kale and Seaweed Salad...

All that talk about sea vegetables yesterday really inspired me!  After writing the last post there was nothing more I wanted then a big ‘ole salad full of goodness and sea veggies. I know I’ve been kind of slacking this year, school, work, the new job, and then finally being done with school and just needed to relax and veg out - I’ve neglected this blog. Sure I’ve posted, but most of my posts these days tend to be restaurant, or product reviews. Otherwise they’re posts about what I made for the holidays but no original recipes. I feel bad about that, but the truth is that my eating’s been erratic. I’ve either eaten really healthy - but boring, thus not worthy of being blogged about. Or I’ve gone really over the top, but using the recipes of others. I’m really going to try to change that. I want to post recipes again, I want to be more active here again, and so here’s a start.

Unfortunately when I was making my lunch yesterday I wasn’t doing so with the intention of posting the recipe. I just whipped some stuff together and didn’t really measure anything. So take the measurements as suggestions and approximations and adjust as you see fit. Even if you add a little more of ‘this’ or a little less of ‘that’ I know you’ll enjoy this salad. It’s rich in high-quality nutrients, and packed full of flavor. It really hits the spot mid-afternoon afer a long bike ride, or a good yoga session. Enjoy while sitting out in the summer sun, with a nice cool glass of water or your favorite kombucha!

Summertime Kale and Seaweed Salad 

3 Big Leaves Kale torn into bite sized pieces
1 Medium Carrot peeled and julienne
½ Cucumber peeled and julienne
Red Onion sliced thin (about 1/4 C or to taste)
½ C Corn (Fresh or Frozen)
½ C Frozen Edamame
2 Tbsp Hemp Seeds
Small handful Arame ( 1/4 C or less) Soaked in warm water for five minutes. Then drained and rinsed, then patted dry.
1-2 Sheets Nori (to taste) torn into bite sized pieces
2 Garlic Cloves minced

1 tsp Sesame Oil
1 tsp Rice Vinegar

Dressing 

2 Tbsp Tahini
1 Tbsp Tamari
1 Tbsp Mirin (or Agave)
½ Tbsp Lemon Juice
Sriracha to taste
Water as needed to thin
Salt and Pepper to taste -  optional

- Place your torn kale into a large bowl, drizzle the sesame oil and rice vinegar over top and massage thoroughly with your hands utnil the kale breaks down a bit. Set the bowl aside and continue making the rest of the salad.
- Heat a small pot of water on the stove, when boiling add the Edamame - and if using frozen corn add that too - boil for 2-3 minutes until Edamame and Corn are cooked through. Drain and let cool.

- Mis all dressing ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.

- Assemble the salad. To the kale add in the julienne carrot, cucumber, sliced red onion, minced garlic cloves. Corn, edamame, Hemp seeds, torn nori sheets, and arame. Drizzle the dressing over top and toss a few times to make sure all of the vegetables get evenly coated.

*** Note - Gluten Free if using GF Tamari.***

Maitake Udon Soup...

I’ve been wanting to post all weekend but it seems as though time keeps slipping away from me. I’ve been very busy of late, not only with school, work and other activities but with cooking as well as exploring new and interesting ethnic markets. I’ve been very inspired lately to create vegan versions of many of the Asian, and Indian dishes I used to love as an omnivore. It’s been a fun and interesting experience, because I’ve been picking dishes that I’ve never seen vegan recipes for. The world doesn’t need another vegan Sambar, or Tofu Saag. We don’t need another Pad Thai or fried rice recipe what we need are all those delicious recipes no one’s thought to veganize yet. We need the obscure ones! Or at least I do. That’s not exactly what this post is about though, that’s just an explanation for where I’ve been and what I’ve been doing.

This post is about a delicious soup inspired by my travels to a Japanese Market in Arlington Heights. The market is called Mitsuwa, and my sole purpose for going there was so I could buy Glutenous White Rice Flour to make a favorite Chinese dessert of mine. (More about that in another post) I saw the flour for sale on Amazon and almost bought it until I read the reviews. The flour cost $6 on Amazon, and every reviewer said they’d bought the same exact product at their local Asian Grocery for $1. So rather then buy the flour for a totally inflated price online and then have to wait for it to arrive I decided to track down the nearest Asian Market. Mitsuwa kept coming back with the highest reviews and so my husband and I decided to check it out one afternoon.

Mitsuwa is amazing! If you live in the area you need to check it out! They have almost everything you could possibly need or want. to make delicious Japanese food at home. They have everything from oodles of noodles, to fresh produce, to exotic mushrooms, dozens of varieties of rice and seaweed, sauces, condiments, snacks, desserts, they even have a bakery, and a food court. There isn’t much vegan in the food court or the bakery but there are a couple of dairy free pastries, and some delicious veggie maki! Initially I went into Mitsuwa with the intention of buying 2 items, and ended up coming home with a bulging bag of goodies. With amazing products being sold for a fraction of the price I pay at my local grocery or health food store how could I resist? After all would you rather pay $4.99 for 10 sheets of Nori or $4.99 for 30? $4.99 for 12 oz of dried udon or $6.99 for 2 pounds of dried Udon? It was an easy choice for me, but I digress.

There were three purchases in particular that I knew I’d have to use immediately. Fresh Maitake mushrooms - which I’ve never seen before, if I see Maitake mushrooms at all, they are always dried. - Fresh Udon Noodles - something I haven’t seen since I lived in Vancouver, Fresh udon is commonly sold lots of places in Vancouver, so going to a speciality Asian market isn’t exactly required. - and a vegetable called Tokyo Negi which is sort of a Japanese Green onion. I’d never tasted it, seen it, or even heard of it before so I knew I had to get it. Since I’d never cooked with any of these three ingredients before I felt the safest thing to do was soup. In fact I’d made a delicious rice noodle soup the week before and still had a hankering for something with a similar flavor.

So after surveying my pantry and jotting down a few ideas, I took my maitake mushrooms, my udon and my Tokyo Negi and set to work. The finished product was outstanding! It definitely exceeded my expectations. While I can’t claim that there’s anything at all ‘traditional’ about this dish, it does remind me of a lot of the udon soups I used to eat in Japanese restaurants and Asian markets when I lived in Vancouver.

The Negi lent a wonderful flavor to the soup as did the maitake mushrooms. I’d never eaten maitake mushrooms and so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but they were wonderful. The real showstopper however was the Udon. It has been a long, long time since I ate fresh udon, and the last time I did I wasn’t exactly an adventurous eater. I thought they looked like worms or brains and they unnerved me a little, so I wasn’t all that thrilled with them. Now I’ve been shown the error of my ways. Fresh udon are where it’s at yo! They are a must! They’re fat, and soft, and squishy yet chewy. They’re delicate and almost buttery. They are perfection, and far more complex both in flavor and texture than the dried variety. If you can find them you must try them, and when you make this soup I highly suggest you have both a spoon and a pair of chopsticks handy. A spoon to ladle up the broth and the smaller veggies. Chopsticks for the udon. Since they’re so long, fat and slippery they don’t exactly sit still on a spoon, chopsticks are a much more practical utensil, and they certainly imbue an air of authenticity to the meal.

Maitake Udon Soup 

1 tsp Sesame Oil
8 Cloves Garlic Minced
1 Thumb sized piece of Ginger Grated
1 Thumb Sized Piece Kombu
2 Tokyo Negi
1 lb Fresh Wide Udon Noodles
5oz Fresh Maitake Mushrooms chopped
2 C Green or Napa Cabbage Shredded
6 C Water + 2 vegan “Chicken” style Bouillon Cubes
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce or Coconut Amino's
1-2 Tbsp Lime Juice
2-4 Tbsp Mirin (to taste)
Sprinkle of Umeboshi Vinegar to taste
½ bunch of Cilantro finely minced.

- Heat oil in a medium sized sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic, and ginger and saute for 3-5 minutes until fragrant.

- Add in Maitake mushrooms and saute 2 minutes.

- Combine water and Bouillon in a measuring cup, then add to the pot along with the Komband stir to combine.

- Add the Udon Noodles and bring to a boil. Let boil for five minutes then add Tokyo Negi and reduce heat to a low boil/simmer.

- Cook for 10 minutes then add the sliced cabbage. Cook for 5 minutes then stir in the soy sauce, umeboshi vinegar, lime juice and mirin. Stir to combine and simmer 2 minutes. Taste for flavor and adjust seasoning as needed.

- Remove the Kombu from the pot and discard. Turn off the heat and add in the cilantro. Divide amongst bowls and serve garnished with more cilantro.

*** Note - If you can’t find fresh udon you can use dried udon or soba noodles. Though fresh are really worth looking for if you have a good Asian market by you. If you can’t find Tokyo Negi then use about 5 green onions instead. ***


*** Note - Soy-Free if using Coconut Amino’s instead of soy sauce or Tamari***