Spicy Sesame & Peanut Noodles

This is a scrumptious and speedy dish that only takes as long as the noodles to cook! A spicy and sweet creamy peanut butter and fragrant sesame blender sauce is tossed with chewy spaghetti noodles and fresh, parboiled broccoli rabe for a comforting meal. I hope this will be a new staple in your home, as it is in ours!

There's a bit of green in this dish. A wee accent counts right? Once again I have failed to jump aboard the holiday-food-party bandwagon. What the heck; you'd think a food blogger would be all over that stuff! Green errrything, but nope. Alas, my festive side fails to show up the party. Apparently it's as hermit-like as my real self! I guess that makes sense. Do you get in the celebratory spirit on St. Patrick's Day by making green food? When I was a kid my mom made green eggs. It made me uneasy. I don't like food to look as it shouldn't; even the green rice krispie treats put me off. 

I am currently drinking matcha as a write this, in a green cup nonetheless... and that should certainly count for something. I got green inside me. I think I'll tell people that when they try to pinch me for wearing all black. It should go over real well. 

Honestly... I just forgot it was St. Patty's Day... but this super green photo of broccoli rabe below should put you in the spirit! #mustgetmyshittogetherforremainingholidays

“My philosophy is: It’s none of my business what people say of me and think of me. I am what I am and I do what I do. I expect nothing and accept everything. And it makes life so much easier.”

— Anthony Hopkins

Spicy Sesame & Peanut Noodles

By Kathleen Henry @ Produce On Parade

Published 03/17/2016

This is a scrumptious and speedy dish that only takes as long as the noodles to cook! A spicy and sweet creamy peanut butter and fragrant sesame blender sauce is tossed with chewy spaghetti noodles and fresh, parboiled broccoli rabe for a comforting meal. I hope this will be a new staple in your home, as it is in ours!

Ingredients

• 1 lb dried spaghetti noodles
• 1 bunch of fresh broccoli rabe, florets and stems chopped
• ¼ cup white sesame seeds + more for garnish
• ¼ cup sesame oil
• ¼ cup + 2 tbsp soy sauce
• ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
• 3 tbsp vegan granulated sugar
• 3 tbsp sliced fresh ginger
• 2 heaping tbsp creamy peanut butter
• 4 large garlic cloves, rough chopped
• 1 ½ tbsp fresh garlic chili paste, to taste
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 4 fresh green onions, sliced

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat for the pasta. Cook according to the package, about 9 minutes, until al dente. When there’s about 3 minutes left for the noodles to cook, add the chopped broccoli rabe to parboil. Strain the noodles and broccoli rabe; return to the pot and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, in a small frying pan toast the sesame seeds over medium-low heat for about 5-8 minutes until slightly golden brown and fragrant, stirring frequently (taking care not to burn). Place in blender once finished.
3. Add the remaining ingredients in the blender along with the sesame seeds, excluding the green onions. Blend on high until super smooth. Stir into the cooked pasta and broccoli rabe until well combined along with the green onions. Serve warm. These noodles are also great chilled!

Yield: 6

I got real worked up about the fact that the USA is the only first world country with no mandated paid maternity/paternity leave. I even wrote my employer's HR department to champion a paid maternity leave program. They were like yeah... no. Hey, if you don't take action you can't really blame anyone but yourself for not trying to change things for the better. Take action and let congress know that it's a pretty messed up situation. Check out the infographic below for more information. 

Thai Peanut Spaghetti Squash Veggie Bowl

I've been wanting to make this dish for quite some time. So long in fact, that the spaghetti squash I bought a week, a month ago had started to look pretty, well...sad. It was time. I couldn't put it off any longer. You see, spaghetti squash is my kitchen nemesis. I dread cutting them open. So, I usually opt for some much friendly squash to murder like, say, acorn squash. Butternut can still be pretty tough but delicata is my BFF in the squash world. That shit's like cutting butter. Plus, the rind is edible which is the bees knees in my book.    I've never actually harmed myself (or anyone else!) while trying to dismember a squash, but it's only a matter of time. Really. However, I'm excited to say that this dish was absolutely and totally worth it. If you want to cook spaghetti squash but your stronger significant other/roommate/random stranger isn't home to help you, don't fret. If I can do it, then you too possess the power to murder that godforsaken spaghetti squash.  

My best advice is to just take it slow. It probably took me about 15 minutes to crack this badboy open. No joke. I've heard of people microwaving the squash first to soften it, but then...you still have to wait for it to cool, so it probably takes just as long. Maybe I'm just a wimp. Am I making a big deal out of this squash thing? Who knows, but I think we've adequately examined this issue. Moving on. 

Back to this bowl! Okay, super yummy. I may (or may not!) have just been eating the sauce from the blender with a spoon. Whaaat? Don't judge me! I had a tough day yesterday. There's really not much to say except this veggie bowl is full of healthy buddies like squash, yams, broccoli, kale, and cashews for crunch of course. Mint, cilantro, sesame seeds and a Thai lime peanut sauce top it off. 

Thai Peanut Spaghetti Squash Veggie Bowl 

Inspired by The First Mess

Serves 4-6

• --For The Bowl--
• 1 large spaghetti squash, roasted
• 1 head of broccoli florets, chopped
• 1 medium garnet yam, diced (or sweet potato)
• half a bunch of kale, de-stemmed and chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped cashews or peanuts, toasted
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
• sesame seeds (to garnish)
• --For The Sauce--
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
• 1 Tbsp. erythritol or sugar
• 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce 
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh ginger paste (or 1 Tbsp. sliced fresh ginger)
• 1/4-1/2 tsp. fresh ground chili paste
• 1 lime, peeled and chopped (no seeds or pith!)
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Very carefully cut the squash in half, veggie hot dog style. This is always terrifying for me, hopefully you possess better squash murdering skills than I do! Place  the two halves on a baking sheet, face down. Bake at 350 F for about 1 hour. When done, a knife tip should pierce the outside fairly easily. Allow to cool slightly before scooping out seeds. Then using a fork, string the squash meat free.

When there are about 15 minutes left for the squash. Place the chopped nuts on a baking sheet and toast for about 10-15 minutes. Careful that they don't burn! Remove and allow to cool.

While the squash cooks, steam the chopped broccoli, yam, and kale until the yam is soft. Chop the yam into pretty small pieces so you could steam them all together. Laziness for the win! They'll take about 15 minutes to steam, but check up on them. Once done, mix in the toasted nuts and set aside until ready for use. 

Add all of the sauce ingredients to a blender and blend on high until smooth and creamy.

Serve the veggies and nuts over a bed of stringed spaghetti squash and top it all with the Thai peanut sauce.

Garnish with sesame seeds and the chopped herbs!

Oh and an update on Oreo, apparently one of our local coffee shops put his picture on their Facebook page yesterday and now he's off the shelter list! So, I guess he got adopted. This is a wonderful thing...aside from the fact that he was supposed to be mine! Todd had even said I could inquire about him! I called the shelter but no one picked up. Argh! Not to worry though, there are two other dogs at the shelter that I have my little doggie-loving eyes on...

Listening to Lenka – Anything I'm Not

[yumprint-recipe id='26'] 

Creamy Coconut Curry Peanut + Noodles

I bet you're wondering why I gathered you all here today. It's for the Creamy Coconut Curry Peanut + Noodle recipe, obvs. Drenched in a creamy coconut curry peanut sauce, sauteed veggies pair with low-calorie noodles to make a perfect Thai inspired noodle dish. Oh yes. But first, a little business. If you haven't noticed (and seriously why would you?), the widget plugin for my subscribers lost about 25+ of my near and dear subscribers! I am not sure if this means that the number is just off or if these poor fellows aren't getting the new post emails. It's all very distressing. I've contacted the plugin company and apparently many other users are having the same issue as me. Sad. So, if you happen to think you are one of these forsaken followers, let me first tell you that I truly treasure you. The plugin company is sorting it out and hopefully it should be fixed. Please let me know if you are not getting the posts in your email! I can work around this (I've been watching a lot of the BCCs Sherlock Holmes...Benedict Cumberbatch...am I right? Yes. Omg.), and get you my daily ramblings. Never fear my dear people.

Okay, back to the good stuff. Peanut noodles aren't exactly on the lower end of the calorie scheme. I mean look at this dish. It certainly looks like it's loaded with carbs. Yes, well...it's a little deceptive. Nothing's ever what it seems, Dr. Watson.

Have you tried those refrigerated low calorie noodles? There are many brands, but I think the majority are made from tofu. They were all the rage a few years ago when they were generally discovered by the dieting mass public. I like them. Enough. I mean, I'm certainly not going to replace them with real pasta. Heaven forbid. Actually, I'm not all that big on pasta to begin with. Have you noticed? Maybe not.

Anyways, this is the perfect dish to use those noodles. They have almost an udon noodle type of feel to them. I do, however, love me some udon noodles. This peanut noodle dish has full-fat coconut milk along with peanut butter, so using the tofu noodles is a good way to cut back on some calories, plus they just plain work in this dish! Tofu noodles and spaghetti sauce? Not so much.

This recipe probably isn't low-calorie...it's just...lower-than-it-could-be-calorie...

Before we get started, however, allow me to rant about lite coconut milk. The cans of coconut milk up here in The Last Frontier are over $3.50 a can. That shit's expensive! Yes, I have tried to make my own, a story for another day. Anyways, if you're buying the lite version of canned coconut milk as opposed to the full-fat one...or regular as I call it, then you're just buying at most, really expensive water.

So, what to do if a recipe calls for lite or you simply don't want all that full-fat coconutty goodness (gasp!)? No, problem. I just use 1/4 the amount called for, but use the regular. Then, add the remainder of what's called for in water. Freeze the leftover regular coconut milk. It's really that simple. That's what I do and it saves me some bucks. You can continue to do whatever you want, but I thought it was necessary to expose the coconut milk catastrophe for what it is. Katie Holmes has closed the coconut case! Wait...Katie Holmes, no, that's already taken. Nevermind.

A final word about the tofu noodles. They smell...err...very fishy before you boil them. No! Don't smell them! Gahh. Anyways, be sure to rinse them very well before you boil them. I'm not making this stuff up. Once they are parboiled, they are fine. 

Creamy Coconut Curry Peanut + Noodles

Inspired by The Endless Meal

Serves 2

• --Noodles + Veggies--
• 2 packages Tofu Shirataki Noodles (or any noodles), drained and rinsed well
• 1/2 Tbsp. sesame seed oil
• 1 medium carrot, matchsticked
• 2 stalks of celery, sliced
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
• --For the Sauce--
• 2 Tbsp. canned full fat coconut milk
• 2/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup natural peanut butter (nut free - sunflower seed butter or mashed avocado)
• 1/2 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp. fresh ginger, minced
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 1 tsp. fresh curry paste
• 1/2 tsp. ground curry powder
• 1/2 tsp. fresh chili paste
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Drain and rinse the tofu noodles. When the water comes to a boil, add the noodles and boil for about 3 minutes. Drain and pat the noodles dry. Set aside until ready to use. If using different noodles, then cook according to package.

While the water comes to a boil, heat the sesame oil in a large frying pan and add all the prepared veggies. Saute for a good 10 minutes, or until the carrots just being to soften over medium heat. Then remove from heat and set aside until ready to use.

Meanwhile, add all the sauce ingredients to a small saucepan and whisk over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Then turn to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the noodles and veggies are done cooking.

Add the sauce and the noodles to the the sauteed vegetables and cook over low heat for a minute or two, just enough to heat thoroughly.

Serve hot and garnish with sesame seeds and sliced green onion, if you like!

This dish was super easy and quick to make, but of course I had the always eager and cutest kitchen helpers ever. Todd's doing the whole mustache thing right now. Bailey...well...yea, I don't know.

Creamy Coconut Curry Peanut + Noodles

Recipe Type: Entree

Author: Katie - Produce On Parade

Serves: 2

Drenched in a creamy coconut curry peanut sauce, sauteed veggies pair with low-calorie noodles to make a perfect Thai inspired noodle dish.

Ingredients

• --Noodles + Veggies--
• 2 packages Tofu Shirataki Noodles (or any noodles), drained and rinsed well
• 1/2 Tbsp. sesame seed oil
• 1 medium carrot, matchsticked
• 2 stalks of celery, sliced
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
• --For the Sauce--
• 2 Tbsp. canned full fat coconut milk
• 2/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup natural peanut butter
• 1/2 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp. fresh ginger, minced
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 1 tsp. fresh curry paste
• 1/2 tsp. ground curry powder
• 1/2 tsp. fresh chili paste
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Drain and rinse the tofu noodles. When the water comes to a boil, add the noodles and boil for about 3 minutes. Drain and pat the noodles dry. Set aside until ready to use. If using different noodles, then cook according to package.
2. While the water comes to a boil, heat the sesame oil in a large frying pan and add all the prepared veggies. Saute for a good 10 minutes, or until the carrots just being to soften over medium heat. Then remove from heat and set aside until ready to use.
3. Meanwhile, add all the sauce ingredients to a small saucepan and whisk over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Then turn to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the noodles and veggies are done cooking.
4. Add the sauce and the noodles to the the sauteed vegetables and cook over low heat for a minute or two, just enough to heat thoroughly.
5. Serve hot and garnish with sesame seeds and sliced green onion, if you like!

3.2.1255

For fun, what am I listening to? Kimbra – Good Intent  It's very Sherlocky to me, and I'm in that type of mood. Shifty eyes.