Cold Asian Noodle Salad

Hello! I am now not only in my new apartment WITH internet but have also finally bought the correct cord to charge my camera with here across the atlantic. I have made a few meals that I was sadly unable to document with photos in the zwischenzeit (the in between time) and thus will be bringing you today a dish that I made months ago back in Lancaster. It is a rather summery recipe, so I apologize for not being consistent with the time of year, something that I think is actually rather important. But in any case, even if it seems summery it is still a good recipe. Especially good for bringing with you to school or to work for lunch! Here it goes:

Cold Asian Noodle Salad

1 package Soba Noodles (japanese buckwheat noodles)
about half a pound of green beans
2 big handfuls of bean sprouts
3-4 stalks green onion
package of tofu
juice from 2-3 limes
2-3 tablespoons soy sauce
1-2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

I am sorry that these measurements are not very exact, but I did not actually write down what I did and thus am guestimating from a recipe I made a couple months ago. SORRY. I will try and be more professional in the future.

Anyway! Cook the soba noodles as instructed on the package, drain, and allow to cool. Meanwhile, bring another pot of water to a boil and blanch the green beans (I cut off the two ends, although you can leave them if you would like) in very lightly salted boiling water for 3-4 minutes. You want them to be cooked but still a bit crunchy. Cut the tofu into squares of desired size, maybe an inch or half an inch cubes. Also chop the green onions. Once the noodles are cooled, combine all ingredients in a bowl, adjusting the amounts of lime juice, soy sauce, and sesame oil to taste. I used the juice of 2 limes in my recipe and thought that it was maybe too much, but my sister tasted it and thought it could use more lime! So really, it is completely up to you. Also, you want to use fresh bean sprouts, not bean sprouts from a jar, if possible. You can usually find them at asian markets packed in bags in the refrigerator. This recipe is great as I said for a work lunch, or for a lunch buffet, or a picnic etc. Very delicious and easy AND good for you.

Papaya Pinapple Delight Cookies/ Dessert Bars

I would like to thank Rachel first for her creative genious in making this amazing blog and second for allowing me to contribute! I feel honored :) I also have to apologize that my photos are not nearly as artistic and beautiful as Rachel's but hopefully they get the point across. So anyway, I thought it was about time for some dessert. I was feeling somewhat inspired after finishing my stats final today (what better way to celebrate than with cookies?!) I made a kanten with the juice for which the cookies are named (papaya pinapple delight) the other day but was feeling that it lacked the pizazz that I was really craving at the time. So I decided to get down to business this afternoon. I am typically not inclined to follow or even use recipes when I bake (or cook for that matter) but for the sake of everyone else I will try to approximate what went into these delightful little treats.

1 cup whole grain pastry flour (or whatever kind of flour you might happen to have at the time)
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup Earth Balance Buttery Spread (You can also easily 1/4 olive or other type of oil. I really don't want to advocate this stuff because it does have palm oil and is probably not the best but if you're really craving some high fat buttery goodness you can't go wrong here and at least it doesn't have hydrogenated oils)
1/2 cup date sugar (or agave nectar, brown rice syrup or some fun combination of all three)
1/2 cup soy, almond, rice or hemp milk (add as you mix- you will have to add more or less depending on the desired consistency- if you remember the concept of titration from chemistry class, they totally stole that concept from bakers)

Optional:
chopped walnuts or other nuts
1 tblsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup kanten (pick a juice of choice, mix 1 tblsp agar-agar for every cup of juice and bring to a boil until agar-agar is dissolved. Mixture will gel as it cools for a delicious jello like treat that can be enjoyed alone or on top of these cookies)

Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Cream Earth Balance, vanilla and sweetener in another bowl. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the buttery mixture alternatively with your milk of choice until desired consistency is reached.

Spoon onto baking sheet and if planning to place Kanten on top, create depression on top of each cookie with your thumb. Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes depending on how big you made your cookies!

Variation: Spread into baking pan for delicious dessert bars!

I had a lot of batter and only one baking sheet so thats why what would normally have been the second batch became dessert bars instead. I discovered that, like Rachel, having relocated from an optimally stocked kitchen to a new, remote location, you don't always have the desired ingredient, utensil, or container but I did the best I could. I could have sworn I at least had a wisk here but I made due and mixed with a spatula :-P Cullen just got us a food processor (super sweet!) it was one of the cheaper models but its working awesome so far I used it to chop the walnuts and Cullen made some delicious hummus (also super simple so I'll just throw the recipe up here)

H-Amazimg Hummus
1 16 oz can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans
1/4 cup liquid from can of chickpeas
3-5 tablespoons lemon juice (depending on taste)
1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

Mix it all up in a blender or food processor and voila! You can also get creative and add whatever you want like red pepper, kalamata olives, pine nuts, pesto you name it! Yum!

Ok that's all for now! Enjoy! :)