Meatless Monday - Sugar Snap Pea and Carrot Soba Noodles

We have decided of late to make Mondays a meatless day, just for variation and fun. This week, this is the recipe we did. Let me tell you how I made it. First of all, I was supposed to get soba noodles to make this, but after going to the store, I couldn't find them. Instead, I just used spaghetti. So first off, make 6 ounces of spaghetti noodles according to package directions. Then, 

2 cups frozen organic edamame

5 ounces (about 1 cups) sugar snap peas or snow peas

6 medium-sized carrots, peeled

1 red pepper, diced 

¼ cup sesame seeds

I just shredded the carrot, I didn't have a julienne peeler like the recipe called for, so I did that. In the future I probably would just buy a package of carrots that are already cut into the long thin strips. Boil the edamame according to package directions. Put the noodles and vegetables into a bowl (after they're all prepared and cooked) and add the sauce. 

For the sauce:

¼ cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons quality peanut oil or extra-virgin olive oil

1 small lime, juiced (3 TB of lime juice, if you just have juice and not limes)

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon honey or agave nectar

2 teaspoons ginger powder

1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce

Mix all together, and pour on the vegetables. Mix mix mix and then eat, its delicious.

This was so good, I couldn't get enough of it! In the future, I think I would add a few more ounces of spaghetti, there was more vegetables than noodles left over at the end. Otherwise, a great addition the menu.

Meatless Pasta

For dinner today, we had Husband’s brother and his wife, who is currently pregnant. Lately (the last two weeks or so) when she eats meat, the baby doesn’t like it, and makes her sick. So, having this in mind when I was thinking of what we could have for dinner, a friend of mine had this recipe, and sent it along, for me to try. It’s Linguine with Summer Vegetables, and 100% meat free.

3/4 pound linguine (I just used the whole box)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups corn
2 cloves garlic, sliced
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
2 small zucchini (about 1 pound), cut into thin ribbons with a vegetable peeler (or just sliced with your regular knife at an angle)
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves
4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve ¾ cup of the cooking water; drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Meanwhile, heat oven to 350° F spread the walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and toast, tossing occasionally, until fragrant, 8 to 10 minutes. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the corn, garlic, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper and cook, tossing occasionally, until the corn is tender, 2 to 4 minutes. Add the corn, tomatoes, zucchini, and ½ cup of the cooking water to the pasta. Cook over medium heat, gently tossing, until the liquid is slightly thickened and coats the pasta, 2 to 3 minutes (adding more cooking water as needed to loosen the sauce) Serve sprinkled with the oregano, walnuts, and goat cheese.

The things I did: Turns out, I didn’t have corn in the house, even though I SWEAR WE DID, so I substituted red bell peppers for that, and walnuts are of the devil, so I just put in almonds for that instead. And I didn’t have any goat cheese, so I just used some parmesan cheese instead. The fancy kind – powdered kind in the can. But this was crazy delicious. I really really liked it. And I felt healthy, because there’s not sauce and hardly any cheese. Make this, my friends.