Happy Peanut Butter Day!

It was a strange and wonderful coincidence that I found out the it is peanut butter day about 5 minutes ago after making dinner with peanut butter!

Photo from MenuPages

This is not a Low Carbon recipe, considering it used packaged and non-seasonal ingredients, however it is vegan, healthy and delicious. Matt and I visited H-Mart which is a huge asian supermarket in Naperville and I was literally like a kid in a candy store. So many interesting and exotic things to look at. Anyways, that was the inspiration for cooking an asian-themed dinner.

Pad Thai Soba Noodles with Spicy Peanut Sauce
Adapted from Healthy Happy Life

Ingredients:
8 oz of Soba (buckwheat) noodles

Boiling Broth
5 c water
1/4 c soy sauce
1 T miso
2 T ume plum vinegar
1 t hot chili oil
zest and juice from 1/2 an orange
3 T maple syrup
1 T sesame seeds

Steamed Veggies

head of broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces

any other veggies you want (I used diced red peppers)

Toss-Ins
a handful bean sprouts
1 T sesame oil
1 lime, juiced
juice from half of an orange

1 orange, peeled and diced

1/4 c peanuts or raw cashews, chopped
1/4 c sesame seeds
4 scallions, chopped thin
1" ginger, grated
another splash of ume plum vinegar

Spicy Peanut Sauce
2/3 cups of leftover noodle broth
squeeze of lime juice
1/4 c peanut butter (or other nut butter)
3 T maple syrup
2 t hot chili oil

Garnish

1/4 c parsley
1 lime, cut into wedges

Directions:

Bring boiling broth ingredients to a boil.

Add in noodles and cook according to directions (mine were for 4 minutes).
Pour noodles into a colander to separate from broth, reserving broth.

Put cut veggies into a sauce pan and add an inch of water.

Cover, bring water to a boil and steam veggies until tender, about 5 minutes.

Strain and add veggies to noodles.

Add all toss-ins ingredients to noodles and veggies.

Bring peanut sauce ingredients to a simmer in a small sauce pan.

Stir continuously until reduced to a thick sauce.

Sauce can be adjusted to personal preferences: adding ginger, chillies, garlic, almond milk...

Pour sauce over noodle mixture and toss well.

Garnish and serve!

Creamy, salty, spicy, filling, delicious.

Happy Peanut Butter Day!

Guest Recipe: Mix-and-Match Stir Fry

Martha Johnston is freelance graphic designer, yoga enthusiast, vegan chef, and all-around lovely, creative, beautiful soul. She also gave birth to me so she is extra special in my book.

Why yes, that is a shirt with a block of tofu on it

Martha started developing her current food philosophy in the 70s while watching her own mother and her love of cooking. She eventually "borrowed" her mom's Jane Brody's Good Food Book and adopted a high-carbohydrate (we're talking good carbs here, not white bread but whole grains), whole foods (non-processed), mostly vegetarian way of cooking and eating. From then on she has always cooked from scratch, given up on refined sugars and flours, and turned to fresh food.

Martha went full-throttle vegan a few years ago for health reasons and through this change has discovered other passions, like animal activism and holistic medicine. In her free time (and is not cooking at home), she paints and is a vegan chef at Golden Gate Cafe in Detroit.

Mix-and-Match Stir Fry
This is sort of a stir fry 101. Soups and stir fries are great because you don't need a recipe, and you can do a lot of mixing and matching. This method would lend itself to local food. Alter the recipe for what's in season!

Mushrooms, red peppers, zucchini, onions, carrots, brown rice

Garnished with edible flowers

Use whatever veggies you have. It's a great weeknight clean-out-the-fridge recipe since it's fast and easy!


Ingredients:
brown rice, cooked
1 T canola oil
lots of sliced onion
salt
pepper
garlic, minced
ginger, minced
vegetables (sliced red peppers, carrots, zucchini...)
soy sauce

Directions:
Chop vegetables thin and similar sizes so they will cook at the same amount time.
Heat about 1 tablespoon of canola oil in a saute pan at high heat.
Add the onions and a little salt and pepper to the pan and cook till they start to soften.
Toss in the remaining veggies, try not to crowd the pan. If you have any tender green (i.e. kale, bok choy...) add those towards the end.
Keep stirring, sprinkle with water and soy sauce if the veggies start to stick. Do not add too much liquid or they will become stewed veggies.
After the veggies begin to soften add minced garlic and ginger. They will burn if you add them to soon.
Add more seasoning to taste. Bragg's Liquid Aminos or soy sauce should be plenty of flavor with the garlic and ginger.



Note from Martha: Taste as you go and add less spices than you think. Every time you make it you will figure out your tastes. I like a ton of ginger and garlic (like 2 tablespoons). First time you make it only about half a tablespoon, next time add more. Use soy sauce and salt and pepper sparingly, you can always add that to taste when its done. 

Green beans, onion, red peppers, greens, brown rice

Garnished with mung bean sprouts, sesame seeds, edible flower

Garnish Ideas:

handfuls or raw fresh veggies
chopped green onions

cilantro

any kind of fresh sprouts

snow peas

peanuts, sliced thin

cashews, sliced thin

Variations:
Add in...
...sesame seeds and tiny bit of sesame oil as a finishing oil.
...Sriracha sauce or cayenne for heat.
...peanut butter mixed with Sriracha sauce.
...coconut milk and curry paste.

Thanks Mom, for passing on your love and wisdom of good food, and letting me develop my own food philosophy. I got to say, the (organic, Michigan) apple does not fall all too far from the tree...