Tag Archives: vegetarian

Eating, recipes

Sesame noodles

Here’s Phoebe’s recipe for sesame noodles, complete with Phoebe notes. We had this with a vegetable stir-fry, but I think it would make a great stand-alone dish for lunch or a light dinner.

Sesame Noodles
1 pound of pasta of your choice (I use whole-wheat pasta, usually spagetti or linguini)
1 bunch of green onions, chopped on the diagonal (they’re prettier that way)
1 red pepper, sliced into thin strips
3-4 tablespoons sesame oil
1/2 cup peanut butter (I use chunky, but you can use creamy if you prefer)
1/4 cup Sesame seeds
6 tablespoon soy sauce (Tamari soy is particularly nice for this)
1 teaspoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger, minced
Pinch of brown sugar
3-4 tablespoons water
Toast the sesame seeds in a pan, stirring frequently

In a bowl combine half of the sesame seeds (reserve the other half for the noodles), peanut butter, soy sauce, fish sauce, rice wine vinegar, ginger, brown sugar and water. Mix until creamy. Set aside.

Drain cooked pasta and put in large mixing bowl. While the pasta is still hot, add sesame oil, then green onions and red peppers. Toss together with sauce. Add remaining sesame seeds. Serve hot or cold.

This is especially good when it has had a few hours in the fridge for the flavors to marry. For a heartier variation, you can marinate some tofu in sesame oil, soy sauce ginger and OJ, lightly bread and fry it, and toss it in at the last minute with the sesame seeds.

baking, Eating, recipes

Dinner and a show

Phoebe, Genia and I spent most of the evening making dinner: Veggie stir-fry with sesame noodles and baked crab rangoon followed by carrot cake. It was well worth the effort.

Baked Crab Rangoon
8 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese
6 ounces krab meat, minced
1 green onion, including top, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1 package (48 count) won ton skins
vegetable spray coating 
In medium bowl, combine all ingredients except won ton skins and spray coating; mix until well blended. (To prevent won ton skins from drying out, prepare one or two rangoon at a time.) Place 1 teaspoon filling in center of each won ton skin. Pull bottom corners down and overlap slightly; moisten one corner and press to seal.

Lightly spray baking sheet with vegetable coating. Arrange rangoon on sheet and lightly spray to coat. Bake in 425-degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot with sweet-sour sauce or mustard sauce.

Makes 48 appetizers.

Tom’s birthday was this week, so we tried to find a birthday candle for the cake. We didn’t have one, though, so we took a cue from the sign language interpreter at Rockford’s graduation (fab.u.lous interpretive dance-esque version of “The Star-Spangled Banner, lady. We salute you.) and made like candles as Tom was led to the cake. Trust me, it was a hoot.

The Ultimate Veggie Times Carrot Cake
(with Phoebe’s alterations)


2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 1/4 cups apple sauce
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup sugar
4 ounce carrot baby food
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
3 cups coarsely grated carrots (about 6 carrots)
20-ounce can crushed pineapple, well-drained
Creamy Brown Sugar Frosting
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 2 8-inch round cake pans and line bottoms with parchment or wax paper. Butter paper and dust with flour.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom. Beat oil, both sugars, baby food, ginger and vanilla extract until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each. Add flour mixture in two additions. Add carrots, pineapple and nuts; beat just until blended. Divide batter between cake pans and bake 50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean. Cool cakes in pan on racks 10 minutes. Cut around the edges to loosen with a small knife. Invert cakes onto rack, remove paper and cool completely.

Frost, and enjoy.

Creamy Brown Sugar Frosting
1 1/2 cup whipping cream
8 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Beat cream until soft peaks form; set aside. Combine cream cheese, lemon juice, vanilla and salt; beat until smooth and creamy, 3 to 5 minutes. Fold in whipped cream in three additions. Refrigerate.

As was the follow-up to dinner: A spin through our iTunes collection. Complete with vocalization, hand-holding and, yes, interpretive dance. It was just like the pioneer days. Except we were gathered around the laptop listening to Glen Campbell and the Talking Heads. (Not together, of course. Although that would be awesome.)