Spicy Peanut Noodles

Do you have way too much peanut butter? We do because we keep getting it for free. I don't think we've paid for peanut butter in a year, but yet we still have about 100 oz left.

Tonight I made an excellent dish with ingredients we usually have. Spaghetti noodles, peanut butter, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, scallions and brown sugar.

I present to you yummy yummy spicy peanut noodles with eggy!

We got this recipe from  Simple Vegetarian Pleasures book (see to the right).

I'm going to post this recipe because it brings the majority of my new viewers to my blog.  I want ya'all to stay around and enjoy other of my recipes.  So, here it is below...adapted from simple Vegetarian pleasures:

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sesame oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon minced gingerroot
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 6 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 pound spaghetti noodles

Method:

1.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

2.  Meanwhile, whisk together peanut butter and soy sauce in a small saucepan.  Stir in all of the remaining ingredients except for the spaghetti noodles until smooth.  Put a low heat under the pot to keep the sauce warm.

3.  Cook spaghetti in boiling water until al dente.  Don't overcook it, it should be chewy.  Drain thoroughly and bring back to the pot.  Pour on the sauce and toss.  Serve in bowls.

Serves 3-4

Spicy Black Bean Burgers

Tonight's meal consists of one of mine and Jon's favorites that we started cooking last summer. It's perfect for days where it's sunny and you would want to be outside eating them. And it's easy to make.  To make it vegan, you just need an egg substitute.

As usual, it was absolutely delicious.

Ingredients:

1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed 1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces 3 cloves garlic, peeled

1 egg 1 tablespoon chili powder 1 tablespoon cumin 1 teaspoon Thai chili sauce or hot sauce 1/2 cup bread crumbs

Directions:

1.	If grilling, preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil. If baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and lightly oil a baking sheet.
2.	In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork until thick and pasty.
3.	In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper, and garlic. Then stir into mashed beans.
4.	In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and chili sauce.
5.	Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide mixture into four patties.
6.	Place patties on baking sheet, and bake about 10 minutes on each side.

The recipe came off of all recipes.com here

Banana Nut Chocolate Chip Bread

Happy Mother's Day to Mom & Gerda (Jon's mom). We spent all Saturday afternoon making some delicious bread for you!

Dhal Makhani

The word dhal or daal or dal is commonly seen in Indian cooking. It basically means lentils. Scholars would say that it's derived from a sanskrit word that means "to split". In any meaning, it's what gives the protein to many Indian vegetarian dishes.

For the first time, I made a simplistic version of it. The recipe called for yellow lentils. I substituted with yellow split peas. There were mixed reviews on the internet whether or not these two ingredients are that close. I had no choice, my car is broke down.

The staple ingredients for this dish aren't too far from most Indian food I make. Tomato puree, butter, and several spices to get a curry taste. What made this dish unique from most others was adding yogurt and the yellow split peas (should be lentils).

(above) the spices, yogurt, tomato puree, butter and water on a low and slow heat

(above) eggy mashing together the yellow split peas and kidney beans

(above) my free rice cooker from my Japanese intern

(above) Dhal Makhani served over rice with a dollop of yogurt on top