Easy Udon Noodles

 I have always had an appreciation for Asian flavors. Growing up one of my favorite chefs was Martin Yan. I am absolutely addicted to summer rolls which are Vietnamese. This recipe is definitely not Martin Yan's but is tasty just the same. It has a lovely peanut sauce that is very easy to mix up. Why else would the recipe be called 'Easy'. I substituted Udon Noodles for Soba Noodles because they didn't have any other Japanese noodles available.

I loved the sugar snap peas, broccoli heads and carrots mixed in with the noodles. All the vegetables are cooked with the noodles and the sugar snap peas are added in the last minute of cooking so they are nice and crisp.

I cannot give credit to anyone for this recipe because I do know know where I found it. I have had this recipe for a very long time.

Easy Soba(Udon)  Noodles  
Makes 4 servings
Fresh Japanese soba noodles are found in the refrigerated section of most supermarkets. Fresh fettuccini may be substituted.
½ cup creamy peanut butter
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
1¼ to 1½ pounds uncooked fresh soba noodles
2 cups broccoli flowerets
2 carrots, peeled and cut into thin strips
2 cups sugar snap peas, trimmed
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds or toasted
white sesame seeds
Whisk together the peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, honey, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard in a medium bowl; set aside. Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil in a 4-quart saucepan. Add the noodles, broccoli, and carrots. Cook for amount of time indicated on the noodle package. Add the peas during the last 1 minute of cooking; drain. Toss the noodles and vegetables with the peanut butter sauce. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Serve warm or at room temperature.

If you are looking for a meal that is easy and different this is a great choice.

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Grilled Pork for the Whole Family

Growing up I always liked to watch the Chefs in the kitchen preparing meals. I loved to watch two shows in particular, Martin Yan and The Frugal Gourmet -- Jeff Smith. I bought nearly all of the Frugal Gourmet cookbooks.

Cover via Amazon

The recipe I am sharing with you today comes from The Frugal Gourmet Whole Family Cookbook which came out in 1992.

Here is the recipe from page 183 of the cookbook. I should note that I do not have a grill, so in making this recipe I broiled the pork instead of grilling it.

I mixed all the ingredients in a small bowl and then trimmed the pork and put the pork in a glass pan so that I could marinate the meat.

You pour the ingredients you mixed in a bowl of the pork -- ground cumin, lemon, dry white wine, garlic cloves, salt and pepper.

Then you put the pork in the refrigerator for an hour -- don't forget to turn the pork every once in a while to pick up all that wonderful flavor.

This is the time you would preheat the grill of course, then I preheated the broiler in the oven.

Put it on the grill or broil like I did and baste frequently on both sides while it is cooking.

Here is the finished product - nice and juicy. If you are able to grill it - it will have those lovely grill lines that everyone likes to see.

It tastes really yummy!

Cassandra