Soba Noodle-Vegetable Salad

I have been slowly incorporating mass amounts of vegetables into our diets. If I serve them as plain "vegetables" Terry is much more resistant than if they are mixed into other things he likes. I decided to try Ellie Krieger's Soba Noodle-Vegetable Salad to accompany her Chicken Sate with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce. We enjoyed the uncommon flavors of this salad as well as the abundance of fresh vegetables and herbs.

Soba Noodle-Vegetable Salad

Ellie Krieger

Ingredients

• 4 ounces soba noodles, or whole-wheat spaghetti
• 1 large shallot, very thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 cups shredded carrot
• 1 red pepper, julienne
• 1/3 cup shredded fresh basil leaves
• 1/3 cup shredded fresh mint leaves
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon walnut oil (or canola oil)
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon lime zest
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon fish sauce, or 1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce
• Salt
• 6 large Bibb lettuce leaves

Directions

Boil noodles according to package directions. Drain and cool. In a medium to large bowl, combine noodles, shallot, carrot, pepper, basil, mint, and cilantro. Combine all dressing ingredients, season with salt to taste, add to noodle mixture, and toss lightly.

Snap off Bibb lettuce leaves and wash and dry. To serve, scoop spoonfuls of noodle salad into the lettuce leaves.

The fresh ingredients for EK's Soba Noodle-Vegetable Salad.

Chop the bell peppers and shallots into strips, and shred the carrot, basil, mint and cilantro.

Cook Soba noodles or WW spaghetti according to package directions.

Rinse the drained pasta with cool water and allow to drain again.

Whisk together the dressing ingredients.

Add the dressing to cooled noodles in a mixing bowl.

Add the remaining ingredients to the mixing bowl.

Toss together all of the ingredients and serve.

Ellie Krieger's Soba Noodle-Vegetable Salad is very good. The dressing has intense flavors and is balanced by the fresh vegetables, herbs and pasta. I decided to use WW thin spaghetti in place of the Soba noodles, and to omit the mint because I couldn't find any at the store. This is intended to be served in lettuce cups, but I knew that would never fly with Terry. I enjoyed this cold the first night, but also really liked it warmed up with the rest of my lunch the next day at school. I would recommend this dish for a change of pace. It is a great way to spice up a meal.

-Heather

Spicy Peanut Sauce

I decided to be adventurous and make Ellie Krieger's Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce to accompany her Chicken Sate recipe. This sauce was shockingly great, and can be used for much more than chicken. Ellie recommends using it as a dip for vegetables and pita as well. We served this with EK's Soba Noodle-Vegetable Salad for a complete meal. This was a great change of pace and will be made again.

Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce:

• 1/2 cup natural creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
• 1 teaspoon red curry paste
• 1 shallot, peeled and roughly chopped

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.

Sauce can be made 1 day ahead of time, and will keep 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.

Yield: about 1 1/4 cups

Ingredients for the Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce.

The ingredients are thrown into a blender or food processor and quickly whipped into the sauce.

Ellie Krieger's Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce was an excellent accompaniment to our meal. It tasted delicious on both the Chicken Sate and the Soba Noodle-Vegetable Salad.

-Heather

Chicken Sate with Spicy Peanut Sauce

I cannot tell you how much I am enjoying Ellie Krieger’s cookbook, The Food You Crave. The light and healthy recipes have actually inspired me to step out of my little box and try new things. Most of you know that I have a big problem with main dishes containing sweet ingredients, Terry on the other hand doesn’t seem to mind them. We gave EK’s Chicken Sate with Spicy Peanut Sauce a try. I will have to say that I was won over, and quite shocked by that fact. I will include the Spicy Peanut Sauce Recipe here, but I will also give the recipe it's own post, as EK says it is great as a dip with fresh cut vegetables.

Chicken Sate with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock
• 1/2 cup lite coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 shallot, sliced thin
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Thai fish sauce (or 2 additional teaspoons low sodium soy sauce)
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon lime zest
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast pounded slightly and cut into 1-inch strips

Directions

8 (8-inch) bamboo skewers, soaked for 20 minutes

• 3/4 cup Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce, recipe below
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh basil or cilantro leaves
• 1/4 cup chopped toasted peanuts

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the chicken stock, coconut milk, soy sauce, shallot, garlic, fish sauce, brown sugar, lime zest, and ginger. Add the chicken strips and marinate for 1 hour. Remove the chicken from the marinade and discard the marinade.

Spray a nonstick grill pan with cooking spray and preheat over a medium-high flame. While pan is heating, thread chicken onto skewers. Grill 2 to 3 minutes per side, until meat is cooked through and has light grill marks.

Serve chicken skewers with Peanut Dipping Sauce, and garnish with basil or cilantro and chopped peanuts.

Yield: 4 servings (2 skewers and 2 tablespoons peanut sauce per serving)

Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce:

• 1/2 cup natural creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
• 1 teaspoon red curry paste
• 1 shallot, peeled and roughly chopped

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.

Sauce can be made 1 day ahead of time, and will keep 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.

Yield: about 1 1/4 cups

Ingredients for the Chicken Sate Marinade.

Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a medium sized bowl.

Add the chicken that is cut into strips, I used chicken tenders.

Refrigerate the marinating chicken for at least one hour, I marinated for about 4 hours.

After soaking the skewers for at least 20 minutes, skewer the chicken.

I poured the remaining marinade over the chicken so it could continue marinating while I let it rest at room temperature for a few minutes before grilling. Discard after placing chicken on the grill.

Grill in a single layer until one side it cooked through, the cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of your chicken.

Turn the chicken over and finish cooking on the other side. This can also be done on a grill pan indoors.

Remove the chicken from the grill and place onto a clean platter.

I am always looking for new ways to incorporate my favorite protein, chicken, into our diet. As I have mentioned before, we eat chicken at least four times a week. Ellie Krieger's Chicken Sate with Spicy Peanut Sauce is an interesting way to shake up our usual weekly menu. I opted to marinade my chicken for about 4 hours, instead of the 1 hour called for. Be sure to soak the skewers for at least 20 minutes, I forgot to do this and we had a couple of them go up in flames! The chicken itself is very flavorful due to the marinade, this could be eaten and enjoyed without the sauce. I am not going to lie, I was very weary about trying the Spicy Peanut Sauce. After watching Terry react well to the taste, I decided to be brave and give it a go. It was actually really good! I was very proud of myself for venturing out of my comfort zone and trying something new. Soba Noodle-Vegetable Salad, also an EK recipe was served along side, this is also a dish worth repeating. It could be my disorganized nature, but this meal took quite a while to prepare. In the future, I would not make this on a week night. Chicken Sate with Spicy Peanut Sauce is a great meal to serve to guests on a weekend evening.

-Heather

Ellie Krieger's Garlic "Fries"

Sorry I have not posted in so long, the holidays will do that to you. After about a month's time I am back with one of the recipes from my absolute favorite new cookbook, Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave. Using my generous birthday check from Terry's mom and dad, Pauline and Gene, I purchased myself several new cookbooks. I was particularly excited about this book, because I had heard so many positive reviews on the Cooking Light BB. During the millions of college football Bowl games that I "watched" with Terry I read through all of the recipes in EK's book. They all looked amazing and very health conscious (except for the ones that mix fruit with savory dishes, because, if you know me, that is gross, and not allowed in my kitchen.) I have made about eight of her recipes already and they have all been winners. The recipe for EK's Garlic "Fries" has already been repeated twice and is better that any deep fried "fries" that I have had. The quantities in my photos will seem large because they are, I tripled the recipe to accommodate my husbands friends and their large appetites.


Garlic "Fries"
Ellie Krieger, The Food You Crave

Ingredients

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 3 large baking potatoes, 12 ounces each
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Heat the garlic and oil in a small saucepan over medium heat for 2 minutes. Strain the garlic from the oil with a small mesh strainer. Set both garlic and oil aside.

Cut the potatoes into 1/4-inch sticks. In a large bowl, toss the oil, potatoes and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and spread the potatoes onto it in a single layer. Bake until golden and crisp, about 35 minutes.

Remove potatoes from the tray with a metal spatula. Toss with parsley, reserved garlic, and additional salt, to taste. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Analysis per Serving

Calories 267

Carbohydrates 47 grams

Total fat 7 grams

Saturated fat 0.6 grams

Protein 6 grams

Fiber 3 grams

Sodium 304 grams

Cut the Potatoes as thin as you can, this step seems tedious, but the results are well worth the effort.

I pressed my garlic through a garlic press, you could also use a grater.

Add the garlic to the Canola oil and then turn up the flame to medium.

Cook the garlic in the Canola oil for two minutes, it will sizzle and turn light brown.

Remove the garlic from the oil, she say to use a mesh strainer, I do not have one, so I carefully used a spoon. Try not to leave many pieces of garlic in the oil, as it will burn in the oven.

Reserve the cooked garlic in a container for later in the recipe.

Coat the cut potatoes with the infused oil, and sprinkle with salt (I also added cracked pepper.)

Spread out the potatoes onto a cooking spray coated baking pan, try to keep them in a single layer. Bake them for 35 minutes in a preheated 450 degree oven.

Thinly slice parsley for later in the recipe.

Remove the potatoes from the oven, scoop them into a mixing bowl, add reserved garlic and parsley and mix to combine.

I will never try another French fry recipe again, Ellie Krieger's Garlic "Fries" is the only recipe for me. This is the ultimate, and at 267 calories per serving I won't feel guilty eating them often. I really enjoy the textural differences between the pieces of potato that were soft and the ones that got well done and crunchy. The process of precooking the garlic in the Canola oil infused the oil with garlicy goodness, and reduces the pungency of the raw garlic. Last night we had Kevin and Brian over to watch the UCLA basketball game and they both gave me an "excellent" as far as the fries were concerned. Terry declared that these fries were better than he has had in any restaurant. Ellie Krieger's Garlic "Fries" will be made at least biweekly in the Williams house. (Figgins and Halo like them too!)

-Heather