Cold Curry-Peanut Noodles

It's Labor Day weekend here in the States, and for a lot of us, that means backyard barbeques, picnics, and camping. I thought I'd share a yummy side dish I made this summer. From the June 2010 issue of Food Network Magazine, Cold Curry-Peanut Noodles are a fantastic twist on tired old pasta salad. They're something different, yet not so out there that unadventurous eaters will be wary.

Cold Curry-Peanut Noodles

adapted from Food Network Magazine, June 2010

p. 104

12 oz. whole wheat spaghetti

2/3 c. crunchy peanut butter

1-2 tbsp. red curry paste

2 tsp. rice wine vinegar

juice of 1 lime

1/3 c. fresh parsley leaves

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, cut into thin strips

1 large carrot, peeled and cut into thin strips

Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water, drain pasta, rinse under cool water. Set aside.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the peanut butter, curry paste, vinegar, lime juice, parsley, 1/2 cup water, and 1 tsp. salt. Puree until smooth.

Toss the spaghetti, vegetables, and peanut sauce in a large bowl until well combined. Season with salt (you'll need it) and stir in some of the reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce if necessary.

If serving immediately, transfer to serving bowl and top with red pepper flakes and fresh parsley. We brought this along with us as a camping side dish, so I packed it into an airtight container and into the cooler.

 

A lovely camping meal - cheeseburgers, chips, coleslaw, and this awesome pasta salad!

Those of you who know me are aware that I'm not much of a camper - I mostly do it to make my husband happy. I'm also not much of a fisherwoman, but every once in a while, I'll do that too, just to make Andrew happy. 

As you can see in the picture below, this city girl in borrowed waders does not appreciate the moment being recorded for posterity!

We're not in NYC anymore, Toto!

Have a Happy Labor Day weekend!

Bar Harbor: Part One

Andrew and I have been to Bar Harbor, Maine together every year since we started dating. We missed out last year because we had taken all our time off from work for our honeymoon. This summer we returned, so happy to be back! We love to spend time in Acadia National Park, and this year was no exception. The photo above is from a particularly beautiful spot we found on Beech Mountain, overlooking Echo Lake. You can see Andrew and Finn enjoying a rest mid-hike.



Of course, what would Maine be without lobsters? We ate them as many times as we could, plus we had our friends at Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound pack some up to take home to Ohio. Andrew enjoys his lobster most with a Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale (above), made by the Atlantic Brewing Company right in Bar Harbor. We've visited the brewery a few times, and it's a fun place to spend an hour or two. You can take a tour, taste their beers, visit the store, and grab some nibbles at Mainely Meat Barbeque, an outdoor restaurant on the premises.



Don't worry, I do have a recipe for you! Andrew and I adore steamers and mussels, and our favorite way to cook them is to steam them in water that's been seasoned, then dip them in butter. Feel free to vary the amount of shellfish you cook and to add or subtract your favorite mollusks.


Steamers & Mussels

4 lb. steamer clams (cherrystones, though more expensive, will also work)
2 lb. mussels
4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
white wine
sea salt
1 stick salted butter, melted

To clean clams: Rinse sand and grit off shells, lightly scrub with a brush
To clean mussels: Rinse sand and grit off shells, remove beard (the scraggly hair-like stuff that hold the mussel on a rock) with your hands

Place clams and mussels together in a steamer basket. Pour about 4" water into a large pot. Add garlic cloves, sea salt, and a splash from your wine glass to the water. Feel free to improvise with additional herbs and spices, but I'm a purist, especially when it comes to clams.

Place the steamer basket into the pot and put a top on to contain the steam. Steam the mussels and clams just until their shells open. This will not take long, maybe 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them - if you overcook them, they will get soft and fall apart (if they are very fresh) or become tough and rubbery (if they are a little older). Neither option is good, trust me!

Serve your shellfish however you choose - since we were camping, the steamer basket in a nest of newspaper worked very well. Give each person their own cup/bowl of butter for dipping. In my family, each person also receives a cup of the broth used to steam the seafood. The method is: remove the mussel or clam from its shell, dip in the broth to rinse, dip in the butter to coat, and EAT!


Seafood, beautiful scenery, a campsite on the ocean, family, and friends...what more could you want?


Happy Summer everyone!

Happy Anniversary to ME!

Sunday was our first wedding anniversary! We spent the weekend camping in Oil Creek, Pennsylvania, and it was a wonderful getaway.

On the evening of our anniversary, we sat at the picnic table at our campsite and toasted, drinking our champagne out of plastic cups. Our wedding cake spent the year in my Nonnie & Papa's freezer, then flew from CT to Ohio with me last Thursday, then spent the weekend in its own little cooler until we were ready to eat it on Sunday. It wasn't much worse for the wear:

The beautiful seashells are solid white chocolate, and the cake is a dark chocolate cake with peanut butter mousse (Andrew's pick!) with a white chocolate frosting.

I have lots of great camping recipes to post, but for now, here are some pictures of our wedding day, one year ago!