Cold Sesame Noodles

I sampled these tasty noodles at a recent get-together and immediately asked for the recipe. Not only did I get the recipe, but the person who made it sent me home with a small plateful to enjoy later. The intoxicating scent of the noodles drove me crazy the whole way home and I ate them as soon as I walked in the door. I will most definitely be making these noodles again and again.

Cold Sesame Noodles

makes 1 pound

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 16 ounces angle hair pasta (or thin spaghetti)

• 1/2 cup toasted sesame oil

• 1/2 cup regular soy sauce (not low sodium)

• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

• 1 tablespoon hot chili oil (or sriracha)

• 1/4 cup white granulated sugar

• 1 red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips

• 1 scallion, chopped

• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds (toasted or not)

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions; drain - do not rinse.

2. While the pasta is cooking, whisk the sesame oil, soy, balsamic, chili oil, and sugar together in a large bowl until the sugar dissolves.

3. Add the hot pasta and bell pepper strips; stir well to coat and chill for at least 30 minutes.

4. Garnish with chopped scallions and sesame seeds just before serving.

Note

• I usually heavily salt my pasta water, but because the sauce for these noodles contains full-sodium soy sauce, I omit salting my pasta water.

adapted from allrecipes.com

DIY Garlic Cubes

I’ve gotten to a point in my life where I kind of hate chopping garlic each and every time I cook. I used to love smashing and chopping cloves when I prepared meals, but now I find it a tedious task. I also detest jarred garlic as it lacks the wonderful flavor of fresh garlic. Thankfully, I found the perfect solution with these awesome garlic cube trays. To use them, place peeled garlic and a little olive oil in a mini food processor (see my update below) and pulse a number of times (scraping the bowl as needed) until the garlic is finely chopped. Fill the garlic cube trays, seal closed, and freeze. Anytime you need chopped garlic, just pop out as many cubes as you need. Easy peasy.

UPDATE: I no longer add olive oil to the processed garlic. It’s less messy without the oil and the frozen cubes pop right out of the a little tray with the help of a butter knife.

Notes

• These garlic cube trays are completely sealed so there’s no chance the garlic will permeate the freezer.

• If you purchase pre-peeled garlic cloves, a 6-ounce bag pulsed in a mini processor with about 3 tablespoons of olive oil is enough to fill two garlic keeper trays.

• To fill the trays neatly, transfer the chopped garlic mixture to a disposable pastry bag or a sturdy zip-top bag, clip the corner, and squeeze to fill the cubes; then use an offset spatula to scrape away any excess.

Freezer Garlic Cube Trays