Grilled Asian Noodle Salad

I just finished making around 5 pounds of fudge (I'll post them up later). We are going to my husband's bar's holiday party tonight (yes, it is in the middle of January--after the holiday craziness has stopped). As owners we have to put together the celebration and I spent 6 hours this week wrapping presents. I am so sick of presents! We play a game at the party, which came from his family. We wrap good and funny gifts- for example you could get a shamwow or an ipod, a box of noodles with a $50 gift certificate taped to the outside or one without one, a microwave or a box with a pillow pet. In the game you have two dice. You roll the dice and if you get doubles you get to pick a present. If you open the present, you are out of the game, but if you keep playing you can accumulate more presents. The problem is, if someone else rolls doubles, they can steal your present from you. This year there are soooo many presents so I'll be glad when it is done (2 hours and counting until I have to leave and try to put the presents in 2 cars).

So last week was my week of trying to clear out my fridge. I had random ingredients that my husband and I had bought and wanted to make sure that I could use them up before they went bad. I was able to make two different fresh dishes with what I had in the fridge, so I was happy. It was also the first time that I had used the small eggplants, they are really cute!

Grilled Asian Noodle Salad

Adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients

6 small eggplants (unpeeled, cut on diagonal into 1/3 inch thick slices)

2 containers of fresh shiitake mushrooms (stemmed)

2 bunches of green onions (trimmed so you have green and white)

1 15 oz box of asian rice noodles

2 cups of sugar snap peas (trimmed)

1/4 cup of sesame oil

3/4 cup of hoisin sauce

1/2 cup of fresh lime juice

3 tsp of grated lime peel

3 Tbs of minced fresh ginger

3 Tbs of toasted sesame seeds

Salt and pepper to taste

Place eggplants, mushrooms and onions in a bowl. Add sesame oil and toss to coat. Add salt and pepper. Grill vegetables (I used a grill pan) turning often until the vegetables are tender. Cut mushrooms and onions if you would like.

Boil a pot of water. Drop in sugar snap peas and cook for 1 minute. Take out and place in a bowl of ice water. Use the water to cook the rice noodles. Put into a serving bowl and add in vegetables.

Whisk hoisin sauce, lime juice, lime peel and ginger together. Add to noodles and toss. Add toasted sesame seeds and serve.

Vegan Tamale Pie

This is the first year that I have hated winter. Previously I always liked the first two months of cold, November and December--the smell of turning on the heat for the first time, the first snow, the holidays. This year, I was tired of it from the first day of freezing weather that killed the last of my plants who were holding out. No going outside, no botanical gardens, no green... I am over it already. I need it to be March so I can look forward to my daffodils, crocuses, and irises coming out.

Here is a colorful and filling dish to make your winter a little more tolerable. I ran out of cumin and used some of the Jamaican Jerk seasoning that we brought back from our honeymoon instead. I'm not a big fan of cumin so I think Ill use jerk seasoning again when I make this next time but I'll let you know how much cumin to use if you want the traditional taste. I made this for my parent's christmas and it was a big hit as a side dish but could also be a filling main dish. My non vegan family members added sharp cheddar cheese as a topping.

Vegan Tamale Pie

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 red onion, finely chopped

2 bell peppers, seeded and chopped

4 cloves of garlic, minced

4 tomatoes, chopped

1 15 oz can of pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1 15 oz can of kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 15 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained

2 cups of frozen corn, thawed

4 tablespoons of jerk seasoning (or 2 tablespoons of chili powder, 1 tsp of ground cumin and 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper)

2 tsp of crushed red pepper

salt and ground black pepper to taste

1 cup of coarse cornmeal

3 1/2 cups of water

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Saute the onion, bell peppers, and garlic until soft. Stir in 1/2 cup of water tomatoes, beans, corn, jerk seasoning and salt to taste. Cover pot and cook for 15 minutes until the vegetables soften. Pour into a 9 x 13 baking dish.

In a saucepan bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Add the cornmeal and 1/2 tsp of salt and whisk to combine. Return to a boil over medium heat then reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring often, until thickened. Add black pepper and more salt to taste and take off of heat.

Spread the cornmeal mixture over the bean mixture. Bake for 30 minutes or until the mixture is hot and bubbling. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.