Noodle Salad

I love puttering in the garden in these long light summer evenings. I tend to lose track of time. Then Larry gets home around 7 p.m. and I rush to get dinner on the table.

The other night I made this quick salad of udon noodles, fried tofu and peanut dressing. The key to cooking it quickly is to multi-task. I stir together the peanut sauce while the noodles are boiling and the tofu is frying.

Vegetables are added depending on what I have in the fridge. This time was snap peas. Cabbage, carrots, bean sprouts and peppers have all made seasonal appearances.

I sprinkled it with leaves from Egyptian walking onions and flowers from the arugula in our garden. Isn't summer great?

Noodle Salad with Tamari Tofu and Spicy Peanut Dressing
1 lb firm tofu
2/3 packet (6 oz) udon noodles
oil and tamari
6 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
1/4 cup water
3 tbsp rice vinegar
3 tbsp tamari
1 tbsp roasted sesame oil
1 tbsp grated ginger root
1/2 tsp cayenne (optional)
2 cups snap peas, trimmed
1/2 cup chopped scallions (or chives, or leaves from Egyptian walking onions)
1/4 cup peanuts
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Press tofu in a kitchen towel under a plate with a heavy jar of beans on it for 5 minutes or so. Then slice in 1/3 inch thick bite-size rectangles. Heat a heavy skillet with oil to just cover the bottom of the pan and add the tofu pieces. Sprinkle each piece with a little tamari. Flip and sprinkle the tamari on the other side. Cook 2-3 minutes per side until crispy.

Cook udon according to package directions. Drain.

Mash together peanut butter, water, rice vinegar, tamari, roasted sesame oil, ginger root and cayenne. Taste and add salt if desired. Set aside.

Steam snap peas 2-3 minutes until tender-crisp. Drain and cut into thirds. (Or, if they're particularly tender, add them raw for an extra crunch.)

Toss together the noodles, tofu, snap peas, scallions, peanuts and cilantro. Stir in peanut sauce to taste and serve the rest on the side.

Serves 2-3

Stir-Fry with Cellophane Noodles

Back in the '70s, when woks were taking North America by storm, my parents bought a hand-beaten tempered steel one in Chinatown (possibly in Toronto, but maybe in Montreal - memories are unclear). It came in a burlap bag with a split bamboo scrubber and a metal spatula.

Last time I visited my mother, I found it hanging in her basement, still in the original burlap bag. She had used it a regularly for a while, but when it didn't fit on her new stove it got relegated to the basement. I put it in my suitcase and brought it back to LA.

It works great on my gas stove, and has made my leftover-rice dinners exceptionally easy to cook.

Recently I found organic cellophane noodles at my local Chinese pharmacy. They are grown by a company in Taiwan called Long Kow Bio Garden, and are certified organic by the USDA and CERES - the European organic certification body - so I feel pretty confident they are not grown in toxic soil.

Cellophane noodles are made from beans, not grains, so they make a nice change from pasta or rice. Plus they cook very easily - just a soak in hot water will do.

I made stir-fried greens and noodles for dinner on Oscar night. The greens were broccoli, collards and the greens from a daikon radish. Bok choy, chinese cabbage, snow peas, mung bean sprouts or other greens would be fine substitutes. Also, if you have spring onions, substitute a bunch for the chopped onion.

Stir-Fry with Cellophane Noodles
2 cups broccoli florets
6 oz package cellophane noodles
2 tsp organic canola oil
2 tbsp chopped onion
6 leaves collard greens, sliced thin
6 leaves daikon greens, sliced thin
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp grated ginger root
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup peas
2 tbsp tamari
1/4 cup peanuts, lightly toasted

Heat an inch of water in the wok (or skillet) and cook the broccoli, covered, until tender, about 6 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Separately, cook the noodles according to the directions on the package. Set aside.

Heat the wok (or skillet) and add the oil. Add onion, collards, daikon greens and salt. Stir over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes.

Add garlic and ginger. Cook, stirring, until the greens are limp.

Add broccoli, tamari and peas. Stir until warmed through. Then add the cellophane noodles and the peanuts. Toss to mix well, and serve.

Serves 3-4

Tofu with Lemongrass and Thai Basil

I braved our lemongrass thicket the other day to harvest a couple of stalks. They combined well with some Thai basil, serrano peppers and fish peppers from our garden to make our tofu dinner delicious.

Seriously delicious. Larry thought it was the best tofu ever, and he was an accomplished tofu-veggie stir-fry maker even before I met him.

It's a dry dish - no sauce to be soaked up by rice. I served it with a salad and some grilled vegetables for a light dinner that tempted the tastebuds on a hot summer evening.

Tofu with Lemongrass and Thai Basil
14 oz package firm tofu
2 stalks lemongrass
1 1/2 tbsp tamari soy sauce
4 red chiles - serranos and fish peppers are good
1 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup thinly sliced onion
1 shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 scant tbsp vegetable oil
3/4 cup Thai basil leaves
3 tbsp roasted unsalted peanuts

Rinse tofu and press in a towel for a few minutes. Pat dry and cut into 1/2 inch cubes.

Peel the tough outer layers of the lemongrass, and grate the tender center part on a fine grater. Mix in a bowl with tamari, chopped chilies, turmeric and salt. Gently stir in the tofu and let marinate for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Warm oil over high heat in cast iron fry pan. Stir in onions, shallot and garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute. Push them to the sides of the pan and place the tofu cubes and marinade in the middle. Turn the tofu cubes occasionally as they cook until they are browned around the edges. Stir the onions too so they cook but don't burn.

When the tofu is lightly browned, and the onions are cooked, stir it all together, and add the coarsely chopped basil and peanuts.

Serve immediately.

Serves 2-3