sesame ginger soba noodles with cool cucumbers and snap peas

Week 6: broccoli, napa cabbage (aka chinese cabbage), zucchini, pickling cucumbers, scallions, bunching onions, spinach, snap peas, Italian parsley (aka flat leaf parsley)

peanut sauce attempt turned sesame
Last night I came across a recipe for peanut noodles that I had picked up a while ago and never tried. I went to the store to get additional ingredients and followed the recipe to a T (as I usually do the first time I try something new). The result was surprisingly horrible. The recipe was simple and easy but tasted awful. It was like peanut butter and noodles gone bad. I tried my hand at doctoring it up, adding a little of this, a little of that... but after an hour of fussing over this dish it was still not very good. At this point I was feeling completely defeated. I was ready to give up.

sometimes you have to start over
I took a deep breath and decided to start over. It was getting late, the kitchen was a mess and I was running out of steam, but I was determined to make this dish work. So I went online, did some research and changed my tack. The good news is that I was headed down the right path when I started trying the fix the first sauce as far as the ingredients I was adding, but the problem was that I had no idea what proportions to use. I pulled from various recipes and threw together what I had on hand. I rinsed the noodles and veggies in a colander and tossed them with the new sauce.

In the end I came out with something much better and more creative than the original (though I am still in search of a good peanut sauce recipe). I took leftovers to work to share and everyone loved them. 2 of my coworkers even asked for the recipe. So here it is. Enjoy!

sesame ginger soba noodles with cool cucumbers and snap peas

INGREDIENTS
Sauce:
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons ginger, peeled and grated
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup kikkoman soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup peanut butter (smooth or chunky, whatever you prefer)
1/4 cup sesame paste (aka tahini)
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons sesame oil

6 oz. Soba Noodles (half of a 12 oz. box)
1 cup snap peas, blanched
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 pickling cucumber, peeled, cut in half lengthwise, seeds removed and thinly sliced
1 orange bell pepper, julienned

DIRECTIONS:
Combine all sauce ingredients and use a whisk or electric mixer to blend ingredients.

Follow directions to cook noodles in a large pot of water with a dash of oil. Add snap peas to noodles during last minute of cooking. Drain into a colander, and rinse with cold water until noodles are slippery and most of the starch is rinsed away. Toss with sauce and vegetables. Serve cold or at room temperature.