Confident Kitchen

Honey Soy Dressing
1/4 cup grapeseed oil or corn oil
3 Tbsp dark sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed dried red pepper or chili powder
3 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp soy sauce (less if using tamari which is more concentrated than soy sauce)

Salad
8 ounces of vermicelli, thin spaghetti, or angel hair pasta
Salt
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped roasted peanuts
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup sliced and chopped red bell pepper
1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds

1 Cook the pasta in a large saucepan in salted boiling water, according to directions on pasta package. Drain but do not rinse.

2 While the pasta is cooking, prepare the dressing. In a microwave-safe dish, heat the vegetable oil, sesame oil, and red pepper, in the microwave on high heat for 2 minutes. Add the honey and soy sauce and mix well.

3 Combine the drained pasta with the dressing in a large bowl until the pasta is well coated. Cover and chill for several hours.

4 When ready to serve, mix in the cilantro, peanuts, green onions and bell pepper. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.

Serves 4 to 8, depending on serving size.

Carl found and made this recipe all on his own.

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I’ve made this two nights in a row because it’s been super hot.

• Lettuce (spring mix, green leaf, spinach, whichever strikes your fancy)
• 1 pear, chopped into bite sized pieces
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)
• 1/2 cup crumbled gorganzola cheese
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 3 Tablespoons white wine vinegar

Toss in a bowl and serve.  The second night, I threw in 1/2 of a diced red onion and 1/2 diced cucumber.  Very mellow on a hot evening.

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• 1 cup sliced crimini mushrooms
• 1 cup sliced oyster mushrooms
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 walla walla onion, chopped into large pieces
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 small shallots, chopped
• 1 cup sour cream
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch

Saute onion, garlic and shallot in olive oil until soft. Add mushrooms and 1/2 cup water. Saute 3-4 minutes, then add 1/2 cup water and two Tbsp cornstarch. Simmer 3-4 minutes, stir in parsley, salt, pepper, and sour cream. Heat through.

Spoon mushroom sauce over a serving of cooked egg noodles. Garnish with parsley.

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• 4 cups coconut milk*
• 2 Tbsp red curry paste
• 1lb chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 8oz can sliced bamboo shoots
• 5 kaffir lime leaves, torn
• salt and pepper to taste
• red chillies to garnish

Pour half of the coconut milk into a large pan and boil over medium heat. Add red curry paste and cook 2-3 minutes. Stir mixture often to prevent sticking. Add chicken pieces, fish sauce and sugar. Stir well and cook 5-6 minutes or until chicken changes color and is cooked through. Continue to stir to prevent sticking. Pour remaining coconut milk into pan, then add bamboo shoots and lime leaves. Bring back to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss in red chillies and serve over rice.

*I actually only used 1 1/4 cup coconut milk, misreading the instructions. It came out just fine. If you want to use the full amount of coconut milk, I’d advise adding another pound of chicken and another friend or three.

Comments(2)

• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp canola oil
• 1 cup rice
• 1 can diced tomatoes (with liquid)
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups broth

In a large skillet, saute onion, bell pepper, and garlic until onion is soft. Add rice to skillet and cook over medium-high heat until rice has browned. Add tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, salt and broth. Simmer for 20 minutes, covered.

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• 1/2lb fresh halibut
• 1/2lb fresh prawns
• 1/2lb fresh scallops
• 1 28oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 1 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1 chopped onion
• 3 celery stems, chopped
• 1 tsp Cajun seasoning*
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1 cup rice

Rinse seafood and pat dry. In a large saucepan, combine undrained tomoatoes, bell pepper, broth, onion, celery, Cajun seasoning, garlic and cloves. Bring to boiling, reduce heat and simmer (covered) for 10 minutes.

Add rice, simmer (covered) for 15 minutes. Add fish and shrimp, cook 5 minutes more or until seafood is done. Serve hot.

*Cajun seasoning: combine 1 tsp white pepper, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp ground red pepper, 1 tsp paprika, and 1 tsp black pepper. Makes 2 Tablespoons.

Comments(1)

• 1lb cooked shrimp
• 1 cup crimini mushrooms
• 4 cups cooked cold rice
• 1 cup green onions
• 1 shallot, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 4 eggs
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 4 celery, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped

Heat two Tablespoons peanut oil in a wok and saute shallot and garlic for 30 seconds.  Add eggs.  Scramble and cook until light and fluffy.  Set aside.  Heat two more Tablespoons peanut oil in wok and stir fry green onion and other vegetables for 3 minutes.  Set aside.  Heat a tad bit more oil (to coat the wok) and stir fry shrimp until heated through.  Toss with vegetable/egg mixture, then set aside.  Coat pan with oil and saute rice for 3 minutes, then toss with vegetable mix.  Add soy sauce to taste, serve.

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• 1 can unsweetened coconut milk
• 3 Tbs Red Curry Paste
• 1 package tofu (or two cups mushrooms)
• 2 Tbs vegetable stock
• 1 Tbs brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 10 fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cup chopped salted peanuts
• 9 wild lime leaves, sliced crosswise into wire-thin threads

Scoop out about 1/4 cup coconut milk from the can and set aside. In a skillet above medium heat, bring the rest of the coconut milk to a gentle boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until it thickens a little and releases it’s sweet fregrance, about 3 minutes.

Add the curry paste and cook for about 3 more minutes, mashing, scraping, and stirring often to soften the paste and combine it with the coconut milk.

Add tofu and toss to coat with the curry paste. Add remaining coconut milk, vegetable stock, sugar, salt, and soy sauce. Stir well. Bring to a gentle boil and cook, stirring occasionally until sauce is smooth and heated through, about 5 minutes more. Tear basil leaves in half and add to curry along with the peanuts and lime leaves. Serve over rice.

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DIRECTIONS:

1. Submerge the rice noodles in a large bowl of hot water for about an hour.
2. Pour 1/2 tablespoon of oil into a large skillet, and add eggs. Scramble into medium-sized pieces, and transfer to plate. Set aside.
3. In a saucepan, mix together peanut oil, peanut butter, water, soy sauce, milk, brown sugar, and lemon juice. Season with garlic powder and paprika. Heat until sauce is smooth. Season liberally with cayenne pepper.
4. Drain noodles; noodles should be very flexible, but still relatively firm. Heat remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large saucepan or wok. Cook noodles in oil, stirring constantly, until they are tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in peanut sauce, sprouts, carrots, scallions, ground peanuts, and the scrambled eggs. Continue to cook over low heat until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately, garnished with lime wedges.

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• 1 1/4 cup dried red kidney beans
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 green sweet pepper, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 Tbs snipped fresh parsley
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme, crushed
• 1/2 tsp dried basil, crushed
• 1/4 tsp ground red pepper
• 1 bay leaf (I leave these out, I can’t stand bay leaves)
• 8 ounces fully cooked sausage
• 3 cups hot cooked rice

Rinse beans.  In a large saucepan, combine beans and 4 cups cold water.  Bring to boiling, reduce heat, simmer for 2 minutes.  Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 1 hour.

In the same pan, combines beans and 3 cups fresh water.  Add onion, sweet pepper, garlic, parsley, thyme, basil, red pepper, and bay leaf.  Bring to boil, reduce heat.  Cover and simmer for 1 hour.  Add sausage, cover and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes more or until beans are tender, stirring occasionally.  Discard bay leaf.  Using a potato masher or back of fork, mash beans slightly.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve over hot rice, garnish with parsley.

(we’re taking this camping)

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