Asian Noodle Salad

Recently I have had several requests for more savory, easy-to-make, foods on The Sweet Life. This Asian Noodle Salad is perfect! You can make it early on in the week and enjoy for several days to come, the ingredients are easy to find and affordable, you can make it in about 15 minutes. Oh and it's delicious!

Asian Noodle Salad

8 ounces udon noodles
2 cups napa cabbage, shredded
1 cup carrots, shredded
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
3 scallions, chopped
2 tbsp basil leaves, chopped
1 tbsp fresh mint, chopped

Spicy Peanut Sauce
1/2 tbsp peanut butter
3 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp rice vinegar
2-3 tsp green curry paste or chili paste
2 garlic cloves, minced

Cook the noodles in boiling water according to package directions. Meanwhile chop up all the vegetables and herbs and place in large bowl. Mix together ingredients for peanut sauce and set aside.

When noodles are done, drain and rinse under cool water to prevent sticking. Once completely cool, toss in bowl with vegetables and mix until thoroughly combined.

When ready to serve add peanut sauce  and toss to coat.

Welcome Baby

It was a day of celebration as friends and friends of friends gathered at my house to share in the excitement of a soon-to-be baby. I love any good excuse to make food for people and last week I had a lot of fun (and a little stress-it becomes difficult to spend too much time in the kitchen with a four month old) as I prepared the party food. Here are some of the things i made:

Banana Split Cupcakes 

The recipes is from Isa Chandra Moskowitz' Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World, a great cupcake book, especially for people new to vegan baking. I've made these cupcakes on a couple different occasions and they are always a big crowd pleaser.

Carrot Cupcakes

A spiced carrot cupcake with vegan cream cheese frosting. I started making my cream cheese frosting with a couple of tablespoons of vegan sour cream; it gives it such a light tangy flavor and silky look. I love it.

Tempeh Tuna Salad

Remember the recipe? Here I added parsley to the recipe. Recommend. And it turned out great. I served it as a spread for crackers (as you can see) and many people had no idea they were eating tempeh. 

Frushi

Here is my recipe for frushi (fruit sushi). Unfortunately at this point Eden had been entertaining herself for far to long and started crying for attention. Photos of the food turned into snapshots between soothings and I wasn't able to capture what I had hoped. However, I did learned a few more tricks with the frushi. Cantaloupe sliced super thin looks very similar to pickled ginger. Lightly toasted coconut around the sides allows frushi to hold shape and adds good texture. And very ripe strawberries look a bit like fresh tuna.
Speaking of strawberries, I made some more cupcakes.

Strawberry Shortcakes

I made a basic vanilla cupcake, again from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, with coconut whipped cream and freshly picked Oregon strawberries. I cut out the center of these cupcakes and stuffed them full of sliced strawberries, making each bite quite heavenly.

Vietnamese Noodle Salad with Spicy Peanut Sauce

This is a great, inexpensive party food. I've been making it for years and it's always a hit. Here is the recipe.

What's your favorite party food? Do you prefer sweet or savory?