Summer

Buckwheat Soba Noodles with Sesame-Lime Dressing

July 1, 2013

It’s been more than a while since I’ve written in this space. So much time has passed that I’ve had something like nerves about putting pen to paper, as it were.

But here I am. And hopefully, there some of you are.

I’ve been incredibly excited about food and cooking over the past couple of months and I began brimming with excitement and inspiration about a return to blogging in this space again.

As you may well have noticed, Eating for England also has a rather wonderful fresh new look. I’m incredibly lucky to have had my good friend Holly working on this redesign. Holly and I have been friends for four years now and she knows me well enough to understand my style and aesthetic perfectly. Didn’t she do a beautiful job?! A new layout, logo, and lots of other design features – it’s all new and I feel doubly inspired to share in this space again after the wonderful work she’s done. Check out her blog to see how multitalented this lady is; I’m pretty amazed by all she does.

So, here we are and here is a new recipe for you.

I recently discovered a lovely blog called Farmhouse Delivery, authored by the farm-to-table company of the same name based in Austin, TX. The blog is full of inspiration for making the most of a CSA box overflowing with a wealth of vegetables and features stunning step-by-step photos of most dishes too.

Farmhouse Delivery is where I first stumbled upon the idea for a buckwheat soba noodle salad and it seemed that from then on I kept seeing similar inspiration all over.

The great thing about a dish like this is that you can really easily adapt it to suit whatever you have in your fridge. Snap peas were abundant when I made it and I happened to have some asparagus and green onions but you could easily go with green beans, if you have those around or maybe lima beans or edamame. Throw some cucumber in if you like – add lots of crunch.

The two things I love most about this dish are the gingery-sesame dressing with a real zing from the lime juice, and the crunch factor. Don’t miss out on that by eschewing peanuts and some crunchy vegetable, as both make it such a pleasure to eat. The added bonus to this dish is that it’s ready in the time it takes you to boil some noodles so weeknight staple, here you come.

Buckwheat Soba Noodles with Sesame-Lime Dressing

Ingredients

For the noodles

8 ounce package buckwheat soba noodles
6 ounces asparagus, chopped into 1 inch pieces, tough ends discarded
4 ounces raw snap peas, sliced into halves
1-2 green onions, thinly sliced
small handful cilantro leaves
small handful roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
sesame seeds, to garnish

For the dressing

Freshly squeezed lime juice from 2-3 limes (you want about 5-6 tablespoons)
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp tamari sauce
3 tbsp toasted sesame oil
Salt

Directions

Cook the noodles to al dente per package instructions. Drain, rinse in cool water, and set aside.
Meanwhile, bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Prepare an ice-water bath. Place asparagus in boiling water and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and immediately transfer asparagus to ice-water bath until cool; drain and set aside.
Make dressing: Place lime juice, ginger, garlic, sugar, and tamari in a large bowl. Whisk in sesame oil until well blended. Taste and season with salt.
Add noodles and other salad ingredients to the dressing, toss well, garnish with cilantro, peanuts, and sesame seeds, and serve. Serves four.

Houston-Style Green Salsa

August 8, 2012

We’ve been on a green salsa kick recently. Cooking still doesn’t sound that fun so instead we’ve been coming home, cracking a beer, and eating way too many chips with this salsa. It’s rillyrilly good.

It’s up to you, of course, to make it as spicy as you like. Our first batch was good but thicker than we wanted and nowhere near hot enough. The second batch (and I should note, this is most definitely a Dan-led initiative) is the recipe you see below. We used two hot peppers and left the seeds in – actually we just lopped off the stems and threw them into the blender whole – plus we added a pinch of cayenne pepper.

The avocado and sour cream do an amazing job of bringing some creamy balance to the heat of the peppers but it’s certainly got a kick so cold beers are advised :)

Houston-Style Green Salsa
adapted from The Homesick Texan Cookbook

Ingredients

1 lb fresh tomatillos
1 large avocado
4 cloves garlic
1 small onion, roughly chopped
1-2 serrano peppers, seeds removed (or left in!)
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup cilantro
Salt, to taste
2 tbsp sour cream

Directions

Remove the husks from the tomatillos and drop them whole into a pot of boiling water for 5 minutes to soften them. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, transfer them from the pot to the blender.
Remove the pit and scoop out the avocado flesh. Add it to the blender along with the garlic, onion, peppers, lime juice, and sour cream.
Blend until you reach desired consistency.
Add cilantro, cayenne, and a large pinch of salt, pulsing once or twice to combine.
Leftovers will keep several days in the fridge. Yields 2 cups.

Summer Eats

July 26, 2012

Avocado on toast with olive oil and sea salt; heirloom tomatoes and fresh mozzarella on toast.

Fried eggs on toast; sauteed rainbow chard; strawberries.

Raw oats with Greek yoghurt, sunflower seeds, almonds, peaches and strawberries.

As is always the way in the summertime, I’m cooking less. More time spent outside in the hot sun and less time inside my sweltering kitchen.

I thought it might be fun to show you a snap shot of how I eat in these hot weeks when I’m sharing fewer recipes with you. Imagine a healthy amount of peanut butter on toast and smoothies thrown into the mix and you have a pretty accurate portrayal here.

What are you eating?

P.S. More summer eats.

(Photos from Instagram. I’m @angharad_guy.)

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