Quick Summer Fare

I am trying to acclimate to the cool summer weather we have been having in our new location this year. Having lived through almost 20 Texas summers, I was bracing myself for some hot, humid days, but today I find myself enjoying another day with the windows open and a cool breeze blowing through our windows and it is 230 in the afternoon. Ahhh. I knew I suffered through this winter for some kind of reward at the end! But it doesn't really matter how cool it is, I just instinctively want more salads and cool foods in the summertime, so that I can fool myself into believing the past 6 months of winter eating will be magically wiped away! ;) Here are some recipes I love that you can pull right from the fridge and enjoy quickly after you make them. My favorite and Blythe's....Asian Lettuce Cups. I spent about 9 months in Korea when I was 19. One of my favorite dishes was bulgogi, which was a Korean BBQ meat that we would eat by placing some cooked rice on a large iceberg lettuce leaf, then put meat in the middle and wrap up kind of like a taco and eat. This dish reminds me of it and is health and EZ. ;) Asian Lettuce Cups Ingredients: 1lb ground chicken breast 1/2 onion, minced 1/2 cup shredded carrots salt & pepper 2 garlic cloves, minced 1/4 tsp fresh ginger 2-1/2 Tablespoons soy sauce 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon rice vinegar 1 Tablespoon sesame oil 1 Tablespoon peanut butter 1/2 Tablespoon water 1/2 Tablespoon honey 2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce (or more if you like it hotter) dash of pepper 3 green onions, chopped 1/2-8oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained & chopped 1/4 cup peanuts, chopped 10-12 large outer lettuce leaves, rinsed and patted dry Directions: 1. Heat a large, non-stick skillet on high. Add chicken, onion, salt & pepper, then cook until chicken is nearly done, stirring often to break up the meat. Add garlic and ginger then continue cooking until chicken is no longer pink. For Sauce: in a microwave safe bowl, combine soy sauce, rice vinegar, oil, peanut butter, water, honey, chili garlic sauce and pepper. Microwave for 20 seconds, then stir until smooth. Add into the skillet and stir to combine. Add green onions and water chestnuts into the skillet then cook for 1-2 minutes until the onions are soft and the water chestnuts are heated through. Place in chilled lettuce leaf, top with more sauce, roll and eat. You may need to make additional sauce. Keep on hand in the fridge, reheat the meat portion quickly for about 30 minutes and assemble your lettuce cups as needed. :) Soba Noodles with Sweet Ginger Scallion Sauce Ingredients Soba noodles – 1 9oz packet. Salt and Pepper as per taste. Sesame seeds – 2 Tbsp lightly toasted. Cucumber thinly julienne optional. Lime wedges optional. For Sweet Ginger Scallion Sauce- green onoins – 1 ½ cup finely chopped. Ginger – 2 Tbsp minced. Cilantro – ¼ cup chopped. Sesame oil/ – 2-3 Tbsp. Chili oil – 2 tsp. Soy sauce – 1Tbsp. Rice wine vinegar – 2 Tbsp. Honey – 2 Tbsp. Salt – 1 tsp, as soy sauce is salty too so be careful with the salt. Black pepper – 1 tsp I like to grill some chicken breasts or sauté some shrimp at this point and toss in there for the protein. You may want to double the sauce if too dry. Instructions 1.Mix all the ingredients for Sweet Ginger Scallion sauce in the bowl, check for the seasoning. Keep it aside for 10 -15 minutes for the flavors to develop. 2.Boil the soba noodles as per the instruction on the package, If you need them cold drain well with the cold water once they are cooked or just drain the water in which they boiled if you like them hot. 3.Add the sauce, sesame seeds and toss the noodles well, check for the seasoning one last time. Sprinkle lime juice if you like and also if you like add some julienne cucumber, give a final toss and Enjoy! I keep this refrigerated so that I can pull it out and eat it cold whenever I need a quick meal.