Hot Days, Cold Noodles
And, a special visit from a dragonfly
Popping in to wish you a good morning on this lazy last Sunday in July. The sun is dappling through the trees and the birds are singing their morning songs. After a spell of rainy and gray weather, this weekend has been breezy and bright. I insisted Chad take yesterday off of house reno and dragged him to the beach.
At low tide, a dragonfly attached itself to Chad’s swimming trunks and wouldn’t let go. He walked from nearly waist-height water to our blanket with a delicately fastened insect broach on his shorts who would not budge.
After about 15 minutes, we were able to gently move our new friend to Chad’s t-shirt on the blanket, where he remained for another 20 minutes. At about that same moment, about 500 or more dragonflies descended upon the beach swooping and darting so low that I had to keep my head down at times for fear of being gently walloped. After a few attempts, our pal thankfully took flight with the rest of his team. We think he might have needed to dry out a bit in order spread his wings again. Who doesn’t?
The dragonflies came in droves this very same week last summer, and this past Friday marks a year without our Joshie dog. I’m still desperately sad.
After we got home from the beach, I looked up what dragonflies symbolize: transformation, adaptability, and self-realization. Some say they also represent, hope, change and love, which provided me some comfort. I feel our friend’s lengthy visit makes much more sense now.
Crunchy Cold Noodles with Spicy Sesame Dressing
This recipe is perfect for a heatwave. I won’t even ask you to blanch vegetables. Snap peas are still available at the farm stand, so I’ve included them here. Thinly sliced Napa cabbage would also work nicely or really any other crunchy vegetable. I used chicken that I had leftover from roasting one earlier in the week, but I would encourage you to buy a rotisserie one at the store should you not want to bother turning on the oven. Leave it out completely if you want to make it vegetarian. The whole dish comes together in no time and can be made and chilled a few hours in advance or served once assembled. Drink pink.
Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 2 generous servings
INGREDIENTS
For the dressing:
¼ cup tahini such as Seed and Mill
2 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice, from 1 lime
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon of your favorite chili crisp
½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil, plus more for drizzling
1 tablespoons warm water
For the salad:
4 oz fresh or dried wheat noodles, such as lo mein or ramen
4 oz snap peas, thinly sliced on the bias
1 Persian cucumber, thinly sliced on the bias
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced on the bias
2 scallions, thinly sliced on the bias, white and light green parts separated from the dark green
4 to 5 oz shredded chicken, from a leftover roast chicken or store bought rotisserie one
¼ cup roughly chopped loosely packed herbs, such a mint, cilantro and basil
1 teaspoons sesame seeds for garnish
METHOD
Make the dressing:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the tahini, soy sauce, lime juice, honey, chili crisp, sesame seed oil and the water. Season with kosher salt and set aside.
Make your salad:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cool running water and drizzle with a bit of the sesame oil to prevent them from sticking together.
In a large bowl, gently toss together the snap peas, cucumber, celery, the scallion whites and light greens parts and the chicken. Season with kosher salt. Add in half of the dressing and toss to coat. Add in the noodles, reserved scallion greens, half the herbs and remaining dressing and gently toss to coat. Top with remaining herbs and the sesame seeds if using.
If you make the noodles, please let me know you like them.
There is housework to do, but I’m still going to go forage some wild raspberries growing across the road. Have a beautiful rest of your Sunday.
With love,
Colu x
Perfect for our last bunch of snow peas from the garden, making tonight!❤️