Innie or Outie

As summer comes to an end, so is the supply of 70 gram somen gift packets. Here is another new idea where East meets West, Miso-Tomato Sauce Somen:

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Sauté spicy pork sausage slices and diced red onion in sesame oil; add minced garlic paste, tomato paste, 1/2 sodium red miso paste, chicken broth, frozen grilled Mediterranean vegetable (zucchini, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, eggplant, and potato) medley, dried red chili pepper flakes, dried parsley flakes, dried oregano flakes, and dried thyme flakes; bring to boil then reduce heat and simmer until sauce is reduced. Cook somen; strain and toss with miso-tomato sauce mixture; plate and garnish with julienned nori. As an accompaniment, I served Toasted Olive-Basil Bread.

Hubby’s back in the mood for cooking Mediterranean-influenced edibles, Papa’s Olive Chicken Pasta:

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For the entrée he sautéed chicken breast chunks in olive oil, added julienned yellow and green bell pepper, fresh mushrooms, sliced green and black olives, and garlic chives. He tossed the mixture with assorted pasta; plated; and sprinkled with parmesan cheese. To complete the meal, hubby served a small salad of homegrown greens, iceberg lettuce, cherry tomatoes, bacon bits, and herbed croutons with an olive oil, white wine vinegar, and shikwasa (Hirami lemon) dressing.

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Getting down to the final three meals making use of that package of 25 (70 gram) servings of Japanese pasta, Apple-Pepper Pork on Almond-Mint Cream Sauce Somen:

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This entrée consisted of somen tossed with toasted almond slivers and chopped fresh mint cream sauce; topped with julienned onion sautéed in olive oil with sliced pork and apple, julienned yellow and green bell peppers, tarragon, cornstarch, white pepper, and finely-chopped fresh basil; garnished with fresh basil leaves; accompanied by Basil-Baby Cheese Garlic Brown Bread to complete the meal.

Finally getting down to the last few servings of somen. This is another original dish with a mild Spanish-influenced flavor, Golden Chicken in Tomato Sauce on Almond-Basil Somen:

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For the dish, thoroughly mix turmeric, dried tarragon flakes, white pepper, dried parsley flakes, paprika, dried oregano flakes, minced garlic paste and olive oil in a zip-style plastic bag; add chopped chicken breast chunks and completely coat in olive oil mixture; place in refrigerator to marinate.

About 30 minutes prior to serving, brown chicken mixture in frying pan; stir in diced onion, diced yellow bell pepper, and diced green bell pepper; cook until onion turns translucent.

Meanwhile, in a small frying pan, sauté sliced spicy sausage and start boiling somen water; remove sausage and toast almond slivers in remaing grease; add chopped stewed tomatoes with sauce and sausage to chicken mixture bringing to a light boil; reduce heat, add sliced black olives, and simmer until somen is ready.

Cook somen; remove toasted almonds from heat; strain and toss with chopped fresh basil, almonds, and olive oil; plate and ladle-on chicken mixture; top with fresh basil leaves. Serve.

Still another simple way to use the 25 pieces of 70 grams package of noodles and leftovers, Meat Sauce Somen:

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This was almost effortless, place desired amount of leftover meatloaf, diced onion, tomato juice, tomato paste, dried parsley flakes, dried oregano flakes, and soy sauce in a container and let defrost and marinate over night. About twenty minutes prior to serving, start somen water; place meatloaf mixture in a pot; add diced green bell pepper and sliced mushrooms; bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until somen is ready, stirring occasionally and breaking meatloaf into chunks. Cook and strain somen, add to meatsauce and toss thoroughly. Plate, top with fresh basil leaves, and sprinkle with parmesan. Serve.

To go with the somen dish, I tried something a little different, Toasted Basil-Baby Cheese Garlic Brown Bread:

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While the meat sauce somen was cooking, the slices of walnut-raisin brown bread (soemthing hubby had picked-up at a local bakery) was placed in a toaster until slightly crunchy; topped first with a thin layer of minced garlic paste, second with small chunks of baby cheese, and third with a fresh basil leaf; finally the toasted bread was microwaved for 2.5 minutes. The result of this unusual cooking method combination was a bread with a creamy, nutty, and light fruit flavor and a texture reminiscent of melba toast.

So, here I am still trying to come up with dishes that will help us use up a little more of that enormous gift of twenty-five 70 gram servings of somen. This is the latest creation, Sausage-Pepper Medley on Bleu Cheese-Basil Somen:

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To make this very simple dish simply use the desired amount of hot somen tossed with chunks of room-temperature bleu cheese and chopped fresh basil, topped with julienned onion sautéed in olive oil and minced garlic paste stir-fried with julienned spicy sausage, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, chives, and kamaboko. To complete the meal, I decided to go with a cool refreshing fruit instead of greens, Spiced Pear Salad:

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Peel and grate pear, then toss with chopped fresh mint leaves. Chill in refrigerator until almost ready to serve. About five minutes prior to serving, line bowl with iceberg lettuce, top with pear mixture, and sprinkle with desired amount of powdered all spice, nutmeg, or cinnamon. (If desired, you can make mini lettuce wraps instead of a salad with this recipe.)

Here is a simple dish I came up with to make use of some of that somen (noodles), Beef Curry Noodle Crunch:

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Per serving, 70 grams uncooked somen, 1 1/2 cup heated curry, 1 teaspoon sweet pickled daikon, 1 tablespoon zasai (pickled turnip). Prepare somen according to directions, rinse and strain, place on paper towels to remove excess liquid, divide into two piles per serving, deep fry, place on paper towels to remove excess oil, plate, ladle on curry, top with daikon, and place zasai on the side.

Another method of preparing somen, which is usually used for cold noodles, Papa’s Tuna Yakisomen:

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For this meal, hubby combined 2 julienned yellow bell peppers sautéed in sesame oil, 1 can tuna (drained), 1 teaspoon white pepper, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 4 cups cooked somen, 1/4 cup tsuyu sauce, and 1 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes. After plating, he added 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, 1 tablespoon pickled ginger, and 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked toasted sesame seeds to each serving and gently tossed.

Since various produce in our yard are starting to ripen, I came up with new dishes to make good use of some of the crop, Spicy Tuna-Basil Pasta:

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For the dish, I used diced onion and minced red chili peppers (from the yard) sautéed in olive oil, minced garlic paste, canned tuna flakes, soy sauce, white pepper, chopped fresh basil (from our herb garden), dried oregano flakes, tossed with hot cooked pasta then sprinkled with grated parmesan cheese.

To balance the spiciness of the pasta, I used the the citrus (shikwasa) from our yard in creating a side dish, Tangy Miso-Carrot Lettuce Wrap:

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For the wraps, sauté thickly julienned carrot and onion slices with fresh rosemary leaves (from our herb garden) in sesame oil. Remove pan from heat and add red miso paste and citrus juice. Let the mixture cool, then wrap in iceberg lettuce leaves.

When hubby and I threw this meal together we didn’t consult as to what ingredients were being used in each other’s recipes. It seems we were both in the mood for some garlic and bell peppers to differing degrees. The result was a very flavorful outdoor meal, Grilled Steak and Mushrooms with Bell Peppers Dinner:

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Early in the day, at least three hours prior to serving, prepare the Summertime Penne Salad:

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The salad consisted of 2 tablespoons regular classic mustard, 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard, 1/4 cup dill pickle juice, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 2 finely diced hard-boiled eggs, 1 diced red bell pepper, 2 tablespoons chopped chives, 1 tablespoon white pepper, 1 teaspoon minced garlic paste, 2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes, and cooked penne thoroughly mixed then refrigerated.

Accompanying the pasta for the outdoor meal was Papa’s Grilled Foil-Wrapped Mushrooms and Bell Peppers:

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For the veggie packet, hubby used butter, fresh mushrooms, sliced bell peppers, minced garlic paste, minced ginger paste, soy sauce, chopped chives, white pepper, and sesame oil grilled on medium heat for 20 – 25 minutes.

Completing the meal was the meat entrée, Papa’s Basic Grilled Steak:

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This was a real “no frills” recipe with nothing added to the steak. Simply grill as is. When ready, mix a little soy sauce with the juices from the grilled mushrooms and bell peppers (above) and use as a dipping sauce.