June is Busting Out All Over

See those biased-cut asparagus stems? That's what I learned this week from Heidi Swanson's blog, 101 Cookbooks. I've done the diagonal cut with carrots and summer squash forever; makes everything cook faster and looks pretty, but I've always just done asparagus as a whole spear.

Go Diagonal with your Asparagus!

This was my quick, cheap and so delicious supper last night:

sauteed onion, yellow squash and asparagus - - tender tips on their own, stalks cut as elongated coins on the diagonal.

1/3 bag of Quorn, which is described as Quorn, a non-animal protein made from fungus. I don't know what it is but it's not meat nor dairy nor soy and coupon.mom has supplied me with a slew of half-off coupons for it. PFF for sure. That's chicken-style hunks of Quorn in the top photo.

Asparagus was way-cheap. Just there for the picking.

Not a Whole Lot of Takeout in the Middle of the Night

Pizza Shuttle will deliver until 3:00 am but that's about your only late night option. Look at the size of that pizza. No, I'm going to have to bring my lunch. My 3:00 a.m. lunch. My PFF lunch. (Poor Folks Food) Vegan to boot which puts me in great blog company as many are describing their vegan adventures on-line.


Tonight's brown bag: Spicy Peanut Noodle Salad


Beans & Barley Spicy Peanut Noodle Salad
½ pound Wah King Chinese noodles (see note)
1 to 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
2/3 cup non-hydrogenated peanut butter
2 tablespoons mushroom soy sauce (see note)
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons shoyu
2 tablespoons honey
1½ tablespoon sesame oil
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon garlic puree or 1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon chili paste (see note)
¼ cup warm water
3 tablespoons sliced green onions
3 tablespoons roasted peanuts

Cook noodles in 2 to 3 quarts salted water until tender. When they are done, drain and rinse in cool water.

Gently toss with the oil so noodles are lightly coated and do not stick together when they cool. Set aside.

In blender or food processor, mix together all remaining ingredients except onions and peanuts. Combine sauce and noodles in large bowl and gently toss to coat. Divide among 6 dishes and garnish each serving with the onions and peanuts. Makes about 6 side-dish servings.

Note: Wah King noodles and mushroom soy sauce are available at Asian and some specialty food stores. Soba noodles or linguine can be substituted for the Wah King noodles.