Hyun’s Cold Soba Noodles with Lemon Miso Sauce

This is another wonderful lunch that also helped me survive my qualifying exams! Since it is a cold dish, it’s great for hot days. If it’s really hot you can even add an ice cube in at the end into the bowl with the noodles.  Enjoy!

  

Serves four

3 ounces soba noodles
2 cucumbers – peeled, seeded, and julienned
1 bunch Kaiware sprouts (sprouted daikon radish seeds) –>
1/2 pound dried seaweed (miyeok) – optional, can be found in Korean stores.

Sauce:
6 tablespoons tsuyu sauce (also called noodle dipping sauce or soup base)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
5 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons light miso paste
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon sesame oil – optional

Soak the seaweed in water for 10 minutes. Drain well and cut into squares. Place the cucumbers, seaweed, and sprouts around the edge of a round plate.
Boil noodles according to package directions. Drain and cool.
Whisk together all the sauce ingredients. In a large bowl, combine the noodles and the sauce, and place this in the center of the plate.

Hyun’s Delicious Mango Salad

This magnificent salad is part of the reason that I successfully completed my qualifying exams in grad school last Spring. My roomate Hyun would make this for me almost every day for lunch and it is the perfect combination of some of the worlds most delicious ingredients! Now fortunately she has decided to share her secrets with all of you, so enjoy!

Serves four

3 mangos – peeled, seeded, and cubed
4 avocados – peeled, seeded, and cubed
6 tomatoes – cut into cubes

Dressing:
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
6 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons lime juice
Salt to taste

Place the mango, avocado, and tomato cubes into a serving bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and lime juice. Pour over the salad. Stir to coat. Add salt to taste.

My Mamma’s Chili

Ingredients:

1 lb lean ground beef

3-4 anahiem chile peppers seeded and cut into cubes or strips

1 red pepper cut into cubes or strips

1 jalapeño pepper seeded and cut very fine

1 large yellow onion chopped

2 large ripe tomatoes chopped

2 cloves garlic chopped

handful of parsley chopped

chopped fresh oregano

bay leaf

coriander

cumin

chili powder

paprika

sumac powder

vinegar

worcestershire sauce

unsweetened chocolate powder

1 large can of Contadina tomato sauce

1 can of pinquito beans and juice

1 can of louisianna red beans and juice

olive oil

salt

(You can also add a can of whole black olives if you wish. Mom says this is a Will Blackburn addition.)

 Directions:

Fry onions, garlic, parsley, peppers in olive oil.

Add peppers and fry until start to brown.

Add tomatoes.

Add meat and break up into vegetables.

Add spices.

Add tomato sauce.

Add beans.

Serve over sticky rice (japanese) or shredded cabbage.

My Mamma’s Pastina and Egg

This is a really good recipe when you have a tummy ache or just feel like you need something comforting to eat.

Ingredients (for one person):

-1 small egg

-2 tablespoons pastina

-lump of butter

-salt

 Directions:

Heat salted water in a small saucepan.

Break egg into a bowl and beat with a little salt.

Add pastina to water and boil until soft.

Remove about 1 tablespoon of water from pastina and save.

Drain pastina and return to pan.

Add lump of butter and egg and stir constantly over low heat until eggs are cooked.

If dry add a little of the saved water.

Check for salt and serve.

My Mamma’s Butternut Squash Loaf or Muffins

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sugar (white and brown mixed)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
grated ginger
grated nutmeg
little mace
little clove
1/2 cup butter or vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
1 3/4 cups flour
1 cup squash
2 eggs

Directions:

bake at 325  1 hour 15 minutes for bread  or 35 minutes (0r until toothpick comes out clean) for muffins

My Mamma’s Chicken or Beef with Broccoli and Peanut Sauce

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts cubed or 1/2 lb beef sliced very thin

1 small head of broccoli cut into pieces

1 large or 2 small cloves garlic crushed

piece of ginger root cut into small pieces

soy sauce

1 big tablespoon peanut butter

Directions:
Put chicken or beef in bowl and add garlic, ginger, soy sauce and a little olive oil and leave to marinate.

Put a little olive oil in a non stick pan and cook until slightly tender.

Remove broccoli from pan and put aside.

Reheat pan and add a little more olive oil and throw in marinated meat.

Cook over high heat until meat is cooked through (be careful not to overcook beef, it should be just pink).  

Turn heat down and add peanut butter and salt as needed.

Mix well until peanut butter is totally mixed in and then add broccoli and a little water to make a little sauce.

Stir until completey mixed  add more soy sauce or peanut butter if needed.

You can also add a tbs of hoisin sauce as well as the peanut butter if you like it a little sweeter.

(Can also add some sesame seeds just before putting the meat in).

Serve over rice.

Grandma Cenza’s Eggs, Mozzarella and Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

1 large or 2 small fresh tomatoes or 1 8oz. can of Italian tomatoes

mozzarella

chopped parsley

basil

salt/pepper

Directions:

Heat Oil to cover bottom of small frying pan. Crush tomatoes in pan with a  fork. Add parsley, basil, salt and pepper to taste. Let it cook slowly. Before tomatoes get too dry, add slices of mozzarella on top of tomatoes (leave some room for eggs). Cook short time – don’t let mozzarella get too soft. Add eggs on top of tomato (not on mozzarella and cook until the egg white is solid.

Grandma Cenza’s Peppers and Eggs

2 red peppers, cut into 1.5-inch squares (medium size)

3 eggs, beaten lightly with salt and pepper

2 cloves of minced garlic

olive oil

Put a thin layer of olive oil in a skillet. Fry peppers under medium heat till soft and brown. Add minced garlic. When garlic gets soft, add egg mixture and cook until eggs are set.

Grandma Cenza’s Potatoes and Beans

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of dried white cannellini beans
• 1 celery heart
• 2 cloves of garlic sliced
• about ¼ cup of olive oil
• about 5 medium sized potatoes cubed small (1/2 inch)

Directions:

Place beans into a medium sized sauce pan. Fill pot with water and soak overnight.   In the morning drain off all the water and refill with water to cover by about an inch.  Bring to a simmer and then turn off the heat and leave the beans to cool in the water.  When ready to cook reheat the beans and let simmer about 2 hours under low flame stirring about every 15 minutes and checking to see that water remains above beans.  Add additional hot water as needed. When the beans begin to start getting soft add chopped celery stalk, 2 cloves of sliced garlic and ¼ cup of olive oil. When beans are almost soft, add about 5 medium sized potatoes cubed small (½ inch). Add oregano, black pepper and salt. Cover again and cook until potatoes are done. Make sure that the water does not evaporate. If necessary, add hot water so that the potatoes have enough water to cook in. Water should never get below the beans or potatoes.  When potatoes are cooked but still keep their shape remove about 1/4 of the soup and puree then add back to pot.  Check seasoning. Best to let soup sit for a while before serving to let the flavors blend.

Potatoes and Beans (Using Canned Cannellini Beans)

Cut 4 to 5 medium potatoes into ½ inch cubes and boil until just tender covered with water. When done, add salt, black pepper, olive oil, garlic, celery and canned cannellini beans.  Heat and then let sit for awhile before serving.

Grandma Cenza’s Zucchini and Egg

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs of zucchini (medium zucchini)

4 eggs, beaten

2 heaping TBS of grated Locatelli Romano cheese

 

 

 

Directions:

Prepare egg mixture. Add 2 heaping TBS of cheese to the egg mixture. Cover this fairly heavily with black pepper. Cover lightly with salt. Beat.

Split zucchini lengthwise in half and slice into pieces that are ½-inch thick. Boil in a pan of salted water about 15 minutes until tender. Drain off water, except enough to cover half the zucchini. Add egg mixture to partially drained zucchini while still cooking under a low flame under the eggs are set.