Miso + Peanut Noodles

When I lived in Ithaca, there was this awesome shop at the farmers market that sold these delicious peanut lime noodles. And I was absolutely hooked. Saturday morning would come, we’d hop on our bikes to go shopping by the shore of Cayuga lake, and I’d always get those noodles.

It’s funny how when you go through something difficult in life, you resort back to your comforts from old times. Food is a big one for me. I finally got my appetite back (I feel like a new person), I wanted to create something similar in my kitchen. I used to eat these noodles a decade ago, but the flavors are still on the tip of my tongue.

MISO + PEANUT SAUCE

What you’ll need . . .

• 1 large clove garlic
• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1 heaping tablespoon white miso paste
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
• dash ginger powder
• dash red pepper flakes

Method . . .

1. Pulse the garlic to mince in your food processor. Then add the peanut butter, miso paste, and hot water and blend until smooth.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until well incorporated.
3. Alternatively, you can mince the garlic and then whisk together the peanut butter, hot water, and miso paste. Then whisk the rest of the ingredients in until smooth.
4. Store in an air-tight container for up to one week.

// To make the noodle dish:

I simply boiled half a package of Ezekiel 4:9 spaghetti (you can use similar noodles -- even soba would be great -- at around 8 ounces) and shredded a couple carrots and half a small onion. I mixed those tougher and then dumped 5 big spoonfuls of the sauce on top. Eat hot or cold. I even like my noodles super al dente.

Peas, cubed tofu, even raisins would be good add-ins as well.

Serves 2-4, depending on appetite.

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Roasted Carrot Soup + White Miso

I've been digging simple soups and dishes recently for a variety of reasons. They are usually inexpensive. They typically mix together quickly and require little effort. They don't make for much cleanup either. And simple foods can be super flavorful -- just take this carrot soup, for example.

5 core ingredients = dynamite.

ROASTED CARROT SOUP with WHITE MISO
Vegan. Makes 4-6 servings.

What you'll need . . . 

• 8-9 large carrots, scrubbed + chopped
• 1 large white onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt + pepper
• 32 ounces vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup white miso

Method . . . 

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Chop your carrots and onions and place on a rimmed baking sheet.
2. Drizzle with olive oil and spindle with salt and pepper. Then roast for 20 minutes, toss, and roast another 20-30 minutes -- until browned and soft.
3. Place roasted veggies in a blender along with the veggie stock and miso. Pulse until well incorporated (but I left mine a bit chunky). 
4. Return to stove and heat until carrots have fully softened, if necessary/desired. Season more with salt and pepper to taste.

I added the miso in this recipe for flavor, as you guys taught me (via the Sweet Potato + Broccoli Miso Soup) the nutritional benefits can be lost with over-cooking. So, if you're into this recipe for the healthy miso stuff, you may wish to add it once the soup has cooled a bit. And actually, I tried the soup cold, and it's quite good that way.

You may also remember our Carrot Soup with a Kick recipe. It's one of my favorites and DEFINITELY similar to this one, but isn't roasted + has lots of spices at play. However you eat 'em, carrots are a great food to add to your diet.

// COMING UP

Another tasty carrot recipe headed your way this week! It's sort of like these healthy Carrot Brownie Bites meet these Red Velvet Black Bean Brownies. And they have a protein-rich, vegan baby.

Hope you all great a great weekend! Thanks again for all your help with our $550 kitchen refresh. Our open house went well -- but still no offers. We'll see what happens this week, but we're glad we did it now versus waiting much longer.

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Stuff & Chickpea-Miso Gravy

If you read Writing Chapter Three, you got a taste for why I didn't write anything yesterday. Things were crazy. But they eventually got much better. Today was much the same, but I can't let that paralyze me all the time.

My new mantra is "roll with it" . . . we'll see how that works! I'm staying optimistic that thinking positively has the power to impact my actions and feelings. I got that idea from some of your comments.

Which brings me to a BIG THANK YOU for your positive response to my last post. It means a lot that you all are with me as things change and evolve. And if you haven't yet entered the giveaway(s), there's still time!

I've received some questions about why I won't just merge (never)homemaker with Writing Chapter Three. Originally, I wanted to avoid bombarding this audience with baby photos and anecdotes. That's not what this blog is about. Some content does overlap, though, and many have told me that they just read both blogs anyway. But I don't know if that's the majority.

For the time being, I will continue to keep them separate and see how it goes. But if you feel strongly either way, please let me know!


It feels weird posting Thanksgiving recipes now. I hope to have my act together next year . . . but this one in particular is worth it, as I'll surely be making again to go with dinner or lunch or even breakfast. It was great on the mashed potatoes, stuffing, and just alone.

Like with many of my recipes lately, the flavor combination was a result of using what we have versus buying extra ingredients.

MISO & CHICKPEA GRAVY

What you'll need . . . 

• 1 small onion, chopped 
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon white miso 
• Black pepper and thyme, to taste
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Method . . . 

1. In a small saucepan, heat some olive oil and saute the onion and garlic until glassy.
2. Add the miso, black pepper and thyme cook until coated.
3. Add the stock and flour and whisk for a couple minutes, until thickened.
4. Then add in the chickpeas and cook for a couple minutes.
5. Then toss everything into your blender and blend until smooth.

I'll get on with the rest of the Thanksgiving recipes tomorrow (some of them are really short and some of them are just links to other sites).

Have a great night!

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Organization, Shoes, and Sauce

This is what our house looked like over much of the weekend. Now, I know I said it was messy, but I'm sorry to disappoint you. It wasn't THIS bad all along. This is just how it looked while we organized.

We pulled everything out of the cupboards. I mean e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g.

I found many bulk mystery flours and other unidentified things. I used to label and date stuff, but lost my way this past year. What I've decided for both a cleaner kitchen and tighter budget is to stop buying exotic ingredients. For example, having bread flour, white flour, and wheat flour is more than enough.

We'll see how long this "rule" lasts. I've been known to get far too excited about food, toting home some new and weird thing to cook or bake with, only to leave it unused for years. Waste. What a bad habit!

Onto much-needed new shoes . . .


It's been a good 7 months since I've bought sneakers, and it was definitely time. Notice anything strange in this photo? Probably not. It's such a minute difference, even I didn't detect anything was off until we got into the car.

First: I decided to go with the Nike FREE 4.0s -- a slightly more minimal version than the Nike Run + 3.0s I've been sporting for the past several years. I'll be sure to review them once I get in some miles and see if there's any significant difference.

(My prediction? No major change).


Anyway, I wear an 8.5. While trying them on, I remember that the right shoe felt slightly snugger than the left. I figured it was because the anti-theft buzzer was on my right foot. I must have been blinded by my love for the magenta color because I ended up buying two different sizes!

(Strangely enough, this is the second time I've come home from shoe shopping with two different sizes. I have no idea why I didn't check before buying. In a rush, I guess.)

I plan to take them back tomorrow and actually buy them again, but online. I found a much better deal at Running Warehouse, where membership to our local runners club means an extra 15% off. I don't know why I didn't just do that to begin with!

Now onto one of my worst food photos ever.


I'll blame it on the iPhone. But really, I can't take a good photo of eggs no matter what camera I'm using. Just don't look at the eggs. Focus on the sweet potatoes. I made the Miso-Tahini Sauce featured on Emily's blog finally over the weekend. I am hooked.

Go make it. NOW! We have a whole jar full of it ready for dribbling and dipping this week. Ada's BIRTHDAY week, by the way. The girl took her first steps yesterday. You can read about them -- as well as the rest of our weekend -- on Writing Chapter Three.

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Butternut Squash & Miso Soup

As you know well, my favorite cooking method is roasting. So, without really knowing where I was going with a gigantic butternut squash Halloween night, I cubed it and let it roast. At some point during that hour, I decided the best use for it was in soup.

Yes. A nice, peppery butternut squash soup. Problem: I didn't have any vegetable stock or broth. No soy sauce to speak of either (I use a splash or two to flavor water in a pinch). But I did have half a tub of miso left over from my Miso Stew last week.

And that's how this happened:

BUTTERNUT SQUASH & MISO SOUP

What you'll need . . . 

• 1 large butternut squash, peeled and cubed 
• 1 white onion, sliced 
• 1 clove garlic, minced 
• 1 to 2 tablespoons white miso paste (yellow would work, too)
• 1 can light coconut milk 
• 2 to 4 cans-worth of water 
• Salt, pepper to taste 

Method . . . 

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Place the cubed squash on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper, and roast for an hour, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Once that's done, in a stock pot over medium heat, saute your onion and garlic in a tablespoon or two of olive oil for a few minutes. Until the onions are glassy and fragrant.
3. Add in the cubed squash. Then the miso paste. Try to break it up so that it's coating the squash.
4. Then add the coconut milk and water (however much you add depends on how thick you'll want your soup -- we did 3 cans of water). Let cook until simmering. Then simmer for 10 minutes or so.
5. Let cool for 10 minutes and then blend on low until everything is well incorporated.
6. Return to stove over low heat and season with salt and pepper.

My kitchen is so dark these days. I attempted to use my iPad to bounce some light. It helped, but not enough . . .


I may need to dig my DIY Light Box out of the attic with the time change coming up. I'll probably be up there quite a bit this weekend, as I have grand plans to clean the house up and down before Ada's birthday party in 15 days. Not that I'm counting or anything.

Hope everyone is doing well as we head into the weekend. I don't know quite how I feel about the NYC Marathon being held despite the destruction. Well, yes I do. This Time article does a good job of expressing my thoughts.

My in-laws are still without power, so they are coming up tonight. I'm hoping they can get gas to make the trek without waiting in line for hours. Thankfully they had only minimal issues with the winds otherwise. So, we'll take this as a nice, unexpected visit!

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DETOX: Day 5 -- Back to Square One

I only wish I could say I ate something this wonderfully healthy in the past 24 hours. To say that I'm on day five of the detox at this point is a bit of a lie. (What's this detox all about? Read about Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Day 4!) Unfortunately, New Year's Eve and our party totally threw me back into old habits. And it didn't stop at the party. It continued all day today with all the leftovers. But as today is the start of the new year, tomorrow is the start of a new day, etc., etc., I have plenty of time to get back on track.

One of my new year's resolutions is to stop being so hard on myself if I stray from my resolutions. Being that this diet -- adding whole fruits & veggies -- is one of them . . . I'm not going to let a day of weird eating get me down. The fact is: I've been consuming SO MUCH healthy stuff . . . so, even with the added "bad" desserts, etc. -- I'm still benefiting from enhanced nutrition. I think that deserves a w00t.

Take this beautiful salad, for instance. We gobbled it up a few days ago for lunch. It was so incredibly filling that I couldn't finish my portion -- AND I wasn't hungry for the rest of the afternoon. Magic salad? Maybe. The secret is in the miso-ginger dressing. Because if you know me . . . you know the one dish I absolutely HATE is salad. I hate getting it as a starter. I hate getting it as a side. And I certainly hate getting it as a meal. But honestly, truly, deeply . . . I quite like this one.

The recipe below is one I modified, inspired by the miso-ginger recipe on GOOP.

What you'll need . . .

• 1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 large shallot, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons roughly chopped ginger
• 1 tablespoon white miso (we just used the same barley miso we used for our soup)
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons water
  

Method . . .

1. Put all ingredients in a food processor and blend until fully incorporated.
2. Serve over any salad. Ours included a hefty dose of kale, green apple, carrot, mushrooms, and other mixed greens.

So there you have it. Lush, leafy greens . . . drenched in a relatively guilt-free dressing. A salad this girl will actually eat -- and one her husband will add to his favorites list. I'm excited to get back on track tomorrow. Filling my diet with more whole foods has actually had a dramatic impact on how I feel during the day. Energy is abounding. In other health news at the (never home)maker residence: We're running a 10k tomorrow morning, party of a local "freeze" race series. I'm a bit nervous because the temps are supposed to be around 17 degrees F, but feel more like 1 degree with wind and some snow.

It'll be great! (At least that's what I keep telling myself.)

Speaking of running -- and I'll likely write another post dedicated entirely to our party, so stay tuned -- last night after the ball dropped (which we didn't watch because we don't have TV) . . . a few of my friends and I took a jog around the block to usher in the new year. Exhilarating. Amusing. Tiring in the snow. And, yes -- a little crazy. But I think it'll be a new tradition to add to our growing list.

Tomorrow when I post, I hope to have just taken an immensely hot shower . . . and to be sipping a giant mug of tea. Till then, my friends . . . :)

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DETOX: Day 2 -- Miso Soup

Day 2 of the detox, and we're doing swell. OK. For Stephen our "diet" is pretty much normal eating. For me, it's a bit different. I think we've been over it already, but I eat WAY too much sugar. All the time. Last night I got my first real craving. So, I broke out some cocoa-covered popcorn (this really tasty, "guilt-free," vegan kind made by Lesser Evil) . . . seemed to do the trick.

What exactly HAVE we been eating? Here's the breakdown:

• Breakfast: First, a huge mug of tea with 1/2 lemon squeezed into it. Later, a fruit smoothie (though I may do a few green smoothies, too) . . . and we've been adding some whole grain cereal for energy for running.
• Snack: Fruit or veggies.
• Lunch: SOUP. Today I'm giving the recipe for miso soup. Ours is more of a stew because we throw tons of kale and shiitake mushrooms into the mix. We also add a piece of whole wheat bread with some almond butter and a piece of fruit (blood oranges, anyone? -- they're my favorite!).
• Pre-run snack: raw coconut-carob chip "cookies".
• Dinner: Steamed broccoli and brown rice with a mixture of sesame oil and soy sauce on top. This isn't really filling us up, so tonight we're going to make it a stirfry with some tofu.

That's pretty much it. Now, again, it isn't a detox in the true sense. Our friend Kevin and his brothers came over to visit last night, and we all split a fancy beer. So, basically -- we do what we can. I think any effort to eat better is a good step for me at this point.

Today's recipe is for the miso soup we ate yesterday . . . and likely will eat again today. I recommend using lighter miso -- like a white -- but we used barley miso, so just go with what you like.

MISO SOUP

What you'll need . . .

• Handful shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 4 to 6 scallions, chopped
• 2 cups kale, chopped
• 1 large carrot, shaved
• 6 cups water
• 1/4 cup miso paste
  

Method . . .

1. Put water and all veggies/mushrooms into a large stock pot and bring to a boil over high heat.
2. Drop the heat down to a simmer and set your timer for 10 minutes.
3. Take pot off heat and stir in the miso. This part can be tricky -- you need to make sure it all dilutes.
4. Serve and enjoy (makes about 4-5 servings).

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