Ramen Noodles with Sweet Ginger Scallion Sauce

We spent this past weekend in Virginia celebrating the wedding of two of our best friends. It was a gorgeous summer night which made for an even more beautiful celebration. The wedding was held at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens and the setting was utterly perfect. The groom's mother is Vietnamese and she is such an unbelievable cook. She and her talented cousins handmade 350 spring rolls for the reception and I think they were gone before the bride and groom's first dance had even begun. I think I personally ate 10 to 15 (they were cut in half to make them more bite size but I do hope that no one noticed me hovering over the chafing dish). She has now promised to give me a lesson so hopefully I will have some of her originals coming your way sooner rather than later.

Needless to say, I have been dreaming about those spring rolls ever since Saturday. Since I have Asian food on my mind, I decided to make this noodle dish. The Ginger scallion sauce makes the meal, and it is said to be a recipe from Momofuku which only means it has to be legit. I used ramen  instead of soba noodles and it turned out just as delicious.

Slightly Adapted from: Simply Reem

You Will Need:

• 1 1/2 cup finely chopped scallions
• 2 Tbsp ginger, minced
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro
• 2-3 Tbsp Sesame oil
• 2 tsp chili oil
• 2 Tbsp Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce
• 2 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
• 2 Tbsp Honey
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 9 oz packet ramen noodles
• 2 Tbsp Sesame seeds

Here We Go:

• Mix first 10 ingredients for Sweet Ginger Scallion sauce in the bowl, check for the seasoning
• Keep it aside for 10 -15 minutes for the flavors to develop
• Boil the ramen noodles as per the instruction on the package, drain and return to pan
• Add the sauce, sesame seeds and toss the noodles well

Serves 2
Happy Feasting!

Spinach Mandarin Poppy Seed Salad

I love each and every ingredient in this salad. Fresh avocados, juicy mandarin oranges, applewood smoked bacon, cheese, onion and oh yeah, the spinach of course - Popeye would be proud of us. This salad makes for an easy side dish during the week and would be great to serve at a luncheon, family cookout, or a baptism (we just went to our friend's daughter's baptism on Sunday so it is on the brain!). I also love the lightness of the poppy seed dressing because it doesn't overpower the other flavors in the salad as some dressings often tend to do. The recipe below serves between 8 and 10 people so I obviously reduced the serving size when the hubs and I ate it with our dinner last week.

Source: A Hint of Honey

You Will Need for the Salad:

• 8 oz. spinach
• 2-3 romaine hearts, chopped
• 2 avocados, peeled, pitted, and diced
• 8-10 mandarin oranges, peeled and segmented with knife
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• handful swiss or gruyere, shredded
• 8-10 slices bacon, cooked until crisp and crumbled

You Will Need for the Dressing:

• 2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp stone ground mustard
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 tsp poppy seeds
• salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Here We Go for the Dressing:

• To make the dressing, whisk to combine vinegar, mustard, and sugar in a small bowl
• Slowly stream in the oil while whisking constantly to emulsify
• Whisk in the poppy seeds and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper

Here We Go for the Salad:

• In a large serving bowl combine the spinach, romaine, avocado, orange, onion, cheese, and bacon
• Drizzle with the dressing
• Toss and serve

Serves 8-10
Happy Feasting!