sesame

May 28, 2009

Asian Pasta Salad

mel entree, recipe, sides & bites carrots, cashews, green beans, green onions, pasta, salad, sesame, tahini

Asian Pasta Salad

Now that Memorial Day is over, ophthalmologist I assume it’s fair to say that summer’s here. I know, ailment I know. Summer’s not officially here until June 21st, side effects but it’s hot, humid and I’m at the beach every weekend. To me, that means Summer is Here. And with summer comes cookout season. That means you’ll most likely be asked to bring a side dish or two to a backyard BBQ soon.

Pasta salad has long since been a favorite potluck dish. It’s easy, you can make it well ahead of time and needs nothing more than a spoon to serve. It’s perfect.

And of course, everyone has their favorite version. Some are dressed with mayo and some with vinaigrette. Some are tossed with fruit, some with veggies and many with both. I was really craving cold soba noodles, but wanted to translate those flavors into something a little less…slurpy. Something that would be great on a buffet table.

I made this simple pasta salad with whole wheat shells, shredded carrots, green beans, green onions, cashews and a delicious tahini dressing. Topped with fresh herbs, this is going to be the pasta salad I bring everywhere this summer. It’s light and refreshing, but still unique and addicting. Best of all, it would be great with all manner of seasonal vegetables. Hello summer!

February 13, 2009

Sesame & Nori Breaded Tilapia

mel entree, recipe breadcrumbs, fish, nori, sesame, tilapia

Sesame & Nori Breaded Tilapia

Does everybody wish they had more time to cook? Probably not. But I really do. My work schedule and commute get me home too late to spend any real time making dinner, buy information pills so I’ve developed a lot of quick and easy weeknight recipes. These can be anything from fried egg sandwiches (yummm), illness to poached eggs on polenta, capsule to quick tacos. Just because it’s quick, doesn’t mean it can’t be delicious.

One of my old standby’s is breaded tilapia. It may not be gourmet, but it goes from fridge to plate in under half an hour and that makes me (and Tom) very happy. This recipe calls for a little more love in the breading – toasted nori, sesame seeds and toasted sesame oil give the tilapia a subtle Asian flavor without overwhelming it. I loved it!

It’s really tasty, healthy, quick and easy. That means it meets all of my weeknight-meal requirements. I’ll be making this again very very soon!

May 14, 2008

summer rolls w/ spicy peanut & sesame basil dipping sauces

mel entree, recipe, sides & bites basil, carrots, cilantro, cucumbers, peanuts, rice noodles, rice paper, sesame, shoyu, summer rolls, vegetarian

summer rolls w/ spicy peanut & sesame basil dipping sauces

I love summer rolls for a number of reasons.

1. They’re pretty
2. They’re hand-held
3. You can dip them in sauce
4. They’re healthy
5. They are super tasty

I don’t like summer rolls for a few reasons.

1. They’re a pain to wrap
2. The rice paper is delicate as all hell and a pain to wrap
3. Man, pfizer are they ever a pain to wrap

I’ve always loved summer rolls. I just never got why they were so expensive. Five or Six dollars for some vegetables wrapped in rice paper? Why? I finally found some rice paper wraps at Whole Foods and thought I’d give them a go. How hard could they be?

Turns out, discount they’re not so easy. The five or six bucks is for labor, website not ingredients. You have to dip the rice paper in warm water to soften it up. You can’t do more than one at a time or they’ll stick together (at least in my experience). And you have to be careful wrapping the little suckers or they’ll break and you’ll have to start all over again.

But they are tasty. Very tasty. Like a hand-held salad you dip in dressing. Maybe I just have to get the hang of it. Maybe, like dumplings, they just take practice. I’m sure I will try and try again until I get them right (I still have like 50 rice paper wraps in the pantry). Next time, I’ll also throw some shrimp in there. I think they need it. Everything is better with shrimp.