Udon Noodle Salad with Cilantro Vinaigrette

LOVE the way this Udon Noodle Bowl turned out!  It was scrumptious! My kids were mad I didn't give them bigger portions. Next time I'll make more! I would saw this makes enough for three large size portions, so if you have a big family, you may want to double it.  I added baked tofu to my family's meal (I offered chicken to my husband and he opted for the tofu), but I think shredded chicken or even thinly sliced flank steak would be amazing on this Asian inspired salad! Enjoy!
 
Ingredients:

Cilantro Dressing:
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic
2 Tbl Balsamic
1 Tbl honey, or a bit more if you like the sweetness
1/4 cup packed cilantro
juice of one lime
1 inch nub of fresh ginger, peeled
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of crushed chilies, or more if you like it spicy!

Salad:
8 oz Udon noodles, cooked
1 tsp to 1 Tbl sesame oil
8 - 10 white or baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 cup of thinly sliced curly kale
2 cups of thinly sliced Napa cabbage (about half a head)
1/2 cucumber, julienne
1 large carrot, julienne
1 red bell pepper, julienne
4 green onions, chopped
1/3 cup peanuts OR cashews, roughly chopped
5-10 mint leaves, julienne, optional (but yummy!)
1 Tbl hemp seeds, optional

Optional Cooked Protein: 
1 block of extra firm tofu, cubed and baked OR 1 cup of shredded chicken OR thinly sliced flank steak OR grilled shrimp

Directions:

Cook the Udon noodles according to the directions on the package. After draining, rinse them well with cold water, use your hands to "fluff" the noodles as you rinse - this helps them from sticking together. After they are rinsed and all the excess water has been shaken off, drizzle with 1 tsp to 1 Tbl of sesame oil - this is for flavor and to prevent sticking.  Set the noodles aside until you are ready to assemble the salad.

To make the dressing place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Taste and add more honey for sweetness, chilies for spice, salt for flavor, lime for tangy-ness.....always taste and add until it is to your liking. Cooking is not a science - it's all about taste. Set aside. 

Add a bit of olive oil to a pan and heat over medium heat. Add the sliced mushrooms and saute for 6 minutes without touching them - let them caramelize in the pan. Then go ahead and stir them and cook for a bit longer until they are to your desired done-ness.

Thinly slice all the veggies - kale, Napa cabbage (definitely use Napa cabbage in this recipe - amazing!!), cucumbers, carrot, and red bell pepper. If you want to assemble the salad in a pretty way like the picture above, just layer the ingredients. Put the noodles down first, then the kale and cabbage. Add the other sliced veggies and mushrooms in a pretty pattern - alternating colors. Place chopped nuts in the middle, along with mint and your protein, if using. Sprinkle green onions on top. Sprinkle hemp seed if using (sesame seeds would be nice, too).  Drizzle the salad with dressing. Enjoy!

Chai Spice Banana Bread

Here I go again - ANOTHER banana bread recipe. I can't stop! I make a batch every week so the kids have a quick breakfast in the morning. I get bored making the same recipes over and over again - so I thought I would try something new - and with a little more spice! This one is inspired by chai tea. It has cardamon, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in it. I usually add yogurt in my bread to keep it moist, but this time I thought I would try canned coconut milk. The whole thing came together very nicely!! I had to share!

This recipe gets its sweetness from the very ripe bananas and organic coconut sugar. The chocolate chips are optional if you want to really cut back on the sugar (my kids love the chocolate chips, but if I were making this for myself I would use chopped walnuts instead).

4 very ripe medium bananas (about 2 cups of mashed bananas)
3/4 cup organic coconut sugar (also called coconut crystals)
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
2 eggs
1/2 cup of full-fat canned coconut milk, I use Organic Native Forest brand
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp ground cardamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup ground flaxseed*
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips or chopped walnuts, optional

Topping:
1 tsp cinnamon, optional
2 tsp coconut sugar, optional

Preheat Oven to 350F

In a large bowl, mash the bananas using a potato masher. Stir in the coconut sugar and melted coconut oil.  Add the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the coconut milk (when you open the can there will be separation - since you are only using 1/2 cup in this recipe and there are approx 2 cups in the can, you'll need to make sure you get a little of the sold cream and the watery liquid- I did about half and half). Add in the vanilla.

In a separate bowl combine all the spices, whole wheat pastry flour, flaxseed, soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet. Combine. Fold in the chocolate chips or walnuts, if using.

I use a glass 8X8 square dish to bake. I grease it with a thin layer of coconut oil to prevent sticking. Please take note, if you are using a metal 8X8 dish you will need to bake your bread for a longer length of time.

Transfer the batter to a greased glass baking dish, use the back of your spoon to spread the batter evenly. Stir the optional 1 tsp cinnamon and optional 2 tsp coconut sugar together. Evenly sprinkle this mixture on top of the bread.

Bake for 28-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and let sit for about 30 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!!

*If you do not have ground flaxseed, sub in another 1/4 cup of whole wheat pastry flour yielding 2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour in total. (I absolutely love adding ground flaxseed to my baked goods, though. Flaxseeds are wonderful plant source of Omega-3s, as well as a number of other health benefits!)