I don’t know about you but I’m always on the lookout for a recipe with ingredients I always have on hand that my family will eat. Those two things don’t always go hand in hand. You’d think they would, but they don’t as evidenced by any time my mom decides to cook lately. Let’s just say liking a food doesn’t mean it goes with everything.
I love pasta! I’ll almost always choose a pasta dish over anything else. It probably stems from my love of mac-n-cheese as a child. Not the mac-n-cheese you make from scratch mind you, but the kind that comes in a box with neon orange cheese powder. I know its artificial and its bad for me, but I love it. It’s pretty much the only junk food from childhood that I still eat. These days I prefer things made from scratch, but not mac-n-cheese. Maybe its the mustard you always find in baked mac-n-cheese, I detest mustard! ( This goes along with me not liking mayo, ketchup or a lot of other condiments.)
Wait till you hear my mac-n-cheese story! Have I ever told you that for about 4 years I was an only grandchild on both sides of the family? Well I was and I was kinda spoiled (she means outrageously spoiled). Once on a weekend my mom wouldn’t make me mac-n-cheese for lunch and I really, really wanted it as only a toddler can. So the solution? I called grandma and asked her to make it for me. Of course she said yes and off we went to grandma’s house. Only problem was when we got there, she’d made me mac-n-cheese from scratch! Which wasn’t what I’d wanted (I’ve never heard if this involved tears or screams), but she promptly made me the mac-n-cheese out of a box. Grandma ended up feeding the icky homemade stuff to her housekeeper.
Anyway, these Whole Wheat Sesame Noodles from the Bobby Deen’s Everyday Eats cookbook fits the pasta and pantry bill. You’ll note that there are no green onions in mine, cause well they aren’t typically in my fridge. I swapped in some diced red onion.
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound whole grain spaghetti
- 2 carrots, grated
- 3 scallions, sliced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 1/4-inch piece ginger, grated
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Cook pasta till al dente, drain and rinse with cold water. Place in a large bowl and add grated carrots and scallions.
- In a small bowl,combine garlic,soy sauce, vinegar, both oils, ginger and red pepper flakes. Pour over noodles and toss to combine. Serve sprinkled with sesame seeds.
- *You can also make this ahead of time and chill until ready to serve.
