Yummy Food

When I was talking with my friend Alli the other day, she suggested a new idea for my blog...favorite recipes! This seems like a no-brainer to me, since I love to try new recipes and share them with friends. This week in Utah we've been cooking most of our meals in our condo and I've been elected the "dinner chef" for our group of 6-8 people. Before the trip I bought a new magazine called Clean Eating (www.cleaneatingmag.com), which focuses on healthy recipes that limit sugar and other processed foods. This idea may be harder to pull off in the winter (when I crave comfort foods), but it's easy in the summer when fresh veggies and fruits are a-plenty! I made this recipe the other night to great reviews.

BBQ Shrimp and Sugar Snap Pea Noodle Salad
Serves 4

1 lb. uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tsp. Chinese five-spice powder (I didn't have this, so I used a seafood rub)
1 tsp. olive oil
8 oz sugr snap peas
1 cup baby carrots, julienned
6 oz soba noodles, about 1.5-inch thick bundle (in the Asian aisle, made from buckwheat flour--or substitute whole wheat spaghetti)
1/2 English cucumber, cut in half, seeded and sliced in 1/4-inch rounds
1/4 cup EACH: shredded cilantro and basil
1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, julienned

Dressing:
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
1 minced garlic clove
3 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. honey (or 1/2 packet of sweetener)
1/8-1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

Preheat grill to medium-high. Toss shrimp with five-spice powder and olive oil. Thread onto skewers. Let marinate while preparing salad. (I didn't have a grill, so I just sauteed them in a pan for 1-2 min. per side.)

Boil sugar snap peas until tender-crisp, about 2 minutes, then drain and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process. Boil soba noodles until just tender, about 4 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water. Place in a large bowl with sugar snap peas, carrots, cucumber, basil, cilantro and julienne ginger.

For the dressing, place the grated ginger in a small sieve set over a bowl. Using the back of a spoon, firmly press ginger to release juice. Discard grated ginger. Stir in garlic, soy sauce, oil, honey, red pepper flakes and lime juice. Pour over the noodle mixture and toss evenly.

Grill (or saute) the shrimp for 2 minutes per side. Cool slightly and toss with the noodle mixture. Serve salad with lime wedges for garnish.

Nutrition per serving (1/4 of total salad mixture):
253 calories, 7 grams fat, 20 g carbs, 3 g fiber, 4 g sugar, 28 g protein