I recently returned from an amazing trip out west. Tom and I did a 6 day backpack around the 3 Sisters in Oregon, which was breathtakingly beautiful. We hiked through fields of purple, red, and yellow subalpine wildflowers with glaciated peaks as our constant companions. We hiked past lakes, both blue and green, raging streams, babbling brooks, and fields of ancient lava flows. One sunny day, bright blue sky, we were hiking through one of those fields of flowers near the edge of a forest when a doe bounded across our path and then stopped to watch us about 50 feet away. We stopped too, and then a hummingbird came and almost landed on my head. Tom says, “It’s like a frickin’ Disney movie all of a sudden”, and I felt like Snow White (though much, much, dirtier, and definitely smellier 😉 ). Our laughter scared the wildlife away, but it became a fitting theme to the trip. It really was magical. After we came back to civilization, I attended a conference in Portland and got to spend lots of fun quality time with my brother. Then it was onto Missoula for a quick visit with dear old friends.
When I came home it looked like my garden had exploded, so it was time to do some maintenance…and harvesting! I got to pick a ton of sugar snap peas and I had to harvest a row of carrots that were shading out my cucumbers. What to do with lots of carrots and peas? Make Soba Noodle Salad of course! This is a recipe I’ve been making for years and is great as a meal on its own or a side for grilled stuff. It’s also pretty flexible and you can swap out some veggies for others, but I definitely recommend making it at least once with what is in the ingredient list below. It’s super-duper delish! Enjoy!
- 3 Tbs. teriyaki sauce
- 2 Tbs. rice wine vinegar
- 1 Tbs. toasted sesame oil
- 1 Tbs. fresh lime juice
- 2 tsp. soy sauce
- 1 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp. red chile pepper flakes, or to taste
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt, or to taste
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 9 oz cooked soba noodles, cooked in boiling salted water until al dente, drained & rinsed
- 2 cups cabbage, shredded (I like using purple, but any cabbage will do...napa, bok choy, etc.)
- 1 1/2 cups carrot, julienned
- 1 1/2 cups scallions, sliced
- 1 1/2 cups snap peas, string and ends removed
- 1 1/2 cups cucumber, seeds removed, and sliced
- 1. In the bowl you'll make the salad in, add all dressing ingredients and whisk.
- 2. Add remaining ingredients and toss.
