Spicy Almond Soba Noodles and Honey Basil Beer

Today was supposed to be a gym day. However, due to the late fall storm roaring around the edges of the Sound, traffic was horrific and by the time I got home, rain was slanting sideways. I wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed and drink hot cocoa. But considering we hadn't had a homecooked meal in a few days, what with my head being about to explode out my ears, I gave myself a five minute cool down, allowed myself to skip the gym, and started on the planned meal.
On gym days, we try to pick a meal that can be made fairly quickly, since we often don't get back til seven, and of course my diurnal habits mean I need to be on my way to sleeping at nine. My GYM goes to the market when he gets off work; today he picked up pork tenderloin from the butcher and a bunch of broccoli from one of the Pike stalls. We threw those in a big cast iron skillet and threw some soba noodles in a pot of boiling water for about three minutes. The noodles were mixed with a spicy almond sauce before being topped with the pork and broccoli. A few slivered almonds thrown on top finish it off.

Spicy Almond Soba Noodles
(Adapted from 101 Cookbooks, with, of course, the addition of meat)
Sauce:
1/3 cup almond butter
2-3 teaspoons red curry paste
Juice from half a lemon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
6 tbsp very hot water

Mix together the almond butter and red curry paste. Add the lemon juice and salt, then add the water until the mixture has the consistency of peanut sauce, or a nice hearty gravy. You want it to be able to just coat the noodles.

Everything else:
12 oz pork tenderloin
A decent sized bunch of broccoli
8-10 oz soba noodles
Slivered almonds

Rub the pork with salt and pepper before cutting it into 1-inch slices. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat and add about a tablespoon of olive oil.

Get a large pot of water going on the back burner and keep an ear out for it boiling.

Your olive oil should be hot now. Throw in the pork and saute about five minutes. Then add the broccoli and go until it's tender. Just remember, you don't want that pork to be pink! Let it sit in the hot pan.

By now, your water should be boiling. Throw in a good measure of salt and about 8-10 oz soba noodles. They only need boiling for about three minutes. Drain them and shake as much water from them as possible. I'm sure there is a way to keep soba noodles from combining into one large clump in the pan, but I sure haven't found it.

Dump them into a pan or bowl and add about 2/3 of the sauce, to thoroughly coat the noodles. You can either add the broccoli and pork to the noodle mixture, or serve atop. Top each portion with a bit of additional sauce and slivered almonds.


Bison Basil Honey Beer:
The perfect accompaniment to spicy noodles and a rainy fall night. This beer pours a honey red with very little head. It has aromas of honey and basil, obviously, as well as coriander, lemon, and a bit of grass. Very spicy, seems to use a lot of the same elements as pumpkin beer. Tastes of honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, some squash, and basil. It makes an excellent beer for late fall.

Please Don't Fail Me Now: Pan Fried Noodles

Yesterday, I set off on a mission. Buy vegetables, then console my battered self-esteem as well as my strangely blotchy complextion like every woman does--with a trip to Sephora. Unfortunately, about 2 hours, around $100 and very few local vegetables later, I boarded a late bus and found myself stuck in traffic, finally arriving home at about 6:45. When one hasn't eaten since 11am, well, one is ravenous. So all healthy ideas were cast aside in favor of a pre-wrapped burrito constructed by my uncle.

The guilt hung over me today, but still being exhausted, I went with an old standby--red curry with vegetables and tofu. But something went wrong. I don't know if it was the too-high simmer or the lack of fish sauce or the interplay of vegetables, but the leftovers were not even worth saving. Tomorrow, I'm faced with a 3+ mile walk and the desire to bake goods for out of town guests, so I'm going to fall upon this old standby:

Pan Fried Noodles
Adapted from Basic Cooking by Jennifer Newens

1/2 pound rice noodles, cooked to package instructions
1 lb boneless chicken breasts, cut into big-bite-sized pieces
Bunch of broccoli, really about as much as you desire, cut into bite sized pieces
fresh or minced ginger, about 1/4 teaspoon
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1/2 tsp chili flakes
5-6 tbsp peanut or sesame oil
3 tbsp soy sauce
Squeeze of fresh lime

Get your wok very hot (wave your hand over the pan to check if it's hot) and ad 3-4 tablespoons of oil. Throw in the chicken and stir stir stir for 1-2 minutes. Push the chicken to one side of the pan, ad a bit of fresh oil, and fry up the broccoli, ginger, garlic, and chili flakes. Add the last bit of oil to the pan along with the noodles, and make sure you keep stirring--you don't want them to stick. After about a minute, add the soy sauce and then squeeze the lime over the noodles. You'll know it's done when an overwhelmingly tasty smell hits you.

Now that I've got my dinner planned out, it's time to crack open How To Be a Domestic Goddess and find a delicious dessert.