picnic lunch Archives - 2 Sisters 2 Cities

I’m not much of a sandwich person…I hardly ever make them or eat them. For lunches, I tend to eat leftover dinners, salads, or even just cheese and crackers. After I had Baby T, I found myself making one recipe in particular for lunch- cold sesame noodles! I think I would be ok with having this dish for lunch for the rest of my life. It also makes a great picnic/travel snack since it’s a cold dish and doesn’t have anything that would spoil if left out for awhile. I’ve adapted this recipe from Lucinda Scala Quinn’s cookbook Mad Hungry: Feeding Men & Boys (a great cookbook!)

Cold Sesame Noodles

Ingredients:
-12 oz Chinese egg noodles (you can also substitute spaghetti or linguine)
-1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
-6 tablespoons tahini
-3/4 cup water
-1 tablespoon rice vinegar
-3 tablespoons soy sauce
-1 and 1/2 teaspoons sugar
-2 garlic gloves, pressed
-2 scallions, thinly sliced
-1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and chopped
-Chinese chili oil
-1/4 cup roasted, unsalted peanuts, chopped

Directions:
Cook the egg noodles or pasta according to the package directions. Drain and toss them with the sesame oil to coat. Cover and let it cool in the fridge.

In a large bowl, whisk together the tahini with the water. Then, whisk in the vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar. Stir in the garlic, 3/4 of the scallion, and the ginger.

Once the noodles are cool, add in the sauce and stir together. Garnish with the remaining scallion and chopped peanuts. Drizzle it with a drop or two of the chili oil (don’t overdo it with the chili oil- this stuff is spicy!)

-m

p.s. Forgot to mention- I personally think this tastes even better the next day!

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While we were skiing a couple weekends ago, husband M’s aunt N made us a great chicken salad for lunch. She mailed me the recipe and I combined it with another recipe I found on epicurious to make my own version this past weekend. I also used the leftover curry powder mix I had mixed together for a chicken roti dish I made a little while back. It turned out a bit spicier than your average chicken salad, but I love spice!

Curried Chicken Salad:

Ingredients-

-4 split chicken breasts with bone and skin still intact
-olive oil
-salt and pepper
-1/2 cup mayonnaise (I use light/low-fat)
-1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt (add more if you need to tone down the spices)
-5 tsp curry powder (see the chicken roti link above if you need a recipe for a good curry powder mix)
-1 tablespoon lime juice (approx 1 lime)
-1 tsp honey
-1/2 tsp ground ginger
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/4 tsp pepper
-1 cup green grapes, halved
-1-2 celery stalks, diced
-French baguette

Directions-

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Rub the chicken breasts with olive oil and place them on a baking sheet. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast the chicken for 40-45 minutes, until just cooked. Let cool slightly. Separate the meat from the bones and skin and cut it into the 3/4-inch chunks. Mix together the chicken, mayo, Greek yogurt, curry powder (add half now, and more to taste once everything is combined), lime juice, honey, ground ginger, salt, pepper, grapes, and celery. Serve on sliced French baguette (also very good by itself without bread).

-m