Dinner for One: Noodles with Peanut Sauce

I will be sans husband this week as he is Minnesotta to get the land ready for the Blaha vineyard! Since I'll be cooking for myself, I'm dedicating this week to meals for one. It kind of brings me back to my college days...I whipped this up last night in about 20 minutes. I had some leftovers which I'll have for lunch today. This is the type of meal that tastes better the next day.

INGREDIENTS

• A handful of snow peas, sliced in half
• Half of a carrot, julienned
• Half of a celery rib, finely sliced
• 1/4 lb. fetuccini noodles
• 1 small garlic clove, crushed through a garlic press
• 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoons sesame oil
• 2 Tablespoons peanut butter
• 1 Tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
• Fresh ground pepper
• A pinch of red pepper flakes

1. In a large pot, bring 3 quarts of water to a boil. Make sure you add a good pinch of salt to the water. Add the snow peas and carrots and boil for 2 minutes. Remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon and run them under cold water.
2. Add the noodles to the pot and boil until al dente, according to the package directions.
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the garlic, ginger, sesame oil, peanut butter, soy sauce, and rice vinegar and whisk until smooth. If it's too thick, you can thin it out with a little water.
4. Drain the cooked noodles and place them in the large bowl with the peanut sauce. Add the par boiled vegetables and the celery, pepper and red pepper flakes and toss to blend. This is best served cold or at room temperature. It's even better the next day as leftovers!

PS: My pictures will be low quality as I have to take them with my mobile phone. My husband took the camera with him!