Add a side of fully ripened Colorado peaches (the only kind worth buying in my opinion) and this is the perfect end-of-summer meal.
Crunchy Asian Noodle Salad (Ina Garten)
½ lb thin spaghetti
1 lb sugar snap peas
1 C vegetable oil
½ C rice vinegar
½ C soy sauce
3 Tb dark sesame oil
1 Tb honey
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp grated ginger
2 Tb white sesame seeds, toasted
½ C smooth peanut butter
1 tsp salt (I would omit next time)
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 red bell peppers thinly sliced
4 scallions (w/green parts, sliced diagonally)
1 Tb white sesame seeds toasted
3 Tb chopped fresh parsley
Cook spaghetti, drain, set aside. Boil water with salt add peas, cook 3 minutes tender crisp. Remove with slotted spoon and immerse in bowl of ice water, drain (I think you can skip this part, the peas are a little too cooked for my taste).
Dressing – whisk oil, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, garlic, ginger, 2 Tb sesame seeds, peanut butter, salt to taste and pepper.
Combine pasta, peas, peppers and scallions. Pour dressing over. Add scallions and parsley, mix again. Sprinkle with 1 Tb sesame seeds.
$$ This is fairly inexpensive to make. Expect to pay $6.75 if you have enough soy sauce and the sesame oil on hand and don't add chicken. But if you need to buy the soy sauce and sesame oil, as I did, then add $8 to the cost. I'm not counting things like the pasta or PB, since you probably already have that in your pantry.
