Today’s weather made me want to put together a new ‘spring’ menu; something that instantly reminds me of the days getting longer and the weather (hopefully) warmer.  Today was just such a day of bright blue skies, sunshine and FINALLY an end to all of the incessant snow that we’ve had.  It couldn’t come soon enough, this big thaw, and I am so glad to be able to walk to the end of my garden without slipping and sliding here and there.  Whilst scouring the web for something nice, fresh and easy to cook, I came across a recipe for ‘aromatic noodles with lime peanut sauce‘ by the nutritionist-turned-TV-chef Ellie Krieger.  I actually quite like her shows and her determination to make food enjoyable but also health-conscious.  Always giving calorie counts and vitamin contents, her food is relaxed, easy to make and delicious.

Unfortunately, it looks horrible.  But it was late, there was no natural light and by this time I just really wanted something to eat.  Anything with peanut butter looks a bit like this, I think, but it did taste great though, so don’t judge it on looks alone!

This noodle salad was really easy to make and definitely something for a weeknight meal.  I liked the crunchy green vegetables (sugarsnap peas, mange tout and broccoli) and to ours I added one of my favourite greens: pak choi.  This gave some texture and body, without adding calories!  For some reason, our peanut sauce was thicker than Ellie’s.  I think this had something to do with her peanut butter and my lack of a food blender.  I also think that she added a little more water than I did.  However, despite its thick appearance, the peanut butter’s chunky texture added extra crunch and did melt into the hot noodles.  We omitted the peanuts, too, just because with all of the peanut butter it seemed a tad excessive using both kinds of peanut.  If you’re using smooth peanut butter, or have a blender at your disposal as the recipe recommends, it might be worth adding peanuts.

I finished the evening with strawberries.  In my house, it is usually a cardinal sin to eat fruit out of season, but I was desperate to hurry this spring forward a bit that I opted to buy a reduced punnet of strawberries.  Admittedly, they weren’t as gorgeously sticky and sweet as proper British summer strawberries, but they were heavenly nonetheless.  They were even more heavenly because I ate them with a side of Tiramisu.  Yummy!  I look forward to the proper arrival of spring, when the joys of soft rhubarb, sweet strawberries and lush tomatoes are back on the menu.