A whole lotta new

This must be the year of taking up new hobbies in the Rogers family. This weekend we've officially embarked on our quest to become a biking family. I mean, we're not going to be crazy 40-mile cuckoos or anything, but a nice jaunt down the Swamp Rabbit Trail on a beautiful Saturday sounds about right. Yesterday our bikes arrived and today we took our first spin....down the street to my sister's house. That was enough for our first outing. The little boys love riding in the trailer, although it can get a little close for comfort.


For dinner tonight, I took my first foray into Asian cooking. Well, I mean sure, I've made stir-frys and whatnot, but I'm talking about mung bean noodles and sesame oil. Those were new ingredients for my repertoire. And to be honest, it isn't often that I cook with red meat....well, aside from ground beef. Tonight we enjoyed Korean Cellophane Noodles with Beef and Vegetables, a recipe I came across in a Cooking Club magazine. And enjoy we truly did. I'll definitely be making it again in the future, with a few changes. The flavor was fantastic, but it had a textural issue. The cellophane noodles made me think of snot. And once again, I had to try 5 different stores (honestly) before I found them (at Whole Foods). I think I'm going to take the stance, from now on, that if it's hard to find, it must not be very good, and either sub it or skip the recipe. Next time I'll use either rice noodles or just a bed of jasmine rice. You can never go wrong with jasmine rice! The recipe calls for shiitake mushrooms, but since they were $4 for a tiny carton, I subbed baby bellas. I don't think I've ever had shiitakes before, so I don't know how significantly I may have altered the intended flavor. Who cares, a mushroom is a mushroom in my book, and it tasted great anyway.

Korean Cellophane Noodles with Beef and Vegetables

10 oz cellophane noodles
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
12 oz thinly sliced beef rib-eye, sirloin or hanger steak, cut into thin strips
3 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1 large carrot, julienned
1 large garlic clove, minced
6 large green cabbage leaves, ribs removed, leaves cut into 1/2 inch strips (4 cups)
12 large shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded, caps thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 green onion, thinly sliced
4 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds

1 Soak noodles in large bowl in enough water to cover 30 minutes; drain.
2 Meanwhile, whisk soy sauce and sugar in small bowl until sugar is dissolved. Whish in sesame oil. Place beef in medium bowl, toss with 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce mixture.
3 Cook noodles in medium saucepan of boiling water 5 minutes or until al dente; drain.
4 Heat 1 tablespoon of the canola oil in a large nonstick skiller or wok over high heat until hot. Stir-fry carrot and garlic 10 seconds. Add cabbage and mushrooms; stir-fry 2 to 3 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove vegetables.
5 Heat 1 tablespoon of the canola oil in same skillet until hot. Stir-fry beef 1 minute or until browned. Remove beef.
6 Heat remaining 1 tablespoon canola oil in same skillet until hot. Stir-fry noodles and remaining soy sauce mixture 2 minutes, tossing to coat. Return vegetables, beef and any accumulated juices to skillet; toss to combine. Cook 1 to 2 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with pepper; garnish with green onion and sesame seeds.

4 (2-cup) servings