Lucky Girl

I am a very lucky girl to have a fantastic boyfriend, who despite my mood swings and large clumps of hair in the shower drain, still wants to be with me and often goes above and beyond to prove that to me. Recently, this has involved a midnight trip to the ER and some extra cooking and dish washing duties. Since this is a food blog and the wound stings as it is, I won't go into all the gory details. Let's just say that I tripped while jogging, and now there is significantly less skin on my left palm than there used to be.

In addition to my rather gruesome injury, my application for the University of Washington was due over the weekend, so while I was madly typing away on the last bit of it, Keizo made us dinner. I provided the recipe for "Peanut Noodle Salad," but he did everything else. I love this recipe because it's easy to prepare and makes enough dressing for at least two meals. The dressing is little more than peanut butter, sesame oil and chili powder thinned with some hot water then poured over soba noodles, tofu and steamed vegetables. It's good served either warm or cold, and I think it makes the perfect vegetarian meal.

Another favorite vegetable recipe of late is "Vinegared Carrot and Daikon Salad," which I found on the website of the Boston Globe of all places. While it requires a bit of advance planning, the short ingredient list and tasty results are well worth it. After cutting the carrots and daikon (Japanese radish) into thin strips, toss the vegetables with salt and let sit. Make the vinegar and sugar dressing; rinse off the salt and toss together. Serve with white sesame seeds. Sweet and crunchy!

Thanks Keizo for taking care of me, not only while my left hand is a bit out of commission, but all of the times before that, and those yet to come too.