NOODLES WITH VEGETABLES AND CASHEW NUTS

Good Morning to you,

I was just wondering, do you ever buy a ticket for the National Lottery?

If so, do you believe you are going to win, to become rich and live a life of luxury until the end of your days?

We play the lottery. Every couple of months or so, we will have a little flutter and buy a ticket.... we don't expect to win, so why do we play?

For the fun of it.

George buys a ticket, and usually it is a lucky dip.  He comes home and shares the numbers with me and this is where the fun begins. We talk about what we would do, if we were lucky enough to win... about how we could change our families lives by sharing the winnings, which charities we would support.... we have the odd disagreement, but on the whole we agree.  

We don't bother watching the National Lottery Show on a Saturday night, as who wants to watch a lot of balls blowing in the air, inside a bubble. No, we wait until Sunday morning, when we have our morning cup of tea.  We will sit on the settee, tea in one hand, lottery ticket in the other, well, that's not strictly true, as I hold the lottery ticket and George holds the remote control, ready to check our numbers. George will ask if I am ready, I say I am, as it is my job to read out each number on our ticket, so that George can check the numbers against the ones which were drawn... and here's the funny thing, if I say the number is 27, George will say we nearly got it..... we had 29..... this creases the girls up, because they say you either have the number or you don't, you certainly don't almost have the number.... but we say, it doesn't matter, because if you say you are close, it makes playing the Lottery fun. They really think we are as daft as brushes (in a nice way) because they do not see the sense in our method of checking the numbers, but that is how George and I play, because our style of checking makes the whole process fun.  To be honest we didn't think it was funny until the girls pointed it out to us.  Does that say more about George and I becoming older, and that as a couple, we are developing our own little idiosyncrasies. Now that is an interesting thought.

I have to tell you, we have never won..... well maybe the odd pound or two, but we certainly have a lot of fun from our little flutter and the added bonus is, that The National Lottery supports a lot of charities, so money raised, does go to good causes.

As far as discussing how we will spend our winnings, well..... we have to be prepared don't we, as we don't want to be at "all sixes and sevens" and not know what to do when that big cheque is handed to us. Again the girls find this so very funny, as they say it is unlikely that we will ever win, as the odds are stacked so highly against us winning, but we don't mind, we still feel it is good to be prepared.... is it our age, actually, I am beginning to think it is.

..... and talking of being prepared, I am prepared today, as all my ingredients are organised and on the counter ready to make,

Noodles with Vegetables and Cashew Nuts.  This is one of my favourite dishes as it has all the vegetables which I love. I love baby corn and I enjoy eating them raw dipped in a little humus.

So, it is on with the apron and the music I have chosen, I feel sure everyone will know, and those of us who are of a certain age, will probably remember the  where and when as well.

Now you have seen the title I bet you are beginning to sing,

"A long, long time ago
I can still remember how that music used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And maybe they'd be happy for a while."

So while we are singing, "So bye, bye, Miss American Pie", I will list the ingredients we are going to be using.

INGREDIENTS

300g noodles

75g sugar snap peas

1 red pepper

100g green beans

125g baby corn

6 broccoli florets

1 red onion

2 tablespoons of sunflower oil

1 tablespoon of olive oil

2 cloves of garlic

1 teaspoon of grated ginger

6 fl oz veg stock

2 tablespoons of dark soy sauce

1 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter

handful of unsalted cashew nuts

HOW TO MAKE

NOODLES WITH VEGETABLES AND CASHEW NUTS

Cook the noodles,

drain and set aside until needed.

Slice the onion.

Place 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil

and

1 tablespoon of olive oil in a wok

and add the sliced onions.

Cook gently until caramelized.

Crush the garlic

and grate the ginger

and  add to the wok.
Cook for a minute.

Remove the caramelized onions, garlic and ginger from the wok

and set aside for a moment.

Add the second tablespoon of sunflower oil to the wok

and quickly saute the broccoli florets for 2 minutes.

Cut the green beans in half

and

add to the wok.

Cut the baby corn into smaller pieces

and add the

baby corn

and

the

Sugar Snap Peas and continue

stir frying for another 2 minutes

Return the onion, garlic and ginger to the wok.

and

add the red pepper

and

stir fry for a further minute.

then

mix together,

1 tablespoon of crunchy peanut butter

2 tablespoons of soy sauce

6 fl oz  of vegetable stock

and

add to the wok. 

add the

cooked noodles

to the wok.

Toss together 

and

cook for 3 to 4 minutes

or until the vegetables have the bite which you enjoy.

Using a small pan, lightly toast the unsalted

cashew nuts.

Keep "an eye" on the cashew nuts as

they can easily burn.

and

add the toasted cashew nuts
to the wok.

Now if you wish, instead of toasting the cashew nuts in a pan, you can also lay them out on a baking tray and cook them in the oven at 180C for 6-7 minutes until they are golden, but again, I would say keep "an eye" on them.  If you prefer, instead of toasted cashew nuts, add toasted sesame seeds, but if you decide to do this, instead of using olive oil, add 1 tablespoon of sesame oil which will add to the sesame flavour.

Just one final thing, don't be put off by what seems like a huge list of ingredients, as six of the ingredients are vegetables which can easily be chopped and sliced.

So with healthy eating, comes healthy exercise and George and I are walking two miles a day to return our fitness level to what it was before our Christmas eating extravaganza.  We have both lost that little extra weight we put on over the festivities and now it is about maintaining our fitness.  So it is time for me to put on my walking boots.

Take care and I will see you later in the week.

This week I will be joining,

Miz Helen's Country Cottage

and

Connie from Family Home and Life

and
Anyonita Nibbles for Get Him Fed Friday