Asian Veggie Noodle Summer Salad with peanut sauce and chili-lime cashews (almost raw)

I made up this recipe yesterday for my boyfriend and I. We sat outside in the sun and ate it and it was a perfect, light, and refreshing lunch for summertime. It's a great mix of sweet and spicy.









Asian Veggie Noodle Summer Salad:

Serves: 2 as an entree or 4 as an appetizer

Equipment: Cheese Grater or Spiroli pasta maker and Blender

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 tbspns of soy sauce
1 tbspn of natural peanut butter
1 tbspn of maple syrup, agave nectar, or raw cane sugar
1/2 clove garlic
small knob of ginger
pinch of crushed red pepper or thai curry
1 and 1/2 tbspns of water

2 medium carrots
1 small or 1/2 large cucumber
1 small or 1/2 large red bell pepper
1 small tomato
handful of cilantro

handful of raw cashews or peanuts *optional
1 lime* optional
chili powder *optional

1 orange *optional


If you choose to have the nuts in the salad, chop them into smaller pieces, place in a bowl and squeeze the lime juice over them. Spice them with chili powder or your favorite peppery spice and toss. Set aside.

For the peanut sauce: Blend soy sauce, peanut butter, maple syrup, garlic, ginger, crushed red pepper, and water. Blend until smooth and taste, adjusting sweetness if necessary. For a truly raw version of this, substitute the peanut butter for raw almond butter and the soy sauce for namu shoya.

For the salad: Using the largest holes on the cheese grater, or your spiroli, shred carrots and cucumbers into a large bowl. Since the red pepper is too tough to shred, cut it manually into thin long pieces. Pour the peanut sauce over the veggies and toss. Chop the cilantro and tomato into small pieces and mix in salad along with cashews or peanuts. Garnish with orange slices.

By the way, this peanut sauce has an endless uses. You could use it as a dressing for green salads, over vegetable stir fry and grilled tofu, or as a dipping sauce to lettuce wraps.