Ramen Noodle Salad

Quick work day lunch. Lazy dinner.  Full of veggies, bright with flavor, and satisfying. Adaptable. Easy camping meal (and yes, there is still camping left to do this year!). This dish is all of those things, which is likely why it’s become a repeat hit for us this summer. 

I stocked up on ramen noodles from Costco early last spring, and since they’ve become a fall back when I don’t want to go to the grocery store, or when I don’t want to spend a lot of time cooking. When weather turned hot, ramen went from soup to salad with surprising ease. I had extra appreciation for this meal just a few weeks ago, when I packed up a container of veggies and two packets of ramen noodles as a camping dinner. It was one of the fastest, mess- and stress-free camping dinners I’ve had! .

This is more of a concept than a recipe. What I mean is you can swap ingredients in or out based on what you have. Just keep the concept in mind, which has a few core ingredient categories: ramen noodles, veggies and herbs, dressing, and crunchy toppings. From there, make it your own. Protein, like soy beans, tofu, or chicken/shrimp are optional bonuses.

Ramen Noodle Salad

Published September 22, 2020 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 2   |    Active Time: 15 minutes

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Ingredients:

2 packets ramen noodles (remove sauce or flavoring packets; they will not be used)

Water, for cooking noodles

2-3 cups fresh vegetables, such as: lettuce, spring greens, cubed avocado, julienned carrots, sliced cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, diced bell pepper, snow pea, sugar snap peas, sliced radishes

1/4 cup fresh herbs, such as: Thai basil, Genovese basil, mint, cilantro, sliced green onions

2 tablespoons crunchy toppings, such as: toasted sesame seeds, slivered almonds, toasted cashews

Optional: 4 ounces protein, such as: steamed soy beans (edamame), tofu, roasted chicken, or shrimp

Optional, for added spice when serving: chili flakes or minced fresh Thai chilis to taste

For the dressing:

1/4 cup white rice vinegar

2 tablespoons cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon sambal olek (chile-garlic sauce) or Sriracha

1 teaspoon maple syrup

Directions:

1. Cook noodles according to directions on package, but do not use any flavor packets or sauce included with them. Once cooked through, drain noodles through a strainer and rinse with cold water to cool.
2. Divide cold noodles amongst serving bowls. Arrange chopped vegetables over top, along with herbs, and optional protein.
3. In a jar, combine ingredients for dressing. Place lid on jar and shake to combine. Drizzle dressing over noodles and veggies.
4. Top with toasted sesame seeds and/or nuts. Add chili flakes or minced Thai chilies to taste for add spice, and serve.

Harissa Roasted Cauliflower with Dates & Pine Nuts

This recipe is from the Foraged Dish archives. It’s a favorite this time of year, and the photos were old (and embarrassing! 😛). I made it for dinner recently and took the opportunity to reshoot, and write simpler directions. Recipe is the same!

Cauliflower: under-the-radar fall veggie (squash gets all the glory this time of year), but versatile, well-loved, and absolutely delicious. In this dish, the cauliflower gets tossed in harissa for a touch of heat, and then mixes with rich dates and pine nuts. Lemon zest and parsley brings brightness. A great side dish for a fall dinner party.

Harissa Roasted Cauliflower with Dates & Pine Nuts

Published August 23, 2016 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 4   |    Active Time: 30 active minutes

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Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower

2 tablespoons Harissa paste

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt & Pepper

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/4 cup dates, pitted

Small handful parsley, flat leaf

Zest 1/2 lemon

1 tablespoon rosemary

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk Harissa paste with olive oil. Cut cauliflower into bite-sized pieces. Place florets in bowl, and toss in Harissa mixture. Spread out on sheet pan, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes, until crisp on edges and tender. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile, toast pine nuts in a small skillet over low heat until golden. Watch them closely to avoid burning.
3. Roughly chop dates, and mince parsley and rosemary.
4. When cauliflower is ready, transfer it to a serving bowl. Add additional salt or pepper to taste. Zest half a lemon over the cauliflower.
5. Sprinkle dates, pine nuts, parsley, and rosemary over cauliflower and serve.

Raspberry Popsicles with Dark Chocolate Drizzle

Poison ivy and raspberry bushes—when I was a kid, these were the two plants my dad always pointed out to me on camping trips. This summer, as we hiked through Big Elk Meadows (which is not a meadow and there were no elk), the wild raspberries were copious. The dry creek was spotted with small bushes, each of them ripe with red gems. Those wild berries were far better than the ones growing in my own backyard, and not just because we were eating them outside. They were juicier and sweeter. We ate the ripest ones and left the others for the birds.

These popsicles are an end of summer hoorah! A sweet-tart cool down for mid-afternoon.

Raspberry Popsicles with Dark Chocolate Drizzle

Published September 10, 2019 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 6   |    Active Time: 20 active minutes

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Ingredients:

12 ounces fresh raspberries

1/4 teaspoon lemon or lime juice

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips

Optional: 1-2 tablespoons raw sugar or coconut sugar

Equipment: Popsicle molds and popsicle sticks

Directions:

1. Place raspberries in a blender and purée.
2. Place a fine-mesh sieve over a sauce pan, and pour raspberry puree through sieve in order to remove seeds. All of the juice should go through the sieve (into the pot), and you should be left with just seeds in the sieve. Discard of seeds.
3. Place raspberry purée on stove over low heat and stir in lemon juice. Bring to a slow simmer, and add sugar to taste. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Allow mixture to cool, about 10 minutes.
4. Pour raspberry mixture into popsicle molds with popsicle sticks and freeze for 8 hours, until frozen solid.
5. When popsicles are frozen, prep the chocolate: melt chocolate in microwave (at 30 second increments, stirring in between each until smooth), or in a double boiler.
6. Remove popsicles from molds, and drizzle with chocolate. Allow chocolate to set. Serve immediately, or store in air-tight container until ready to eat.