Crunchy Noodle Salad

Love the peanut sauce for the noodles ... you could serve it with chicken ... yummy! Had to stop myself from eating the sauce on its own.

1 lb. thin spaghetti

1 lb sugar snap peas

2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded, and thinly sliced

4 scallions (white & green parts), sliced diagonally

3 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley leaves
Dressing:

1 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1/3 cup soy sauce

3 Tbsp. dark sesame oil

2 Tbsp. honey

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp. grated fresh ginger

2 Tbsp. toasted white sesame seeds, divided (optional)

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

1. Bring a a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

2. Bring another large pot of salted water to a boil, add the sugar snap peas, return to a boil and cook for 3 - 5 minutes, until crisp tender. Lift the snap peas from the water with a slotted spoon and immerse them in a bowl of ice water. Drain.

3. For the dressing, whisk together the vegetable oil, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, garlic, ginger, 1 bbsp. sesame seeds (optional) and peanut butter in a medium bowl. Set aside.

4. Combine the spaghetti, sugar snap peas, peppers and scallion in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the spaghetti mixture. Add the remaining sesame seeds and parsley and toss together.

Note: I used two large raw carrots, julienned, instead of the sugar snap peas. I also added 1/2 cup of roasted chopped peanuts just before serving. Serve at room temperature. If you must refrigerate it, just allow it to come to room temperature before serving. This is also excellent topped with sliced grilled chicken pieces.

Peanut Butter Cookies

These are gluten free peanut butter cookies and they have officially become one of my favorite peanut butter cookies. They are soft with a nice sweet crunch from the coating of sugar. If one has to give up flour in a cookie, this is a good way to do it.

1 cup natural peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg, room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a medium bowl, mix peanut butter and sugar. Break egg into a small dish and beat lightly. Add to peanut butter mixture and mix well. Add vanilla extract and mix until thoroughly combined.

3. Roll a teaspoonful of mixture into a ball, roll in granulated sugar and place on making stone. The cookies will spread so allow room for that. Using a fork, form criss-cross designs on cookies.

4. Bake for 12 minutes.

5. Allow the cookies to cool on the stone for at least 8 minutes. Remove to wire rack and allow to cool completely before storing in airtight tin.

Makes 24 cookies.