Saturday June 5, 2010

I was getting tired of my old template and the templates that blogger provides didn't inspire me so I decided to google it and found several sites that provide templates. This one feels kind of cheery!

This morning I made an oriental spaghetti salad. I got the recipe from one of our free weekly newspapers we get. Since my sister is coming for lunch tomorrow I decided to try to make something different. I was going to make a gluten free white cake from scratch but my baking powder had expired (in 2003). Shows you how much I bake! Instead since I had to go out for baking powder anyway, I bought a GF white cake mix instead.

We also picked up a new mailbox as our old black one was peeling and looked generally unkempt. So now we have a brand, shiny new white one. When we paint the interior doors (red), the mailbox might also get a coat or two of red.

While we were out I picked some wildflowers to dress the place up a bit so I have daisies and lupin. I also saw some Queen Anne's lace just at the top of our street. I might have to go and get some of that later.

I cleaned the whole place but no doubt will have to vacuum that burgundy living room carpet again in the morning. Tonight I'll get the laundry done and out of the way. The place is looking pretty good (upstairs anyway).

Here's the recipe for the Oriental Spaghetti Salad if anyone is interested in trying it.

Spaghetti with the lengths broken in about four pieces (I used a whole package of GF corn spaghetti)

2 carrots, diced

½ cup sweet red or green pepper, diced

½ onion, chopped

1 can tiny corn cobs, drained and cut into bite sized pieces

½ cup peas, fresh or frozen

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cooked and cut into bite-size pieces

¼ cup soy sauce

1 tbsp vegetable oil

½ cup mayo

½ tsp prepared mustard

Before you cook the spaghetti, break the strands into three or four pieces. Cook in boiling water just until the spaghetti has lost the starchy taste. Before you drain the spaghetti, read on.

If you are using frozen peas, measure them into the bottom of your colander. Drain the spaghetti by pouring it on top of the peas. The hot water will thaw them and they’ll be ready to use.

Run cold water over spaghetti and peas and drain well.

In a large bowl, combine the spaghetti, peas, chicken, carrots, onion, peppers and corn.

To make the salad dressing, mix the soy sauce, oil, mayo and mustard together. Use a whisk, or stir with a fork until the mixture is smooth.

Pour half the dressing over the salad, and toss to coat the spaghetti and vegetables. Add more dressing if needed. Refrigerate overnight and serve at room temperature.

For some reason Gordon can't eat store bought mayo so I made my own for this recipe. They do sell gluten free mayo so I might try that if the homemade doesn't go over well. My mother always made her own mayo when we were on the farm but hers turned out creamier than mine did. I'll have to research some more recipes.