Cold noodles make me think of pasta salad. And just the idea of pasta salad makes me think, “Ick.”
Why? I’m not sure, but I think I’ve been wandering around looking for a good cold noodle salad in all the wrong places. I’ve wandered the salad bars, but came up with nothing. Just mushy, limp, lame spirals of noodle and diced vegetables of undetermined origin.
“Is that a tomato or a sweet pepper?” I’ve wondered. “I don’t know. It’s doused in so much dressing, it’s hard to tell.” Ugh, it’s like dating, isn’t it? “Is that guy in the baseball cap truly a decent human being? Hard to say just by looking.”
I have bad news for the single ladies and gentlemen out there. Finding the man or woman you’re meant to be with is never the end of The Search. Life is a hunt for the perfect relationships. Whether they’re about finding the right life partner, business partner, “mom friend” or – in the case of this post – cold noodle salad.
One place I’ve found remarkable friendships is via Twitter. Especially since I had kids, Twitter has been a lifeline to My Former Life and The Real World. (More on that some other time.)
I met Jenna on the social media platform about five or six years(!) ago. We share an intense love of food. Jenna often (is “often” an understatement?) posts photos of the delectable dishes she devours from D.C. to Paris to San Francisco and many locations in between. More than once I’ve found inspiration in my own kitchen from the meals she shares on Twitter and Instagram.
Most recently, she posted a picture of a simple salad she got from Galley, and it changed the way I feel about cold noodle dishes forever. For. EVER. I modified the original dish, and now I share it with you.
[gmc_recipe 3184]
There are so many ways you can modify this cold noodle dish. Switch out the soba for other kinds of wheat noodles. Add cooked asparagus or broccoli. Use walnuts or peanuts instead of almonds. Add sesame seeds.
It’s full of omega-3 fatty acids and other healthy fats, protein, carbohydrates, and more nutrients that make it a uniquely filling meal.
Are you #TeamColdNoodle? Did this dish change your mind about pasta salads or just validate what you’ve known all along?