In the Kitchen : Cold Noodles for a Hot Day

Today I'm afraid I have to convey the sad news that my favourite magazine is closing down. SBS Feast magazine was where most of my cooking inspiration comes from. Not only did it have many interesting and authentic recipes from around the world, but also intelligent articles on every topic food- and drink-related. It was also a welcome relief from all of the Northern-hemisphere-oriented magazines and websites that are talking about hot stews and baking while we're sweltering away down here!

Summer has properly arrived here in Melbourne, so yesterday I wanted something easy and cool to make for lunch. I turned to the cold noodle dish special from a couple of issues ago for inspiration.

The Vietnamese Lemongrass and Beef Vermicelli bowl looked appealing. I ended up making quite a few modifications to suit what I had in the cupboard, but that's all part of the fun! Instead of barbeque beef, I used sliced Polish sausage, with cucumber, julienned carrot and canned bean sprouts. Husband had the idea to garnish it with peanuts and some fried noodles we had floating around in the cupboard. The dressing was a combination of the beef marinade and sauce from the recipe, with lime juice, fish sauce, chilli, lemongrass, garlic, ginger and some French dressing to add a bit of tang.

It's clear that I'm no food photographer ...

... but trust me, it was delicious! My intent now is to finish the stalled indexing project that I'd started soon after subscribing to the magazine. Hopefully there will be much more inspiration along the way.