Hodgson Mill Summer Pastabilities Contest and Giveaway

When Thing One landed a job at a local greenhouse nursery, he began to be excited about fresh produce. After all, if you grow it, you’re more likely to consume it, right?

As a family, we committed to eating better. More fish. Less red meat. More vegetables. Less junk. And we began to explore whole wheat options.

We’ve eaten whole wheat bread for years (my kids actually prefer it) and enjoy Grape Nuts cereal and Shredded Wheat, but we had been holding out on pasta.

Then I had the opportunity to try Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Pasta as part of my participation in their Summer Pastabilities Recipe Contest. That stuff is darn good!

As my contribution to the Summer Pastabilities Recipe Contest, I conjured up a Korean Spring Kimchi Pasta Salad. It’s pretty tasty, if I do say so myself.

I love Asian flavors, but lately have grown tired of the typical Thai and Chinese ingredients. I’ve been experimenting lately with Korean flavors.

Kimchi is typically a Korean vegetable dish made via fermentation. However, some people find that flavor too strong. There’s also an unfermented process, sometimes known as Spring Kimchi.

I also pulled inspiration from the idea that in Korean culture, long noodles are used for celebratory events.

Korean Spring Kimchi Angel Hair Pasta Salad

Dressing:

3 garlic cloves
6 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
3 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
1 teaspoon ground ginger (could also use fresh)
1/4 cup canola oil

Mince garlic, then add all ingredients to a blender or food processor. Process until emulsified.

Spring Kimchi:

1 head Napa Cabbage, chopped fine
1 cup julienned baby carrots
1 cup shredded daikon radish
3 T Chili puree with garlic (find in the Asian section of your supermarket)
3 T rice wine vinegar
3 scallions (save for garnish)

 

 

 

 

 

Chop and mix first three ingredients in a large bowl.

In a small bowl, mix chili puree with garlic and rice wine vinegar. Add chili puree with garlic/rice wine vinegar mixture to chopped vegetables and toss well.

Chop scallions and save for garnish.

 

 

Pasta salad:

Boil 2 gallons of water with 2 tablespoons of salt.

Cook Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Angel Hair pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta when cooked. Do NOT rinse. Place cooked pasta on a cookie sheet to dry for 15 minutes. It will clump a little bit, but when the salad dressing is added, it will loosen.

Combine cooked pasta and dressing in a bowl. Toss to coat.

Combine dressed pasta with cabbage mixture. Toss again to coat.

Sprinkle scallions on top for garnish.

To turn this salad from a delightfully spicy side dish to an entrée, add chicken, shrimp or tofu.

Did I mention that this is a contest? And that I can WIN?

To vote for my recipe, follow Hodgson Mill on Pinterest. Then, click on the Summer Pastabilities Contest Board, scroll down and “like” my recipe. It’s that simple

And since I can’t keep all the fun to myself, the wonderful people at Hodgson Mill have generously provided me with $25 worth of assorted Hodgson Mill pasta to give away to one of my lucky readers!

To enter?

Mandatory Entry: Leave a comment below.

Extra opportunities to win (leave a separate comment below for each):

• Go to the Hodgson Mill Pinterest Summer Pastabilities Recipe Contest Board  and vote (preferably for ME, but I won’t blackmail you into a vote! But if you WANT to vote for me, here’s an easy link to my recipe on their board), then add a comment below letting me know that you voted.
• Subscribe to Rubber Chicken Madness via your Reader or Email.
• Follow the Hodgson Mill Food Blog.

Winner will be randomly chosen
from the comments below on July 6
and will have 24 hours to respond to my email.