With my hubby’s persuasion, I picked up tennis a few summers ago. We would just hit the ball casually, as a means of a little exercise and sunshine. Last September, when we moved out to California, my hubby thought it would be a great idea to join an official league at a club. I was both excited and nervous by the prospect. Is tennis the sport for me? How skilled would my opponents be? Will it be fun?
We decided to join. I was immediately thrown into mixed doubles where I played with my hubby against other couples, sometimes the husband and wife combo, sometimes not. It was then that I quickly learned how to defend my face at the net against my male opponents. Some of them hit pretty darn hard :0
It’s funny because I always played sports as a young kid. I played soccer, basketball, softball, and ran cross country. My mom still talks about the year I received an award as the only student in my school who participated in five sports (blush). I was thirteen. A few year later, I became a little bit of a disinterested and rebellious teen where I would only participate in sports if it involved mischief. But deep down, I really missed playing sports during those years.
Fast forwarding to today, I think I found that competitive little kid again, the one who loves playing team sports, which is why I prefer doubles. Although I’m still a beginner, I see myself making progress and learning an entirely new sport. Just last Saturday, my tennis partner and I won a tennis tournament for doubles at the 2.5 level. Woohoo!
One of my favorite parts about being on a tennis team, of course, has to do with food. We organize potlucks after every home match and an occasional party-potluck at a team member’s home. My most recent potluck dish was Chili Lime Peanut Noodles. This is a great dish to make for a large group, particularly the night before a sports event – à la pasta party.
I will write it out how I prepared it but you’ll want to scale down if you’re feeding only a few. I didn’t have cilantro on hand so I used chives but I like it better with cilantro. Also, I cooked tofu separately (see this blog post, if interested) and topped the noodles off with firm tofu pieces, but that’s optional. You could also top it off with shrimp, chicken, or another protein source. Bon appétit!
Chili Lime Peanut Noodles
32 oz. rice noodles (2 boxes)
1 red bell pepper, sliced
2 cups Mung sprouts, raw
5 Tbsp. dry roasted peanuts, chopped
sea salt to taste
Peanut Sauce
3 cups peanut butter, softened
1 1/2 cups warm water
3 limes, juiced and zested
3/4 cup brown rice syrup
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
4 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 Tbsp. chili paste
Cook noodles according to package directions. Rice noodles usually get added to salted boiling water and sit for 10 minutes until cooked. Drain and rinse. In a food processor or blender, combine peanut sauce ingredients: peanut butter, warm water, syrup, soy sauce, chili paste, lime juice and zest, garlic, and only 1/4 cup cilantro. Blend until smooth and creamy, adding more a few tablespoons of warm water, if needed. Slowly add peanut sauce to noodles, red bell pepper slices, and sprouts. Coat noodles evenly with sauce and set aside remaining sauce for dipping or retouching. Garnish with remaining cilantro and chopped peanuts. Add sea salt to taste. Enjoy!
Makes 12-15 servings.
