A crisp peanut noodle salad to mix it up at this year's Memorial Day table

It's Memorial Day weekend and for many that means it's time to break out the barbecue and have the first summer feast.

I can almost smell the charcoal in the air followed by the welcome fragrance of burgers and hot dogs on the grill. I can hear children at play, celebrating the end of the school year and the first official week of summer. I hear the sound of watermelon being sliced with a big butcher knife and corn being shucked. I hear ice clinking in glasses and bottle caps being popped. I imagine side dishes galore spread out upon a table with a plastic red and white tablecloth. All of the annual favorites are there, like potato salad, baked beans, coleslaw and pasta salad.

This year, my offering to the Memorial Day smorgasbord is a colorful and crisp cold peanut noodle salad.

It holds up better than mayonnaise-based pasta and potato salads. You don't have to worry about it getting soggy like coleslaw. You can pack this up for a weekend camping trip and it will still be bright and delicious, chock full of fresh veggies and full of flavor days later.

And you can definitely mix up the vegetables in this salad, adding thinly sliced bell peppers or edamame or finely chopped raw broccoli, for example. Let summer begin!

Cold peanut noodle salad

Serves 4

For the dressing:

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons lime juice

3 tablespoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon peanut butter

2 teaspoons Sriracha sauce

1 teaspoon grated ginger

1 garlic clove, minced
8 ounces thin spaghetti noodles

1/2 cup shredded purple cabbage

1 carrot, peeled and grated

1/2 cup green onions, sliced

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup salted peanuts, chopped

In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, lime juice, sesame oil, honey, peanut butter, Sriracha sauce, ginger and garlic until smooth. Set aside.

Cook your pasta al dente in boiling salted water according to package directions. Drain the pasta, then run it under cold water until completely cool. Transfer the pasta to a bowl and add the cabbage, carrots, green onions, cilantro and peanuts to the noodles. Pour the dressing over top and toss everything to combine. Store covered in the refrigerator until ready to serve, tossing again before serving, as the dressing may be at the bottom.

Maya Wilson lives in Kenai and blogs about food at alaskafromscratch.com. Have a food question or recipe request? Email maya@alaskafromscratch.com and your inquiry may appear in a future column.