Confession: I like Avatar

I enjoyed the movie Avatar the first time I saw it in 3D and I still enjoy it.  I know it doesn't have the best writing, story, etc, and is just a computer animated Dancing with Wolves+Fern Gulley.  But I like it.  Got up this am and turned it on and cut out recipes...then went to the store and bought the ingredients to the Barefoot Contessa's Crunchy Noodle Salad...it is marinating and flavoring through in the fridge right now.  Hot dang, I even toasted my own sesame seeds.  Here is the recipe....I think it will be amazing.

Ina Garten Crunchy Noodle Salad

Ingredients

• Kosher salt
• 1/2 pound thin spaghetti
• 1 pound sugar snap peas
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons dark sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• 3 tablespoons toasted white sesame seeds, divided
• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
• 2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded, and thinly sliced
• 4 scallions (with and green parts), sliced diagonally
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook according to package directions. Drain and set aside.  Meanwhile, bring another large pot of salted water to a boil, add the sugar snap peas, return to a boil, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until crisp tender. Lift the sugar snap peas from the water with a slotted spoon and immerse them in a bowl of ice water. Drain. For the dressing, whisk together the vegetable oil, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, garlic, ginger, 2 tablespoons sesame seeds and peanut butter in a medium bowl. Combine the spaghetti, sugar snap peas, peppers and scallions in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the spaghetti mixture. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds and the parsley and toss together.

Now I have some homemade (duh) chocolate chip cookies baking, and then I am off the sleep before work tonight.  I watched An Education per my mom's recommendation...didn't really like anything about it except the clothing and the hair.  I think it is a good movie for a mother to recommend to a daughter because of the lessons learned in it (go to college! get a degree! don't settle for a man!) but it was a little dark.  The clothes really were beautiful though.  What happened to dressing up, anyways?  Watching Breakfast at Tiffany's and An Education and other older movies or movies that take place in the past, everyone looked so nice.  All the kids were clean and dressed up and the women looked nice at Sing Sing when they went to visit, playing poker the guys look like a million bucks, when people travel they are dressed to the nines...even at sporting events people look nice!  What happened?  Or as we like to say here in the South, "wha' ha happened?"  I don't know.  Maybe if we had Edith Head to dress us for every-day life, we would look a little better.