you had me at ginger-garlic broth

it's been a tasty first week of 2012.  here's a rundown of the highlights:

my variation on PGEW's udon noodles with edamame, peppers, and mushrooms in ginger-garlic broth

poor girl eats well is a blog with good recipes and great tips for folks shopping on an extremely tight budget.  this recipe caught my eye because of the delicious flavors and it seemed like a great, easy antidote to the excess drinking of new year's weekend.  my additions or modifications are noted with a *

2 c vegetable stock or broth
4 c water
*1 package of soba noodles, cooked and rinsed with cold water
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 T fresh ginger, grated
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1 T veg oil
1-2 T low-sodium soy sauce
1 c frozen shelled edamame, cooked
*few handfuls chopped carrots

*8-10 button mushrooms, sliced
*1 small head of cabbage, rough chopped
1 c cubed extra firm tofu

*plenty of sriracha
 

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the garlic & ginger, and cook for about 1-2 minutes, until fragrant and the garlic just begins to brown.  Next, add the vegetable stock and water, and bring to a boil.  Toss in the noodles and cook until the begin to soften but still have some of their crunch, about 5 minutes.  Add the carrots, cabbage, and mushrooms and cook for 6-8 minutes.  Add tofu and edamame.  Allow the soup to simmer for another 2-3 minutes, then add the soy sauce and stir until combined.  Ladle into bowls and add a small handful of soba noodles.  Serve with a bottle of sriracha and add as desired.  Scallions would have made a great topping for this, too!

other culinary highlights:

smitten kitchen's chocolate crack(ers) for NYE and they (unfortunately for my self control) stayed around all week for me to snack on.  sweet, salty, crunchy... it doesn't get much better, in my book!  i used saltines, dark brown sugar (it's what i had), and rough-chopped, toasted almonds.  so pretty and these couldn't be any easier to make.

annie's homemade chocolate syrup, in attempt to be more DIY.  it turned out well, but SUPER thick and difficult to squeeze out of my fun squeeze bottles i picked up at the seattle restaurant store.  chocolate almond milk = delicious.

PIZZA EGGS!  inspired by weeds and by the leftover pizza from turnpike pizza (meh is what i'd say about the pizza.  but i had a groupon.  this city just doesn't cut it when it comes to good pizza, unfortunately.  this place is an exception).  simply remove crust, reheat in the oven, chop into bite-sized pizza, and mix into scrambled eggs.  genius.  ashley's method included the toppings only, which is a nice low-carb or paleo alternative, if that's how you roll.

other notable events from the week:

-i decided to get an iphone.  it will arrive next week and i expect to use it to add pictures of some food creations, but i'm not going to be someone who takes a picture of EVERY THING I EAT.

-yoga at my gym was pretty successful.  it was a vinyasa flow class, and one of the more intense ones i've been to, but it was prefaced by the teacher disclaiming, "my classes aren't usually this crazy, but it IS the first week of the year."  i'll be back this wednesday!

-i saw david robertson conduct SSO.  what a guy!  he also came into KING FM earlier this week to record our SSO spotlight show.  all around high praises from KING FM staff that worked with him, and i certainly enjoyed the concert.  weber's overture to der freischütz opened the program, which has a soft spot in my heart from CYS days.  robertson's wife, orli shaham, joined him and the symphony for stravinsky's capriccio and mozart's piano concerto no.2, and they closed with john adams' dr. atomic symphony, which was co-commissioned by robertson in 2007.  the number of people that left before the adams (last on the program) was really disheartening, but i was encouraged by the noticeably high percentage of younger folks in the hall.

this week is going to be a busy one of juggling rehearsals, preparations for horsfall, work, teaching, gym visits, and quality time in the kitchen.

happy eats, everyone!

maggie