Super Quick Bowl of Vegis and Noodles

We have a few staple meals in our house and this is one of them.  It's quick, easy and delicious.  You can mix it up depending on what you have on hand or what is sounding good at the moment. 

1 box Rice Thread Noodles

 4-6 cups of the following vegis, cut to bite sizes

• cabbage
• broccoli
• carrots
• boc choy
• snow or snap peas

1-2 cups dried shitake mushrooms, soaked in hot water till rehydrated, then sliced (reserve water) or fresh sliced shitake mushrooms sauteed in a little olive oil.

1 block cubed firm tofu (optional)

Shoyu Soy Sauce
Brown Rice Vinegar
Toasted Sesame Oil
Water or reserved shitake broth

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Fill a submergible strainer or basket with the vegis and tofu, if using.  Place in the boiling water till tender but still firm.  Remove, and let drain.  Add the rice thread noodles to the boiling water, remove the pot from the heat and let set 6-8 minutes or until soft.  Drain.

In individual noodle bowls add:

1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon brown rice vinegar
1/2 to 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1-2 tablespoons water or reserved shitake broth

Add to this 1 cup noodles and 1-2 cups chopped vegis and some of the mushrooms. Mix well and add more of any of the sauce ingredients to taste if desired. 

The leftovers are great for lunch the next day.

Vegetables in Coconut Milk

This dish was inspired by a recipe from The Tropical Vegan Kitchen, a cookbook that has so many recipes in it that make me hungry, I will eventually have to get my own copy and give up the one from the library.
I was looking for a quick and simple recipe that used several ingredients I had in the house, including coconut milk and vegetables. The Thai-Style Spicy Mixed Vegetables in Coconut Milk over Rice on page 104 came close enough to give me a starting point for what turned out to be a very tasty dinner.

Here's how I made it:

1 1/2 cups coconut milk
3 kaffir lime leaves, shredded
2 inch chunk lemongrass, chopped roughly
1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons shoyu soysauce
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
pinch of salt

Place all of the above ingredients into a large pan and simmer gently for several minutes.

Add the following (or whatever combination of vegetables you have on hand):

1 1/2 cups frozen green bean pieces
3 cups of savoy cabbage, shredded
1 large carrot, shredded

Stir the vegetables into the coconut milk mixture, cover and let cook until the vegetables are done to your liking.

Serve over jasmine rice.

One thing that I would do in the future, that the recipe does not call for, is to pick out the shredded kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass chunks after they simmer in the coconut milk and before adding the vegetables. This would make the overall texture of the dish more pleasant.