Improvising Udon

I love a brothy soup. Well, actually, I just love soup in general, but now that the weather is on the up, a brothy soup with crisp veggies is right on the money. I found this recipe in Alicia's Kind Diet book, and at the time, I didn't have all the ingredients so Joe and I improvised a smidge. I have her original recipe below minus the part where instead of broth, she soaks mushrooms in water, and that is the brothy part. Confession time. Mushrooms and me don't mix. Like, at all. I can't even handle the smell of them without wanting to curl up in the fetal position and go to my happy place. I have tried them more than once, but even recalling those memories now gives me a shiver and a belly quake. So needless to say, I skipped the whole mushroom soaking process, and opted for just a nice, vegan-friendly veggie broth. Plus, it's quicker.

So the other improvisation was that I didn't have any fresh ginger on hand, so I used about a quarter tsp. of ground ginger, which seemed to work fine. And then, as always, I just used the veg I had in the fridge. I think we ended up with carrots, snap peas, daikon, and scallions. I love a recipe that lets me use up the produce in the fridge. love it.

Sauce:
2-4 tsp. shoyu
3-4 T. water or broth
5-8 drops ginger juice (grate some ginger and squeeze the juice out of it like you're Macho Man Randy Savage)
1/2 tsp. lemon juice or rice vinegar

Veggies:
1 carrot, cut into bite-size pieces
1 stalk broccoli, bite-sized
1 handful bean sprouts
2-3 napa cabbage leaves or collards, chopped
4-6 dandelion greens, chopped
leaves of some bok choy, chopped

1 (8 oz) package udon noodles
1" piece of kombu

1 can of low-sodium veggie broth

Cook noodles according to package directions. Strain, and rinse under cool water to stop them from cooking anymore. Set aside.

Meanwhile, Bring broth to a boil w/ 2-3 cups of water. Add the kombu and lower to a simmer.

Have all the veggies ready to go on your cutting board or a plate next to the stove. Add the veggies, starting with the carrots, and anything else that would take longer. Most of the veggies shouldn't take longer than a couple of minutes. You want them fresh and light with some crunch, and not mushy.

I added the sauce directly to the broth and veggie mixture, but you could just put it on the side. I figured it was all going to the same place, so I just threw it in.

Serve by placing your noodles in a bowl and ladling your broth and veggie mixture over top. Eat with chopsticks to impress your friends.

Enjoy!