green tea soba noodles with roasted vegetables & herbs

My boyfriend and I have been eating so many veggie-noodle dishes lately. Our routine right now (and probably through the winter break) is to get up "early", work out together, make post-exercise green smoothies or juice, then do homework/something productive and go for a walk. Then we make lunch and watch whatever TV show we are currently addicted to - at the moment it is The Wire. Thug life.

Anyhoo, the past week we've been making different kinds of soba noodles with a ton of raw and roasted veggies like sweet potatoes, cucumber, mushrooms, cilantro, beets, onions, garlic, bell peppers, etc. I like to add raisins and peanuts on top. So today I prepared some green tea noodles and served them with delicious, fresh vegetables.

green tea soba noodles with roasted vegetables & herbs: serves two hungry people

Roasted veggies:
1 sweet potato
2 large beets
4 large mushrooms
4 garlic cloves
1 onion
1 tablespoon fave veg oil 
1/2 teaspoon each of salt, pepper, fennel seeds, dill, paprika, turmeric, garlic powder and rosemary if you have it
1 teaspoon maple syrup 

Noodles:
1/2 package green tea noodles
1 teaspoon veg oil (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional) 

Toppings:
1/2 cucumber
1 cup cilantro 
1/4 cup peanuts
1/4 cup raisins 

Prepare your plants: pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Peel and slice all the veggies so they are all roughly the same size. Mix in the oil, herbs/spices and maple syrup until everybody is evenly coated. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the beets and sweet potatoes are soft and delicious. 

While they are baking, make the noodles: follow the instructions on the package, ya goof! Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water to stop them from cooking anymore. Then add a teaspoon of veg oil and a 1/2 teaspoon of salt, if you like. 

Cut up the cuke and cilantro for the toppings. When the vegetables are ready: put your noodles in two bowls, place the roasted veggies on top, followed by the cucumber, cilantro, raisins, peanuts and whatever else you think to add. Eat with your significant other while watching cops chase drug gangs in 90's Baltimore. 

Namaste, yo. 

Sweet Potato Lentil Chili

Recipe from ed&bv. Wheat-free, gluten-free, soy-free, & oil-free option

Red lentils work nicely to thicken this chili, while the sweet potato gives a mellow, smooth contrast to the spices.  Serve with a big dollop of Guacamole con Alga Marina (p.61) and tortilla chips or artisan breads for dipping.

splash of water (for oil-free version) or 1 tbsp (15 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
1 3/4 cups (425 mL) onions, diced
1 cup (250 mL) celery, diced
2 - 2 1/2 cups (500 to 625 mL) orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in 1 in (2.5 cm) cubes
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp (5 mL) sea salt
Ground black pepper to taste
2 tsp (10 mL) chili powder
1 tsp (5 mL) paprika
1/2 tsp (2 mL) freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp (2 mL) cumin
1/4 tsp (1 mL) cinnamon
1/2 tsp (2 mL) crushed red pepper flakes (or to taste)
1 1/4 cups (310 mL) dry red lentils
2 1/2 cups (625 mL) water
1 - 28 oz (796 mL) can crushed tomatoes
1 - 14 oz (398 mL) can black or kidney beans, rinsed
1 bay leaf
3 Tbsp (45 mL) freshly squeezed lime juice
Lime wedges (for serving)

In large pot on medium heat, add oil, onions, celery, sweet potatoes, garlic, salt, pepper, and spices, and stir through. Cover and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally; reduce heat if onions are sticking to bottom of pot. Rinse lentils. Add to pot with water, tomatoes, beans, and bay leaf, and stir to combine. Increase heat to bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes or until sweet potatoes are softened, stirring occasionally. Stir in lime juice and serve portions with lime wedges.
Serves 6.

Cooking Note:  If you only have whole or diced tomatoes, use a hand blender to 'crush' them:  first pour off some liquid from can into pot, then use a hand blender to puree tomatoes directly in the can.

Pureed Squash and Sweet Potato Soup

Recipe from The Everyday Vegan.

1 large butternut squash (to yield 6-7 cups of flesh when cooked, see note)

2-3 large sweet potatoes or yams (orange-fleshed tubers) (to yield about 3 cups when cooked, see note)

2 tsp olive oil

1 cup onion, chopped

1/2 cup celery, chopped

few pinches sea salt

few pinches freshly ground black pepper

2-3 medium-large cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1/4 - 1/2 tsp cinnamon (to taste)

4 cups vegetable stock

1 - 1 1/2 cups water

1 tbsp freshly grated ginger

Preheat oven to 400 F. Bake squash and sweet potatoes (on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper) for 55-60 minutes, or until tender when pierced. Remove from oven and let cool enough to handle. Prepare other ingredients while squash/potatoes are cooking and cooling. Once cooled enough to handle, slice squash and yams and scoop flesh from the peels (discard seeds and string from squash). In a large soup pot over medium heat, add olive oil, onion, celery, salt, pepper, garlic, curry powder, coriander, and cinnamon. Cover and cook for 7-8 minutes, adding a few drops of water if need (if onions are sticking). Add vegetable stock, 1 cup of water, and squash and sweet potato flesh. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth. Add ginger (and extra water if desired to thin soup). Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Season with extra salt and pepper if desired, and serve.

Note: Instead of 1 large squash, you could use 2 smaller ones, to equal roughly 4 1/2 lbs total. Similarly, you can use smaller sweet potatoes, equalling roughly 2-2 1/2 lbs total.