Oct 3, 2014
It's a soba kind of day. Fall is here - even though we have some days that seem a little too hot for me - and Mr. Lucky didn't really feel like getting up. I can't blame him. I mean, who doesn't like to be curled up under the covers with just a nose sticking out so you can still get a nice, cool breath of air?
No one, that's who.
For my birthday, a friend got me two packages of Hakubaku soba noodles. I have a package of the soba (which is 3% buckwheat) and a package of the udon (which is all wheat).I will have to make the udon for someone else and probably will only make one serving of the soba for myself.
The good and the bad is that both packages contain wheat - which I have to avoid. It's a little harder to find 100% buckwheat noodles - and they are grayish when cooked and much more intense in taste.
The good news is I can tolerate wheat but not everyday and not a lot all at once. So, I made myself some. I will probably feed the rest to my hot future husband.
But wait. .let's talk soba!
Soba Noodles
Soba noodles are noodles made from buckwheat and sometimes buckwheat and wheat - the word "soba" is Japanese for buckwheat ("udon" mean wheat). The Japanese language is far more efficient and probably more correct in their naming of things. Buckwheat is not actually wheat - it's a fruit - so it's gluten free and, well, vegan and all that. While I love my rice noodles, I like to keep my diet as diverse as possible.
These noodles are nutty and often used in Asian dishes.
As a warning, soba noodles can be expensive and if you are avoiding wheat, make sure to check to make sure they don't have wheat flour. Just look for what brand is more expensive because buckwheat flour is hard to make into noodles. Paying for labor - probably worth it.
If you never had buckwheat – by the way. It does have a distinctive taste. It’s very healthy but it’s a very unique taste. To me, it reminds me of pancakes. To other people, it reminds them of ear wax infections. I’m just saying. It’s like sushi or coffee – it can be an acquired taste. I suggest trying a mix of buckwheat and wheat your first time around – the color is less horrifying and the taste is more mild. Like coffee, sushi and other items, it can be an acquired taste.
What You Need
What You Do
I am a little low on other veggies - you could add in any other veggies you would like. Maybe you could saute up some mushrooms or something. Or use red bliss potatoes with the sweet potato. Maybe some carrot.
Anyhow, I put everything on a baking sheet (line that thing with tin foil to make clean up less icky) and then spray everything with a nice coating of the coconut spray and a bit of garlic powder and maybe salt and pepper.
Sure, you could just toss it all with olive oil if you wanted. I'm not going to tell you how to live, but, I will tell you cool people use coconut oil. Fat is the new black. Don't believe me, spray a veggie with some coconut oil and eat it. Delicious.
Pop this glorious thing into the oven at about 450 degrees for about 35 minutes.
I sort of didn't warm up my oven and it's anyone's guess how hot is actually is at any given time. I think if you have a real, working oven that wasn't discontinued in the 1940s you probably can get away with 20-25 minutes.
Whatever, it's roasting veggies which should fill your heart with joy and your kitchen with delightful smells.
Now, the soba noodles take about 4 minutes to cook. So, when you are about 10 minutes from your oven timer going off, you can put a pot of water on the stove and boil it up to make the soba. It's pretty easy to make them. Boil water - drop in - cook for 4 minutes - drain them. Done.
Maybe steal a few. I actually ate a lot of the sweet potato when I was cutting them up, so, I evened out the noodle situation.
Take out your veggies and mix them up in a bowl with a drizzle of sesame oil and garlic oil. You can use some olive oil, too. You just want a little flavor and a little coating to make everything move around all happy together. Add in your noodles in hunks and mix so everything gets nice and coated.
Get a bowl - rip up some spinach and add your warm stuff in there. Taste and add a little more salt or whatever you want. You can add more spinach to the top or. . not.
What did it taste like? The sweet potato was very tender and starting to fall apart. Really, you need to eat more sweet potato. The zuke is like nothing but added a little pop of freshness with the strands of roasted onion. The spinach added such a raw texture and the noddles just sucked up the garlic and sesame and. .we're just noodle-rrific!
You won't regret this! And it's really pretty healthy for you - I plugged it into this Recipe Calculator I use and came up with the following report (based in witchcraft):
What did it look like? Well, I'm no photographer, but, I took a picture of each bowl I ate. I wish you could see more of the zuke, but, it's in there - it blends with the spinach.
Bowl 1:
Bowl 2:
Bowl 3:
Eat up, my friends!
No one, that's who.
For my birthday, a friend got me two packages of Hakubaku soba noodles. I have a package of the soba (which is 3% buckwheat) and a package of the udon (which is all wheat).I will have to make the udon for someone else and probably will only make one serving of the soba for myself.The good and the bad is that both packages contain wheat - which I have to avoid. It's a little harder to find 100% buckwheat noodles - and they are grayish when cooked and much more intense in taste.
The good news is I can tolerate wheat but not everyday and not a lot all at once. So, I made myself some. I will probably feed the rest to my hot future husband.
But wait. .let's talk soba!
Soba Noodles
Soba noodles are noodles made from buckwheat and sometimes buckwheat and wheat - the word "soba" is Japanese for buckwheat ("udon" mean wheat). The Japanese language is far more efficient and probably more correct in their naming of things. Buckwheat is not actually wheat - it's a fruit - so it's gluten free and, well, vegan and all that. While I love my rice noodles, I like to keep my diet as diverse as possible.
These noodles are nutty and often used in Asian dishes.
As a warning, soba noodles can be expensive and if you are avoiding wheat, make sure to check to make sure they don't have wheat flour. Just look for what brand is more expensive because buckwheat flour is hard to make into noodles. Paying for labor - probably worth it.
If you never had buckwheat – by the way. It does have a distinctive taste. It’s very healthy but it’s a very unique taste. To me, it reminds me of pancakes. To other people, it reminds them of ear wax infections. I’m just saying. It’s like sushi or coffee – it can be an acquired taste. I suggest trying a mix of buckwheat and wheat your first time around – the color is less horrifying and the taste is more mild. Like coffee, sushi and other items, it can be an acquired taste.
What You Need
- Soba noodles - If you never had buckwheat, stick with a blend of buckwheat and wheat. If you get the brand I have, there are three pre-measured servings inside. I made one grouping.
- 1 large sweet potato: Who doesn't need some sweet tater love?
- 1/2 large onion: I actually cried tears of syn-propanethial S-oxide, it was so beautiful
- 1 zucchini: Zuke, zuke - waka-waka!
- Garlic powder: I got a new container this week. I was wondering why it wasn't sprinkling until I found I hadn't removed the safety seal.
- Trader Joe's Coconut Spray: What could be better? Other than drinking the coconut oil out of a jar?
- Spinach: Just raw, at the end of the adventure. I love me my spinach.
- Sesame oil: To taste!
- Garlic oil: Taste is king.
- Olive oil: Because I. . .felt like it.
What You Do
Simple, pimple!
Chop up your sweet potato, zuchnini and onion. If you have kids, make them do it. It cuts down on the hassle and allows you to make yourself a delightful drink. Bourbon, anyone?
Seriously, get your kids into the kitchen learning prep work and whatnot. Sure, they are going to burn themselves and cut themselves, so, teach them how to prevent that and then buy some gauz. Gotta teach them how to make food or they will die. Alone.
Chop up your sweet potato, zuchnini and onion. If you have kids, make them do it. It cuts down on the hassle and allows you to make yourself a delightful drink. Bourbon, anyone?
Seriously, get your kids into the kitchen learning prep work and whatnot. Sure, they are going to burn themselves and cut themselves, so, teach them how to prevent that and then buy some gauz. Gotta teach them how to make food or they will die. Alone.
I am a little low on other veggies - you could add in any other veggies you would like. Maybe you could saute up some mushrooms or something. Or use red bliss potatoes with the sweet potato. Maybe some carrot.
Anyhow, I put everything on a baking sheet (line that thing with tin foil to make clean up less icky) and then spray everything with a nice coating of the coconut spray and a bit of garlic powder and maybe salt and pepper.
Sure, you could just toss it all with olive oil if you wanted. I'm not going to tell you how to live, but, I will tell you cool people use coconut oil. Fat is the new black. Don't believe me, spray a veggie with some coconut oil and eat it. Delicious.
Pop this glorious thing into the oven at about 450 degrees for about 35 minutes.
I sort of didn't warm up my oven and it's anyone's guess how hot is actually is at any given time. I think if you have a real, working oven that wasn't discontinued in the 1940s you probably can get away with 20-25 minutes.
Whatever, it's roasting veggies which should fill your heart with joy and your kitchen with delightful smells.
Now, the soba noodles take about 4 minutes to cook. So, when you are about 10 minutes from your oven timer going off, you can put a pot of water on the stove and boil it up to make the soba. It's pretty easy to make them. Boil water - drop in - cook for 4 minutes - drain them. Done.
Maybe steal a few. I actually ate a lot of the sweet potato when I was cutting them up, so, I evened out the noodle situation.
Take out your veggies and mix them up in a bowl with a drizzle of sesame oil and garlic oil. You can use some olive oil, too. You just want a little flavor and a little coating to make everything move around all happy together. Add in your noodles in hunks and mix so everything gets nice and coated.
Get a bowl - rip up some spinach and add your warm stuff in there. Taste and add a little more salt or whatever you want. You can add more spinach to the top or. . not.
What did it taste like? The sweet potato was very tender and starting to fall apart. Really, you need to eat more sweet potato. The zuke is like nothing but added a little pop of freshness with the strands of roasted onion. The spinach added such a raw texture and the noddles just sucked up the garlic and sesame and. .we're just noodle-rrific!
You won't regret this! And it's really pretty healthy for you - I plugged it into this Recipe Calculator I use and came up with the following report (based in witchcraft):
- The whole thing is about 400 calories (Don't share!! I ate it all)
- No cholesterol
- Low in sodium
- High in manganese
- Very high in vitamin A
- Very high in vitamin B6
- Very high in vitamin C
What did it look like? Well, I'm no photographer, but, I took a picture of each bowl I ate. I wish you could see more of the zuke, but, it's in there - it blends with the spinach.
Bowl 1:
Bowl 2:
Bowl 3:
Eat up, my friends!
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