Sequestration Meal #451

 

This is a basic, "ugh, it's too hot" meal: Cold sesame soba noodles with some slices of prepackaged seasoned baked tofu. I couldn't figure out how to make the tofu look right in the bowl, so my plating didn't satisfy me, but the meal itself was pretty great!

The recipe for the soba noodles is from The Big Book of Vegetarian (2005), which has quite a few vegan recipes in it. (I have had the book for ages and I could not tell you exactly where I got it, except that I'm sure I got it used, possibly from a thrift store or a library book sale.) The only change I made to the recipe was to add a sesame seed garnish. It is pretty basic--soba noodles with strips of veggies (carrots, snow peas, and red bell pepper) in a standard Asian-style dressing (sesame oil, rice vinegar, mirin, soy sauce, ginger, scallions, sugar)--but basic things are often pretty good. I might add a bit of spice for some kick if I made it again, and some garlic, and maybe add the tops of some scallions to the salad, and some sliced cucumber. But you don't always need to do everything. And for once, I found a soba noodle recipe that had enough sauce in it!

I've not really been someone to buy prepared tofu from the store, but I am thinking of it like hummus: Yes, I can make my own. My own is delicious and cheaper. But sometimes I get overwhelmed and I need life to be easier, and this is one way I can do that for myself, considering that I don't eat out. And the tofu was good! My own would have been delicious, too, I'm sure, but that isn't always the point, is it? I'll make my own sometimes, just like I'll make hummus sometimes. In times when I just need something easy, I'll plunk down an extra dollar or two to outsource the labor. That can be hard to convince myself to do in these inflationary terror moments, but I have enough, and this won't break me right now. I'll keep my fingers crossed that a future exists with less inflationary terror.

(Incidentally, if you use buckwheat-only soba noodles, this would be a gluten free meal.)