Soba noodles, Salt and Pepper Tofu, and Ice Cream Balls

We are having dinner guests tonight. One is a vegetarian! I am really excited because there is so much less stress in cooking for people that are not a) scared of tofu, b) going to ask me defensive questions about my dietary choices during dinner, and c) going to describe to me how they are going to "un-vegan" the meal in the future because it was so good. :-)

So, on the menu:
Soba Noodles with Zucchini and Carrot Ribbons (Thank you, Vegan Vicki) (left out the mushrooms; added carrot ribbons)
Salt & Pepper Tofu (Thank you again, Vegan Vicki!)
Oven Roasted Green Beans
Sauteed Mushrooms (substitute vegan butter!)
And for dessert:
Ice Cream Balls with Hot Fudge Dipping Sauce

I found organic soba noodles at the Asian Market (that 18.00 price tag is Danish Kroner not USD!!). The package says they are ready in 6 minutes but mine were done in less than 3. The package contains 3 individually wrapped groups of noodles. I made all three and it was a good ratio of veggies to noodles (I tripled the veggie recipe) but too much food for 4 people. I am not complaining about the leftovers though!


The veggie stir fry originally calls for Mirin. I did not have this and did not feel like buying a bottle of it considering I have lived without it for this long. Instead, I added half the amount of Rice Wine Vinegar. The result was a much tangier flavor; not the sweet/saltiness of a Mirin and soy combo. I think it went over well. As for the "ribbon" style veggies, I spent over an hour with a veggie peeler making these ribbons with carrots and zucchini. For guests, worth the effort. If I ever make this again for John and I, I would just chop it all up and call it a day.


I was really interested in the "5 spice seasoning" that this tofu recipe calls for. It is a new spice for me and I get easily excited by new flavors! John was not crazy about this tofu but I enjoyed it. Instead of a jalapeno pepper, I used red pepper flakes and they definitely added a kick.

I love the flavor of lemon in mushrooms! I added a tablespoon of diced red pepper simply for color.

I don't have a picture of the green beans, but they were green and slightly shriveled. John's first comment about the meal, "The green beans were good." Enough said.

And finally, the ice cream balls! I bought sugar free strawberry ice cream from a place called Paradis. All of their fruit flavored ice creams are vegan making it a very dangerous place for me. Here is an example of why:

After my second trip to Paradis, I returned home with this "feeds 4-6 people", multi-flavor packed, Styrofoam cooler of vegan ice cream.

The Hot Fudge Dipping sauce was more like mousse because I left it in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving it. Below are the soy creamer and vegan butter that I used.