Elsa started preschool last week. It was a big step for her, but probably an even bigger for us. We have been very allowing at home, making things as easy as possible for everyone. If Elsa wants to eat while she dances around the apartment we let her do that. Now when she has started preschool we might have to learn some rules at least … Anyway, so far she loves going there. It turns out that kids her own age are more fun to play with than us. We were a little worried if the preschool would accept our “weird” food requests. But one of her teachers was a vegetarian (yay!) and they seemed pretty cool with not serving her wheat and milk as well. Here comes the best part, they have a no-sugar-rule in Stockholm’s preschools, so we don’t even have to worry about that. Sweet! If you want to know more about our thoughts on children’s food please let us know. We have not followed any particular food philosophy with Elsa, but rather trusted our instincts, and so far she seems to be doing just fine.
Another thing that has taken up our time lately is the upcoming Green Kitchen iPad-app. We are currently beta-testing it and expect to release it in October. It looks so nice and it feels really good to flip through the recipes with the touch of a finger. The pictures are bigger than here, we have added some new features, made the recipes even easier to cook from and added a bunch of new ones. We will definitely let you know when it’s out.
One new recipe that will be on the ipad-app is a really good noodle and tofu salad. As we were shooting it we talked about that we actually haven’t showed any noodle recipes on the blog. It is kind of strange since we use buckwheat noodles often in our cooking. So today we came up with this Miso Noodle Soup for you. Miso is a fermented soy bean paste from Japan. It is very healthy, with supposedly high sources of vitamin B12 (which is important if you are a vegan) and a lot of other good stuff. Make sure you don’t boil it, since it will reduce its nutritional values. This is one of those incredibly quick recipes that is perfect when the first cold days of autumn arrives. Have it for lunch or add some tofu and have it as a light dinner.
Miso Noodle Soup
Serves 4
1/2 fresh chili
2 cloves garlic
2-inches (5 cm) fresh ginger
1 stalk fresh lemongrass
1/2 leek
4 small carrots
1/2 cup (1 1/2 dl) romanesco (or broccoli)
6 brown mushrooms (or shiitake)
1/2 cup (1/2 dl) fennel bulb with greens
1/2 cup (1 1/2 dl) green beans
8 cups (2 liter) water, boiled
4 -6 tbsp miso paste (to taste)
1 tbsp soy sauce
soba (buckwheat) or wholegrain noodles for 4 persons
1 handful cilantro
sesame seeds
1 lime
Preparing the vegetables: Finely slice the chili, mince garlic and ginger, cut the lemongrass in half and “bruise” it with the bottom of your chef’s knife. Finely slice leek, carrots (use a peeler) and divide the Romanesco into small pieces. Cut the brown mushroom into quarters, slice the fennel bulb and chop the fennel greens. Trim the green beans by removing the top stems.
Preparing the miso: Pour 4 cups boiling water in a pot, add miso paste and whisk. Add soy sauce, chili, ginger, garlic, lemongrass and set a side for a couple of minutes.
Preparing the noodles: Meantime, pour the remaining water (4 cups) in a new pot. Place it on the stow on medium heat, add a pinch of salt and the noodles, cook them according to the package.
Assembling the soup: When the noodles are done, place them and all the vegetables in the miso soup and reheat it, makes sure it doesn’t boil. Pour in 4 bowls and top with freshly chopped cilantro, lime juice and sesame seeds. Enjoy!
Ps. We are nominated in the German magazine Brigitte food-blog-award. You can read about us here (if you understand German, we don’t …) and vote for us here.
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