Recipe 22: Simple, Comforting Vegetable Udon Soup

With the days getting rainy (finally, it's fall!) and work getting busy (productive, sure, but mentally taxing!) there's nothing better than coming home to fix an easy-to-prep, clean-yet-comforting one-course dish for dinner, many of them derived from my harried days as a college student, where a fulltime course load and three part-time jobs leave me little time and energy, let alone consistent grocery shopping, to cook fancy-schmancy meals (which back then translates to anything that takes over 30 minutes or requires more than 10 ingredients.)

So one of my college (and now, real-life) survival dishes is my vegetable udon; it's healthy, hearty and is super-simple to prep & improvise with whatever you have in your fridge/freezer/pantry. Throw that together with a few long-lasting staples (vegetable broth, udon noodles) and your favorite spices and voila! you get a wholesome, steamy and slurpable dish that warms your soul and soothes your day's stresses away.

Plus with only one wok/saucepan, bowl and fork/chopstick to wash, cleanup is a breeze too! (If I wasn't in the mood to slave over the stove/oven, why would I be in a mood to wash dishes?)

Ingredients:
6 oz. vegetable broth (opt for low-sodium if possible, always easier to add more salt than take it away later on)
6 oz. water
~6-8 oz. fresh or frozen veggies (or by my measurements, 2-3 handfuls)
one ~8 oz. package of udon noodles
2 dashes garlic powder
2 dashes ginger powder
salt + pepper to taste
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil (optional)

Directions:
1. Combine vegetable broth, water, vegetables (I used frozen summer corn, wild mixed mushrooms, and some slow cooker caramelized onions I whipped up last week,) ginger & garlic powder (or whatever spices you prefer, really) in your wok/saucepan and bring to a rolling boil.
2. Once boiling, throw in the udon noodles and stir gently with chopstick & fork until it starts breaking apart.
3. When the broth starts boiling again, bring down to a simmer and let it sit for 3-4 minutes.
4. Turn off heat, add sesame oil if you desire (my onions were caramelized in butter, so I opted out of adding) plus salt & pepper to taste
5. Serve it in a big bowl! Didn't I tell you it was a simple recipe? Enjoy.