Stir fried noodles with shrimp, green beans, and carrots

I am so excited about this recipe. This is the first time that I've been able to make a stir fry that actually tasted like something from our favorite Thai spot. Now, I have no idea if our local Thai place makes authentic food or not - I just know that it is tasty. My favorite thing to order from there is the drunken noodles - spicy stir fried noodles with veggies and shrimp. Contrary to what you might expect, there's no alcohol in drunken noodles - one theory about the name is that the noodles are so spicy that you need to drink beer to cool down. Anyway, a couple weeks ago I was craving drunken noodles and decided to see if I could make a decent version at home. I did some recipe research, and used this one as a starting point. The result wasn't quite what I wanted so I made some modifications and came up with the version that I'm sharing here, which is the perfect blend of sweet, salty, and spicy. It came out just as I had hoped and I love that I can make a homemade version of my favorite takeout dish. Now I just have to figure out how to make Andrew's favorite fried rice...

Soba noodles with mushroom-ginger broth, vegetables, and tofu

I ate a lot of pie yesterday. Like, really, a lot. And it was delicious. But as much as I enjoyed it yesterday, I definitely did not feel like eating pie today. Good thing we don't have any leftovers around! (that would be because, um, I ate the slice we brought home last night). I don't know about you, but on the day after Thanksgiving, I like to eat light and healthy food. Plus to be honest, I like vegetables better than turkey anyway.

I was craving Asian food today, and found this recipe while I was looking through magazine recipes I have tagged in the past. It's got soba noodles, tofu, and seasonal vegetables (cabbage, carrots, sweet potatoes) topped off with a warm and comforting broth that is made with ginger, shiitake mushrooms, cilantro, and kombu (a type of seaweed). It is packed with good-for-you ingredients and there is zero added fat. It tastes good and will make you feel good too. And with a bowl of this for dinner, you definitely deserve to have some pie for dessert!

What do you feel like eating the day after Thanksgiving? Do you go right for the leftover turkey, or take a break with something different?

Asian noodles with eggplant

I have been buying eggplant regularly these last few weeks (maybe because it's purple and I have a weakness for purple vegetables), but I don't really have a go-to eggplant recipe. Unlike many other vegetables, eggplant isn't that good cooked and eaten plain, so it requires some thought. The best eggplant dishes I've made in the past are either appetizers, or time-consuming main dishes - not really suitable for a weeknight dinner, which is what I'm looking for.

This recipe came from Gourmet Today (surprise, surprise...clearly I need to make an effort to explore different cookbooks next week). The eggplant is broiled with a soy sauce and mirin glaze, and then tossed with spicy noodles. It's a tasty all-in-one dinner dish, and I think some pan-fried tofu would be a nice addition for next time.