"My favorite part of the soup is everything," said the 3 1/2 year old, pausing to eye the carrots and tiny cubes of tofu and long slurpy soba noodles before taking another bite.
Do you know this relief? I.e. do you have children? I cannot tell you the last time that I made one thing that every person at the table ate without complaint or doctoring or removing parts or negotiating, just ate, the whole thing, every part.
In our house, as long as you have three taster bites, you can always opt for the alternate (bowl of cheerios), which doesn't happen all that often, but lately, we've gone through a lot of rice milk and o's.
The stomach flu is at least partly to blame. Did you get it? Everybody I know had it about a month ago, and I thought we had escaped unscathed. Enough time passed to make me feel a little vegan smug even. And then volcanoes of puke erupting from the top bunk in the boys' room smote me right good.
So now, we're all on the mend, and the grown-ups can totally relate to the sensitive pallets of small children. I resisted adding so many things to this soup - garlic and onions and shitaake mushrooms and nori and finely chopped greens and a scoop of miso and a smidgen of vinegar, and I'm so glad I did. It was simple and comforting.
As an added bonus, it's only slightly more involved than a peanut sandwich - perfect for the woefully still pajama clad, pre-afternoon-kindergarten lunch rush facing a shockingly empty bread box.
Carrot Ginger Soba Noodle Soup
makes: 1 large serving, or 2 - 3 kid servings
takes: 10 - 15 minutes
- 1 large carrot, chopped
- 1 small hunk of ginger, peeled
- 2 1/2 cups water
- pinch of salt
- 1 (2 1/2 ounce) bundle soba noodles
- 2 ounces super firm tofu, diced
- 1 tablespoons soy sauce, or to taste
In a small pot, bring the carrots, ginger, water, and salt to a boil. Add the noodles and cook until soft. Turn off the heat, and stir in the tofu and soy sauce. Muddle the ginger a bit and remove it before serving.
Like most (all?) noodles in broth, this is best eaten right away.
