Farmers Market Lo Mein with Tempeh {Vegan}

Happy Monday friends! I am happy to be sitting at my laptop looking out at sunny skies today for the first time in a while on a Monday. Even better is that with the time change it will stick around even longer this evening. The springing forward of the clocks an hour does throw me off for a few days each time, but I am trying to rally through on this lovely day without too much complaining. Especially since I have such a vibrant meal to share with you today!

As usual, I stocked up big time at the market on Saturday morning to have plenty of goodies to prep for the week ahead. I missed going myself last week as I had to work that morning, so of course I more than made up for it again this round. Given the amount of delicious veggies that I bought, I decided to put together a yummy meal on Saturday evening even though I was a bit tired from getting up early to do a 5k road race. Saturdays I often pass the torch to the BF to cook or we have the last little bit of leftovers for the week to finish off. On very rare occasions we'll go out, but this week I made take-out style food in my own kitchen.

Watermelon Radish

I had a pack of soba noodles in the pantry that came in one of our Christmas presents from a family member that I had been wanting to use for a while. For some reason I have never used them before, so had a mental block on how I wanted to utilize them in a meal. With my stunning fresh watermelon radishes and some other veggies from the farmers market, I finally decided I'd do a homemade take on a lo mein. Though as usual, my take is probably not authentic, but whatever you call it the meal was delicious!

Oil-Free Stir Fry

Since I wasn't feeling too pumped for a really fancy meal, I kept it simple and cooked all my chopped vegetables in a skillet with crumbled tempeh. The noodles were quite easy to make. Boil for a few minutes then mix in with the sauce and veggies, garnish with broccoli sprouts and we were good to go! I always love when something so simple comes out so satisfying. Though it's no surprise when using all my fresh-picked market veggies. Radishes used to be something I never really liked. However now I've come to enjoy all the different varieties that tend to grow so well here in Georgia!

Farmers Market Lo Mein with Tempeh

Makes 5 Servings

• 1 (9.5 ounce) package soba noodles
• 1 small sweet onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1 heaping cup thinly sliced carrots
• 1 bunch radishes, trimmed & thinly sliced (chop up the greens to add in at the end if they look nice and fresh, as well)
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 (8 ounce) package tempeh, crumbled
• 3 tablespoons low-sodium organic tamari
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon brown rice syrup (sub date paste or maple syrup)
• 1/2-1 teaspoon vegan gochujang (adjust to your heat level preference)
• broccoli sprouts, for garnish

Cook the noodles according to package directions. Rinse and set aside.

Meanwhile, warm a large skillet or wok on medium heat. Add in the onion and celery. Stir frequently and cook for 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are starting to soften. Use a few tablespoons of vegetable broth or water to keep from sticking. Add in the carrots, radishes, tempeh and ginger and continue cooking for an additional 8 minutes until the vegetables are cooked to your liking.

Mix together the tamari, vinegar, syrup and the hot sauce, then pour into the vegetable mixture. Add in any chopped radish greens or other greens like spinach or bok choy at this point if you like. Cook for just a few minutes longer for the sauce to coat all of the vegetables and the greens to slightly wilt. Remove from heat.

To serve place a portion of the cooked noodles in a bowl then cover with the vegetable mixture. Garnish with a handful of broccoli sprouts for that extra hit of nutrition and a bright flavor!

Normally I would just mix it all together before serving, but I thought the vegetables turned out too nice not to try to capture in a few photographs. That's the other great thing about the time change--I don't have to fight with the sunset when I'm trying to take photographs of dinner! 😂

If you don't normally love radishes, this is a great way to give them a try. They keep a little of their crunchy texture if you don't overcook them, but it can help tone down the spicy nature of some of the more pungent varieties. This bowl is full of fiber, plant-based protein and lots of vitamins and minerals. I don't often use brown rice syrup in recipes, but I am slowly working through a jar that I had gotten a while back so that I don't waste it. You could easily omit it, but I think it helps balance out the kick from the gochujang nicely.

Happy to share this to contribute to the fun for @lenasveganliving's #fruitsandveggiesmonday! Been a few weeks since I was able to join the rainbow of entries! Wishing you all a delicious and healthy week ahead!

Banners by @woman-onthe-wing, @dksart and @bearone for @steemusa

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