Asparagus Tempura with Udon Noodles, Squash Blossom Tempura

Dinner 9/08

Asparagus Tempura with Udon Noodles

Squash Blossom Tempura

We went out to the Mustard Seed Cafe (in Solon) for lunch with friends today. They had a buffet that had many vegan items (tofu lo mein, roasted veggie and black bean burritos, corn on the cob, green bean salad, hummus, pita, broccoli and salad (and thankfully at least one of the dressings was vegan). All in all a great meal...

Needless to say, we were stuffed by the time we rolled home, and in no mood to even think about dinner. Finally, around 7pm, we decided to make something small and have some of that vegan sparkling wine (Can Vendrell) we bought last week -- tempura and sparkling wine are a match made in heaven...

Two types tonight -- the ubiquitous squash blossoms stuffed with vegan cream cheese, white miso, garlic, smoked paprika and black pepper. We also did something a little different with the white and green asparagus -- we added broken pieces of udon noodle to the batter -- it gives the asparagus an added extra texture and crunch. Totally stolen from an episode of "Made To Order" ;)

Tags: tempura, sparkling wine, squash blossoms, asparagus, guy rubino, mustard seed market, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666