Spinach and soba noodles with lemon-ginger dressing

Tangy and ginger-y and oh so yummy. This is adapted from Steamy Kitchen (steamykitchen.com), which was discovered by the lovely Lupe and is now one of my new favorite sources of inspiration!

For the dressing:
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 inch section of ginger, peeled and grated
1 tablespoon honey
3/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons grapeseed oil (or olive oil)
1 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

12 ounces dried soba noodles
1 bunch spinach
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

Whisk all of the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the soba noodles until just tender. Toss in the spinach for the last 10 seconds or so, just until it wilts.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the soba and spinach with the dressing and the sesame seeds. Toss until well combined.

Tofu-Stuffed Portabellos

Moosewood calls this a "showstopper" -- and it SO is. This is totally our new favorite recipe! We made it with the lemon-ginger noodle recipe that I'm about to post and the combination was fan-tabulous.

for stuffed mushrooms:
1 cake of firm tofu, 16 oz
1/2 cup diced red bell peppers
1/2 cup diced canned water chestnuts
1/3 cup minced scallions
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
1/4 cup peanut butter
3-4 tbs light miso (or to taste)
2 tsp minced fresh ginger
4 tsp dark sesame oil
1/2 tsp cayenne
4 portabello mushrooms, about 5 inches in diameter
2 tbs soy sauce

for sweet and sour sauce:
1 cup unsweetened apple juice
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs rice vinegar
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 tsp sugar
1 tbs cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbs cold water

preheat oven to 350. Oil a baking pan. In a bowl, crumble tofu with your fingers. Add the peppers, water chesnuts, scallions, rice, peanut butter, miso, ginger, 1 tsp sesame oil, cayenne, and 1 tbs soy sauce. Stick your hands in it and mush it all together. set aside.

Twist off mushroom stems and gently rinse caps to remove dirt. place the caps gill-side up on the oiled pan. In a small cup, stir together remaining 3 tsp sesame oil and soy sauce. Brush the mushrooms with the mixture, then mound one-quarter of the filling on each mushrooms. Bake for 35 minutes until mushrooms release juice and filling is firm. While the mushrooms bake, prepare the sweet and sour sauce.

sweet and sour sauce:
In a small saucepan, combine apple juice, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, sugar, and bring to a boil. stir the dissolved corn starch into the boiling sauce; reduce heat and stir for one minute, until sauce thickens. serve hot over mushrooms.