Recipe Maverick

    I would never survive a low-carb diet, because I love all things carbohydrate: bread, pasta, cereal, legumes, to name a few of my favorites. My parents once tried putting me on a diet of beans and oatmeal for a week to combat my pickiness. Their plan backfired, though; I was perfectly happy to eat carbs, carbs, and more carbs for a week.
    Given that I am a bit of a carb freak, it makes sense that noodles would be up on my list of favorite foods. They're just very satisfying to eat, especially stir-fried with some mushrooms and a simple, zesty sauce.

Ingredients:
*serves 1
2 oz thin dry udon noodles
a small handful of dried shitake mushrooms
1 fresh crimini mushroom, thinly sliced
1 tsp vegetable oil
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp lemon juice
chopped cilantro to garnish

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the udon noodles, and bring to a foaming boil. Add a cup of cold water when the pot is boiling over, then add the dried shitake mushrooms. Bring to a foaming boil once more, then remove from heat. Strain the noodles and mushrooms and keep aside. In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil until it spreads to coat the pan. Add the crimini mushroom, cinnamon, and sugar and cook until the mushrooms are lightly browned. Add the noodles, shitakes, soy sauce, and lemon juice, and stir-fry until the liquid has boiled off. Serve immediately. Garnish with cilantro.