Delicata Squash-Potato Rice Noodle Stir Fry

I thought that I would make a Thai stir fry dish with rice noodles tonight, including some raw vegetables, particularly mung bean sprouts and possibly (though I opted not to) some diced tomato. I also included delicata squash, which in hindsight I wasn't crazy about (I didn't like the sweetness it added to the dish).

I sauteed sliced fingerling potato, adding several minutes later a diced red onion and several cloves of garlic, ginger, and then a few minutes after that, delicata squash, a little bit of tempeh, sweet pepper, and mushroom. In the meantime, I soaked rice noodles in hot tap water for 5-10 minutes till they were soft, rinsed in cold water, and drained before adding them when the rest of the stir fry was almost done, stirring in the mung bean sprouts, soy sauce, and hot vinegar-based sauce a minute later before removing from heat. A little bit of chili powder (I wish I had hot pepper, but I don't) and freshly ground black pepper was the prelude to serving.

The dish came out well, though next time I make something like this, I would leave out the delicata squash, include a hot pepper, and serve the crispy sprouts on top on the plate, and not mixed in, however briefly, over the heat. It was good and filling!

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I also put material in the slow cooker for tomato sauce - I am looking forward to trying some trofie pasta ("La Pasta Del Marchesato") from the southern Calabrian region of Italia tomorrow. It takes approximately 14 minutes to cook and is shaped like thick little rolling pins, and I purchased it a few days ago.

Like I did last week, I took firm but ripe roma tomatoes, seeded them, and cut them as finely as I could. I learned last week that I need more than 4 tomatoes; I used 5 quite large ones. Like last time, I briefly sauteed finely chopped garlic (maybe 3 cloves) and two medium sized shallots. I put all of this in the slow cooker, and mixed in about a teaspoonful of fresh oregano (I'm happy that it's still available this far into winter in my herb bed!), 1/2 or slightly more teaspoon dried basil, a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, a few shakes of salt, and a little freshly ground peppercorn. I've asked my wife to turn the cooker on "low" around 8a in the morning, and will plan to eat around 6, to give the sauce about 10 hours to cook. I can't wait for the lovely smell tomorrow!