Tempeh with Rice Noodles

It seems like forever since I've cooked! On Saturday, I was running late for a concert (which ended up being sold out, alas) and was in a bit of a mood for falafel so, though I remembered that we only have one restaurant that I've found in the area (Neomonde) that makes reasonable falafel, I ate at Mediterranean Deli in Chapel Hill. I was disappointed then as well as on Sunday, when I ate at Thai Cafe in Durham; it was difficult finding anything vegan (why are more Thai restaurants diluting the use of coconut milk and mixing in dairy half and half??) and the "veganized" noodle dish was uninteresting. (My wife claims I am too easy with film reviews; I disagree - see for example my reviews of A Slipping-Down Life or Last Night - but I guess I certainly am critical of food!) Yesterday, we had the great luck to see the Monet in Normandy exhibit; after going through the fifty paintings (approximately 5-7:30p), we quickly stepped out to Whole Foods for dinner so that we could come back for about 15-20 minutes to see the paintings again.

Today, my wife is away, working in Charlotte about 2 1/2 hours away. Maybe because I was left wanting Sunday night, I decided to make a noodle dish for myself. I let hot tap water run till it was hot enough to be uncomfortable to the touch; I filled a bowl with the quite warm water and soaked Thai rice noodles for 5-10 minutes till the noodles were softened, then rinsed them in cold water and drained.

In the meantime, I started sauteeing an onion cut into half moons, adding tempeh chunks a few minutes later. I sauteed well, probably for 10 minutes. Near the end, I added Lombardo peppers and the garlic they were marinated in, as well as about a third of a jalapeno pepper, sliced, and diced ginger. I stirred, then added the drained rice noodles and soy sauce, stirring for another 1/2 or 1 minute, and served.

Originally, I had planned an Italian dinner and was going to serve some fresh garlic bagels that I had bought today. But since my wife was away, I thought I'd hold off on that dinner. But I couldn't resist one of the bagels, though it didn't really match the cuisine. But it all tasted good and was nicely filling!