Veggies, Tempeh and Noodles with Sesame-Ginger Dressing

I was inspired to create this meal after enjoying a delicious dinner this past Saturday at The Naked Sprout in Burlington, Ontario. Paul and I celebrated our seven-year anniversary by going out for dinner at what has become one of our new favourite restaurants. After going here for lunch one day last week with a friend, Paul was dying to try it out and I definitely didn't mind going back twice in one week!  One of the main dishes we tried was the Soba Noodle Bowl with "100% Buckwheat soba noodle, grilled tempeh, red peppers, onions, massaged kale, cremini mushroom, steamed broccoli, sesame ginger sauce".  It was delicious and I thought that I could probably try to make this at home!

Here is my version of the Naked Sprouts' Soba Noodle Bowl! Of course, it is a bit different as I used whole wheat spaghettini noodles (we ran out of soba and just had the regular pasta noodles in the house), plus we added some veggies.

Soba noodles, or whole wheat spaghetti noodles
Broccoli, cut into florets
Kale, cut into pieces
Diced pepper, onion, green onion, snow peas, or whatever other veggies you'd like
Tempeh (I used the Tofurky brand Sesame-Garlic Tempeh strips)
Toasted sesame seeds

Sesame-Ginger Dressing:
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp water
2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Mix all of the dressing ingredients together and set aside. Cook your noodles in boiling water. Saute the tempeh in a bit of oil. Steam the broccoli and the kale together. All of the other veggies can be added fresh without any cooking required. Put all of the ingredients (pasta, vegetables) into a large bowl and toss with the sesame-ginger dressing. Serve, top with the tempeh, and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.

I must also add that before this weekend, Paul hated kale with a passion! I served him raw kale a while back in a salad and the raw kale totally turned him off this super healthy veggie. However, he really enjoyed the steamed kale! I am very happy that both of these dishes won him over and he now likes kale! I now know that most people don't like raw kale as it is quite bitter; I guess I'm just one of those strange people who will eat it raw in a salad!