Knitting funk.. & a recipe

I'm in a knitting funk lately. Only 1 WIP on the needles - the Madli lace shawl - which I've knit maybe an inch since my last post. And I have no urgent desire to cast on for anything new. Been busy with life lately and my knitting is taking a little backseat for now. I need a kick-ass project to get me off my butt!!

In return for no knitting and no pictures, I thought I'd post a 'Cheaty Udon Soup' recipe that I make for dinner pretty regularly. It's slightly tangy and salty and soupy and takes only 20min to cook - really good for those days when you're dead beat but don't want to eat outside food. I call it cheaty cos I don't use authentic chicken stock (& i hate the fake taste of stock cubes), but the preserved vegetable acts as a readily available soup base.

Iro's Cheaty Udon Soup Recipe (portion for 2)

Ingredients
2 tomatoes (slice in half)
2-3 clove garlic (slightly mashed to release the taste)
1 small packet of preserved vegetable or 'szechuan vege' (can be found in cold storage)
Vege of choice - I usually use Japanese cabbage
1 packet beef (the Japanese shabu shabu beef is especially yummy but any sliced beef will do)
1 packet of enoki mushrooms (rinsed well & with base trimmed off)
1 packet tofu (cubed)
Chilli padi, usually 3-5 depending on chilli tolerance (sliced)
2 packets udon

1. Rinse preserved vegetable well to get rid of surface oil
2. Put garlic & preserved vegetable in pot & add about 2-3 bowls water. Bring to the boil.
3. Add in tomatoes, enoki shrooms, and vege and boil for another 10min
4. Add in beef and cook quickly (so it's not overcooked). Remove beef from soup once brown.
5. Add in tofu, udon, chilli padi and let simmer for few more minutes.
6. Add pepper & a little salt to taste (the preserved vege & tomatoes are already salty).
7. Serve steaming hot :D