Light. Quick. Easy. Zesty.

So the days of summer are over. But that doesn't mean that the days are cold and grey. They sure seem to start out that way, but there are still surprisingly warm temperatures that don't lend themselves to hearty soups and casseroles. Which is where a warmed salad-y type meal is perfect. Lots of fresh stuff. Plenty of zest. Filling noodles. And a few veg.

cellophane noodles for 2 (rice/tapioca/bean)

a tablespoon or two of peanut or sesame oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2cm fresh ginger, grated

125g firm tofu, cubed

8 medium sized cup mushrooms, in thin slices

1 carrot, cut into matchsticks

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons LIGHT soy sauce (Thai/Vietnamese/Japanese). A heavy soy sauce such as Chinese masks these flavours rather than enhancing them

large handful fresh bean sprouts

5 spring onions, chopped

juice of 1/2 a lime

2 tablespoons finely sliced fresh mint (don't underdo the mint)

1/2 tablespoon rough chopped fresh coriander (don't overdo the coriander)

Put the noodles on first so they are ready to go. Follow the packet directions. This dish only takes a few minutes to cook once the chopping is done.

Fry the garlic and ginger in the mildly heated oil.

Turn the heat up to medium high and seal the tofu in the oil. It should be nice and golden all over.

Then add the mushrooms, carrot, sugar, salt and LIGHT soy sauce.

Stir fry until the veges are done.

This step is important: Remove the pan from the heat.

Mix in the bean sprouts so they become warmed through.

Let the dish cool somewhat (attend to the noodles?) and then mix in the herbs, spring onion and lime juice. You are almost aiming for a warm salad as opposed to a hot meal. The herbs shouldn't really shrivel up when they're mixed in.

Heap your cooked and drained noodles into mountains in bowls and then heap the vege mix on top.

Makes a meal for 2.

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More vegetarian cookbook goodies

Need help with conversions? Download this handy dandy pdf of cooking conversion charts for every cooking measuring system I could find. It should make your life easier.

Want to check out more vegetarian dinner recipes? They're all in the Table of Contents.

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Tangy. Hearty. Warming. Chunky.

Food painting artwork

30x30cm gouache on canvas. Inspired by the Campbells tomato soup cans of the very famous Andy Warhol.

When I was little and went to the football with my dad, we always seemed to end up taking a thermos of tomato soup with us. It was revolting tinned stuff that I wouldn't usually enjoy eating but after sitting in the cold for an entire afternoon, it was just wonderful. This tomato soup recipe is just as hearty and delicious and doesn't require the eater to be damp and hungry for it to taste great. And it's an easy way to use up some of those gazillion tomatoes that have grown over summer.

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 onion, diced small

3 bay leaves

3 whole cloves

2 teaspoons dried tarragon

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon sugar

4 cups or 1L medium to strong vegetable stock

1kg fresh tomatoes, diced small

1-2 cups cooked, tinned or fresh (but not dried) beans such as borlotti, haricot, cannellini etc

black pepper to taste

All the ingredients need to be finely chopped as there is no pureeing. This is a chunky soup.

Melt the butter and oil together.

Saute the onion in the oil and butter until soft.

Add all the other ingredients.

Simmer very gently for an hour with the pot lid on.

Remove the bay leaves (and cloves if you can find them).

Serve with cracked black pepper.

Makes 4-6 bowls.

Aromatic. Easy. Warming. Spiced.

Food painting artwork

30x30cm gouache on canvas. My defining memories of chai tea involve sitting in a very hippy tent with a random shaped returnable mug of warming spicy chai and having equally random conversations with total strangers who each had a different shaped returnable mug. Hence all the various mugs in this picture.

If you love chai tea and always wanted a solid recipe to use at home instead of buying the stuff in the packets, here it is. And this one is free of caffeinated black tea, too.

Lightly boil together for about 20mins:

3 cups water

10cm cinnamon

8 cloves

4 cardamom pods

up to 2.5cm fresh ginger, sliced and peeled (peeling helps stop the scum that unpeeled ginger generates when boiled)

up to half a teaspoon grated nutmeg

Then add one cup of milk or soy milk and heat through.

Pour into mugs and sweeten with honey to taste.

The spices can be used up to 3 times. Obviously the tea is weaker each time.

Don't try and use ground spices. They just make a revolting sludge.

This will make enough for 2 cups.